Today was one of those days you can never forget. It was a day we will look back on and smile secretely to ourselves. A day where everything went according to plan, and more. Everything went right, everything was on our side. The trains listened to us and even the traffic lights. We made the most of our time and crammed 3 days of travelling into 24 hours. The sights we saw, the experiences we had, will forever have a space in our hearts. Its hard to describe it all, but I'll do my best.
We went on the Metro (underground train) from the Gothic Quarter where we were staying a few stops up to the foot hills in ancient Barcelona. The traditional Barcelona houses people think of when they think about this great city were visible the moment we walked into daylight from the stairs in the Metro. With no signs and no clue where to go, we looked aimlessly down the street we were. I suggested we asked a particular local man walking past but Lucy disagreed and said he looks like he only spoke Spanish. We walked over to a street map on a nearby electricity pole to figure out where we were. The same Spanish man came over to us, the first thing he said to us was "Park Guell?". We smiled, had a bit of a laugh to ourselves and nodded as he continued to give us the best directions he could in a way we would understand.
We came to a beautiful street heading up the hill, possibly the steepest hill Ive ever attempted to walk. Luckily they know us tourists are generally lazy, and they had escalators the majority of the way. Every few streets were signs saying to "look back" as the view down the street was beautiful.
Next to the Park Guell was a hill that we decided to climb. We made our way up, constantly stopping to take photos of the view which improved the higer we climbed.
We could hear local music playing in the distance which drew louder. As we reached the top a local Spanish man was playing and singing on his guitar. Not the usual songs you would generally hear buskers sing, but something more meaningful, more spiritual. We gave him our spare change and he was more then happy to pose with us for a photo.
We climbed up a rocky viewing point where there stood 3 crosses. We turned around and saw the breath taking views of Barcelona. We could see the mountains and the ocean, including the beautiful city inbetween. Photos honestly dont give it justice.
With little time to spare we made our way back down the hill. On the way we found time to stop by Park Guell. A masterpiece by Gaudi.
Many locals were out and about, spreading their matts on the stone floor and laying out jewellery, ornaments, gifts and souvenirs. Some of them entirely origonal, and other disappointingly the same. Lucy found an Aqua 'peace' necklace, but there was nothing that caught my eye. The design around Park Guell was something incredible. I seriously, like squillions of others, love Gaudi.
We explored more and eventually made our way down the hill. The climb down was much easier then the one up and we made it back to the metro station, with a chocolate croissant on the way.
With 3min to spare we made it to the meeting point of our bicycle tour. This tour was simply amazing, it visited 17 famous sites around Barcelona.
We went past some political buildings and learnt the history of Spain an Catalonia.
There were so many beautiful churches and cathedrals, most I had to take whilst still riding my bike. Some we had the opportunity to stop at and learn the history, others were less important.
A girl and a man got lost so we sat here for 30min. We got slightly bored so we sat on the floor and posed for photos!
We made our way to the beach! Being in London for the past 8months I haven't had the opportunity to go to the beach. The second I heard the waves crashing and smelt the salt water, I felt that I was home, I felt at peace.
Our group stopped at a local cafe for a while for a quick drink and an opportunity to take some photos.
We stopped by the botanical gardens. Got told some story about the statue on top. I can't for the life of me remember what it was though.
They also have an Arc de Triomf in Barcelona!
We went past two of the Gaudi houses... They were soo beautiful!
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It was great to see the city in a more personal way. Walking tours take a lot of time and bus tours are very impersonal because you cant get through to all the smaller areas.
I loved the feeling of riding through the back streets of Barcelona, feeling the breeze, smelling the cuisine, seeing the locals in their day to day life.
Lucy decided to do some graffiti on the way home.
Our tour guide was an english speaking Italian who lived in Barcelona and also spoke Spanish. Interesting character! She had plenty of knowledge though, I would love to do that. Maybe if I never fullfil my dreams of becoming an architect ill live in Europe and be a tour guide :)
Once the tour ended we had takeaway pizza for lunch and started our trek across Las Ramblas to the Picasso museum. The line was long but moved quickly. Im still not sure how I feel about artwork. I appreciate the artists that have changed and inspired many things, but i dont necessarily like it. The museum was interesting, it didnt quite flow like museums should, but I learnt a great deal about Picasso and his life. The first rooms we entered showed the start of his career as an artist. I never knew this but he started off simply doing portraits, then landscapes, and slowly moved on to the images we know him for today. I absolutely loved one painting, no idea why, it was similar to all the others in that room but something about it made me feel different. I honestly dont understand :)
(This ISNT the picture, but its similar!)
From the Picasso museum we made our way to the beach. We took photos and walked all the way along The Esplanade, eating hot chips on the way. It was a simple but beautiful moment.
We were invited to Aunty Suzie's for diner(Lucys family was also holidaying in Barcelona). We had an anti-pasto styled meal and later played with the kids. We went up to the rooftop of their rented apartment and had views of the rooves of Barcelona. It doesnt sound like much, but the view was incredible. The sun was a bonus as it had rained the previous 2 days.
We left their house and had our final walk down Las Ramblas. I have only been here for a few days but I feel so comfortable now. My first feelings of excitement and caution have turned into feelings of acceptance and understanding. My last night in Barcelona had more of a magical feel.
Las Ramblas had more street performers then I had seen and we stopped to watch a few. We saw a 40year old baby, had a basic conversation with some travellers in french and a Spanish man declred his love for us.
It was the perfect end to a perfet day.
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