B-B-B-Barca!!!!

We had full three days in Barcelona , so we started each day with a walk down the Ramblas, while discussing which area we should check out for the day. On Thursday we toured the Casa Batllo, one of the buildings designed by the crazy/modern architect Gaudi. It was built as a house for a wealthy Spanish family; there is a water-theme throughout the whole building (lots of blue mosaic tiles & stained glass, no right angles in the whole building, and a spectacular rooftop terrace with colored turrets that had a fish-scale-like quality. Although the guided audio tour was a little bit flamboyant and over the top, it was something cool to see.

That morning we also checked out the St. Joseph market - see the pictures below for the colorful spreads of fruit, chocolate, etc!

On Friday we went to Parc Guell, also designed by Gaudi, and this was my favorite sight from Barcelona. It’s a huge outdoor park with lots of winding paths which lead to a huge terrace/plaza overlooking the city. If you’ve seen l’Auberge Espagnole, then you’ve seen this park; it’s where Xavier and Anne Sophie kiss on the bench. Anyway, the view of Barcelona is great, and a long, brightly colored, mosaic bench snakes along the entire edge of the terrace; in the middle there’s a plaza filled with palm trees and random performers. Pictures below of Parc Guell:

Friday night we went out to a couple of bars and ended up receiving free passes to a club, so we decided to check that out. Uhh … not the best idea ever … turned out to be an exclusively-gay club which wasn’t all-too welcoming to females. After trying to dance but not really enjoying the atmosphere, we left and called it a night! Here’s a picture of my roommate’s impression of the bar … thanks, Metro! On Saturday we checked out the most famous Gaudi sight – La Sagrada Familia, which is a sprawling, unfinished church that has been under construction for over 100 years. We didn’t pay to go in, but just took a few pictures outside. This is the second time I’ve seen it, so I don’t really have any new impressions to speak of :)

Then we took the Metro over to Montjuic – another hilltop area that offers a great view of the city. To return to the waterfront, we took a funicular down the side of the mountain. We spend the afternoon and evening walking around the marina and Las Ramblas before stopping in a tapas bar for some drinks and food.

















All in all, it was great to spend the second week in Spain with my roommates! Barcelona is such a cool city – huge/metropolitan/international/festive atmosphere AND a beach! I’d love to go back when it’s warmer to spend some time on the beach!

And I'll leave you with this ... although Ronadinho didn't show up for the game, we luckily found him chilling on the street :