Museums, Beaches, and (In)appropriately Named Drinks in Barcelona

I toured with the group today. Our first stop was at the surprisingly uninspiring Picasso museum. I'm not sure what it was about his work, but I found myself completely lacking any sense of awe in its presence.

At our next stop, we crashed a wedding in the Sta Maria del Mar church. It was a strange occurrence. A small area near the altar was roped off, but the church remained open for us tourists to ogle and snap pictures. I suppose that sort of thing is common in Barcelona.

We had lunch at Bubo. It is a casual little restaurant with outdoor seating across from the main entrance of the church. I ordered the 4 cheese pizza. It was pretty bad... but that's what you get for ordering an Italian dish in Spain. Haha, so I can't complain. The rolls were very good, though. Especially dipped in EVOO and balsamic vinegar. I'll have to make rolls with EVOO/balsamic dressing at home.

The final stop for the group was the Miro Museum. Finally, a museum that impresses. Miro's work is a fantastic use of bold, (mostly) primary colors and sharp lines. I found his pieces to be quite awesome. You should definitely check it out if you ever happen to be in Barcelona.

After the final museum of the day, the group split up and we went our separate ways. I decided to join a couple of the students for a trip to the beach. As it was kind of chilly and I didn't have my bathing suit, I chose to sit in the sand with our things as the 2 boys went wave riding in the Mediterranean. Hopefully they enjoyed themselves, I thought it was pretty fun... and Ed's "sand art" was pretty amazing. :) Before we left, I walked into the water, about calf high, to have my picture taken in the Mediterranean Sea. By the way, the water was quite cold!

Once we were finished with our outing to the beach, we returned to the boys' hostel and I waited until they were ready to go to dinner. We ate at a nice little pub down a side street near the cathedral. I shared a seafood paella with Shane and the other 2 had pizzas. I ordered a beer with my dinner and can honestly say it wasn't bad. Especially considering that I tend to dislike the majority of beers with which I come into contact.

Following dinner, we stopped at another bar, had a shot called "ABC" (Absinthe, Bacardi, and a citrus liquor that started with a C). It wasn't bad, definitely wasn't fantastic... and we saw no "green fairies" this time around, but it was fun to try. Afterwards, the boys dropped me off at the apartment. I waited for the return of my family and Lori with a few drinks in the plaza nearby as the boys returned to their hostel to parttake in far cheaper drinks than those available along the streets of Barcelona.

By far, the tastiest, most interesting drink I have had thus far in my travels abroad was enjoyed at an interesting little place called Santamonica. The drink was (in)appropriately named "Porn Star Boost". Inappropriate for obvious reasons, appropriate for the garnish they used... a garnish I didn't realize would be involved until the waiter reached my table. Haha, it sure was hillarious."Porn Star Boost"... see what I mean?

"I don't talk to strangers..."

True to my travelling form, I went exploring on my own today. I couldn't really tell you exactly where I went for most of the day, but I enjoyed the freedom of being on my own and came across some interesting things.

I wandered through the streets and alleys of Barcelona, stopping in at a few shops, picked up a shirt and sunglasses. By lunch time, I got a bit tired of wandering around aimlessly, so I stopped at a nice little tapas place. They were out of one of my choices and gave me the wrong thing for another choice. However, the food I did get was pretty good. A lovely lunch complete with crab salad on a toasted bagguette, skewered barbecue flavored pork, and skewer of shrimp, mushrooms, and bacon. I finished the meal with a cup of coffee and looked at my map.

Making my way around the city, I decided to treat myself to a bus tour. I purchased a ticket from a rather strangely grafitti'd booth and hopped on the bus for the green line. It was a nice way to get off the street and see a large part of Barcelona. I would definitely recommend taking a bus tour of the city on the first day. It allows for a brief overview of everything there is to see and lets you know where everything is.

The bus had started at a park filled with statues, once the ride had come full circle, I decided to check them out. It was a lovely experience until a rather creepy man started talking to me by the fountain. Strangely, at the exact moment he started talking to me, the vast collection of tourists swarming the park suddenly vanished. Leaving little time for mistakes, I executed my escape perfectly. I simply asked him if he had the time. He told me the time, I said I had run to meet my group for dinner (or else I'd be late, of course), and left.

Of course, I didn't have to meet anyone for another hour and a half, so I made my way to the open market with all the delicious fruit. There, I came across a few of the students, so I just hung out with them until it was time to go to dinner.

We all ate dinner at a trendy restaurant near our apartment called Tasty. I ordered the seafood spaghetti dish and it was delicious! There was the perfect amount of garlic and everything was cooked perfectly. I guess it's time to add mussels to my list of tasty things to eat!








After dinner, a few of the students and I wandered around and came across a cute little sports bar by the water. The bar is called Nit Borbo. I ordered a Bellini and watched the futbol game. It was a good time.

Vamanos a Barcelona!

We had another early departure from the hotel in Narbon this morning, leaving shortly after 8:00. Along the way, we drove past an impressive part of the Pyrenees Mountains. They are huge!

We passed over the France/Spain border hassle free and made our way to Barcelona. Arriving at the garage, we got our bags and headed to the streets to find our apartment. It was a bit difficult to find the street, but eventually we met the landlord's assistant and went to the flat.

The apartment is rather simple, nothing fancy. Definitely fancier than the 8 person room in which the students and John spent their nights, though. I almost feel guilty... almost.

After getting relatively settled in, I went with Lori to Parc Guell. We took the metro and walked up a pretty large hill to make it to the park. It is definitely worth the walk, though. The view is fantastic and the artwork, by Gaudi, is spectacular. It is a tiled masterpiece.


The view from the large balcony (?) area spans most of Barcelona. The two buildings in the front are also part of Gaudi's Parc Guell. I think they look like gingerbread houses and find them to be spectacular. Actually, just about everything in Barcelona has been spectacular so far.




This evening, we at at a place I would consider to be quite the tourist trap. Crazy prices, questionable quality of food. Granted, the paella wasn't bad tasting and I was introduced to mussels (which I am surprised to say are rather tasty!), but overall, the food was not worth it. Of course, the lovely man with the red roses went around handing one to each of us at the table. Dad paid him and he moved on to his next group of suckers. I'm pretty sure that as soon as we had the flowers in our hands, we lost hope of the locals taking us seriously.

Still, the flowers were pretty and it was nice of my dad to get one for all of us (although he didn't have much of a choice since the guy pushed them at us). So, thanks for the roses, Dad!


On our way back to the apartment, I came across a fabulous little market. Browsing through the fruit section, I came across these delicious little gems. They are incredibly sweet and fantastic! Hopefully I can find them back home some time. Otherwise, I'll have to make Barcelona an anual trip! Definitely give them a try if you ever come across them and let me know what you think!