ell holy crap, Lana sure has kept me busy. More accurately we've kept each other busy; it's nice to have someone to motivate, and to motivate me in turn. It's been an entire week, and a busy week at that, since I've written a blog, so I'll try and be consice (yeah right). Barcelona was awesome!
Day one (Monday) - I went and picked Lana up at the airport, and we spent most of that day resting due to jetlag and other such long-haul travel concerns. Lana got a migraine and hence not much sleep that night, in what would be the first of a series of futile attempts at sleep for her, poor soul.
Day two - After spending a reasonably relaxing day at and around the hostel the day before, we decided to venture a bit further out. We walked up and down Las Ramblas, somewher
e I'd already been but was excited to head back to, and we ventured through the market there, finding everything from bright red tomatoes to endless seas of sugary candy. Lana went absolutely nuts over the stores in Barcelona, and we spent much of this day plodding through the local stores. I also ended up buying some cheap duds from the H&M downtown, which have been a nice addition to my ever filling backpack.
e I'd already been but was excited to head back to, and we ventured through the market there, finding everything from bright red tomatoes to endless seas of sugary candy. Lana went absolutely nuts over the stores in Barcelona, and we spent much of this day plodding through the local stores. I also ended up buying some cheap duds from the H&M downtown, which have been a nice addition to my ever filling backpack. After a good day's shopping and poking around, we ended up at a nice little restaurant in the ritzy ar
ea just north of Las Ramblas. We got to see the professional work of a bona fide Barcelona pickpocket there, as a suspicious looking man wandered about the place a little bit and then finally settled a couple of tables over at a table that hadn't yet been cleaned since its last use. He put his large coat over his chair for a visual shield, and with the deftness of a practised artist he was into an unfortunate German woman's purse; she was sitting right behind him with her bag slung over the back of her chair. The man stood up, put his coat on and left, but Lana, having seen something suspicious, went over and asked the woman if she still had her purse, and her wallet. He was only half
way down the stairs at this point, but a strong language barrier slowed things down, and when the German woman finally clued in and checked her belongings only to find she was missing her wallet, the thief was already long gone. He had taken care to refasten and zip her purse back up; a true professional, and I found I couldn't help but respect his skill. I don't think I'd have been in the same mood if I had been the victim, but luckily for me there was an easier mark in that particular restaurant. As a fairly seasoned traveler, aware of the dangers of the Barcelona tourist scene, I was prepared enough to have my bag tucked neatly between my legs and under my chair, but who knows what other tricks he might have used to part me from my possessions if I'd been his target? Ahh the benefits of dressing like the poor backpacker I am; if no one thinks you
have any money, they're not likely to rob you either! And it helps to keep the girls away, too!
ea just north of Las Ramblas. We got to see the professional work of a bona fide Barcelona pickpocket there, as a suspicious looking man wandered about the place a little bit and then finally settled a couple of tables over at a table that hadn't yet been cleaned since its last use. He put his large coat over his chair for a visual shield, and with the deftness of a practised artist he was into an unfortunate German woman's purse; she was sitting right behind him with her bag slung over the back of her chair. The man stood up, put his coat on and left, but Lana, having seen something suspicious, went over and asked the woman if she still had her purse, and her wallet. He was only half
way down the stairs at this point, but a strong language barrier slowed things down, and when the German woman finally clued in and checked her belongings only to find she was missing her wallet, the thief was already long gone. He had taken care to refasten and zip her purse back up; a true professional, and I found I couldn't help but respect his skill. I don't think I'd have been in the same mood if I had been the victim, but luckily for me there was an easier mark in that particular restaurant. As a fairly seasoned traveler, aware of the dangers of the Barcelona tourist scene, I was prepared enough to have my bag tucked neatly between my legs and under my chair, but who knows what other tricks he might have used to part me from my possessions if I'd been his target? Ahh the benefits of dressing like the poor backpacker I am; if no one thinks you
have any money, they're not likely to rob you either! And it helps to keep the girls away, too! We came home to find a fat 60-something Scotsman stinking up our room, who was obviously going to snore like a faltering diesel engine, and settled in for what ended up being another long night for Lana (I can sleep through damn near anything).
Day 3 - A huge day. We took the metro out to Park Guell, which was a wonderful Gaudi-designed park featuring plenty of convex and concave mosaics, sculpted lizard statues, and a gorgeous plaza which turned out to be the roof of a gigantic Romanesque hollow, supported by row upon row of pillars. We had packed a lunch for ourselves, including serrano ham and some delicious mozzarella-like cheese, and made a couple of stupendous sandwiches on our way down to the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece of design, over a hundred years in the making with no real end in sight (I've heard figures as varied as 2014 to 2060 as potential end dates). The place was spectacular, it was totally unique in a sea of samey European churches. Pictures can only really show you a little bit of the magic 
in gaudi's design, which was modern and different in style and structure, yet all the while very traditionally Christian in theme. What you can't see in the pictures is the unparalleled level of detail which has obviously gone into this structure. There are virtually no straight lines in the entire building; it is a flowing, curving monster of an edifice which is so intricate it seems to come more and more alive the longer you examine it. We decided against going inside, both due to general monument/church exhaustion and the prohibitive entrance fee; I think I'll come back when it's finished, instead :)L
ana found numerous boutique stores and marvelled at the fashion, and I suspect her backpack has doubled in weight since the beginning of her trip. How she might be able to get on a plane after both Paris and London, I do not know; she has a French shopping trip planned for later this week. I think for her it's more about seeing the fashion and the artwork that goes into the pieces than actually buying the stuff, although certainly a lot of the former has been going on too (she has at least 4 new pairs of shoes to take home to her already impressive collection). Paris, she says, will be an excersize in seeing lots and not buying much, but whenever she says that she gets this certain devious little twinkle in her eye...
ana found numerous boutique stores and marvelled at the fashion, and I suspect her backpack has doubled in weight since the beginning of her trip. How she might be able to get on a plane after both Paris and London, I do not know; she has a French shopping trip planned for later this week. I think for her it's more about seeing the fashion and the artwork that goes into the pieces than actually buying the stuff, although certainly a lot of the former has been going on too (she has at least 4 new pairs of shoes to take home to her already impressive collection). Paris, she says, will be an excersize in seeing lots and not buying much, but whenever she says that she gets this certain devious little twinkle in her eye... The fat Scotsman was still there when we got home. He still smelled like shit. He still snored like a dying horse with tourettes syndrome. Lana, unsurprisingly by this time, had a poor sleep.
Day 4 - We toured around the gothic center of town, a darkly decorated but wonderful place, and headed into the huge gothic cathedral (free of charge obviously) to take some p
ictures and admire the architecture and huge vaulted cielings. The gothic quarter was a great time, full of mysterious narrow streets and fun little shops and cafes. From there we went down near the port, into the business area of town, and joined the Spanish working class for lunch at a fun little place called La Barca de Salamanca. For 10 Euros, I got 2 glasses of red wine, some tangy gazpacho, delicious tomato and oil covered bread, canneloni in a cream sauce to start, and beef churrasco as my main course, followed by danty profiteroles and all-you-can-drink peach liqueur for dessert. Tremendous. But how does one go back to work after a lunch like that? The answer of course is that you don't - you Siesta!!!
ictures and admire the architecture and huge vaulted cielings. The gothic quarter was a great time, full of mysterious narrow streets and fun little shops and cafes. From there we went down near the port, into the business area of town, and joined the Spanish working class for lunch at a fun little place called La Barca de Salamanca. For 10 Euros, I got 2 glasses of red wine, some tangy gazpacho, delicious tomato and oil covered bread, canneloni in a cream sauce to start, and beef churrasco as my main course, followed by danty profiteroles and all-you-can-drink peach liqueur for dessert. Tremendous. But how does one go back to work after a lunch like that? The answer of course is that you don't - you Siesta!!!Having eaten enough calories to keep us running for the next two weeks, we headed out again that evening and saw the special ma
gic fountain show. We were skeptical at first (a magic fountain show? really?) and it didn't get much better when they started the show by playing Celine Dion, but the fountain was very beautiful and took on a plethora of different forms and colours, like a musically synchronized water spewing chameleon. I've scattered some pictures throughout the post.
gic fountain show. We were skeptical at first (a magic fountain show? really?) and it didn't get much better when they started the show by playing Celine Dion, but the fountain was very beautiful and took on a plethora of different forms and colours, like a musically synchronized water spewing chameleon. I've scattered some pictures throughout the post.
In a sad yet comedic turn of events, I offhandedly but correctly prophecized the arrival of another fat old man to replace the Scottish fellow. The old Scotsman, having left that morning, had been replaced by an equally old, slightly better smelling yet much stranger man, who answered questions with riddles wrapped in enigmas and continually talked about his likely imaginary best friend Alex, who never quite was around to meet us whe
n we were there... We don't even know where he was from, only that his "Mother from Italy, Father from Egypt and me speak seven language". His favourite language, unfortunately, was grunting and gesturing ambiguously, as we found out while he was trying, in a brief attempt at domesticism ("Woman good for bed, no more. That why me solo!"), to iron his clothes with the ironing board placed directly in front of the inwardly opening door. Okay t
hen. That night, sleep evaded Lana like the carrot tied to the end of the stick; invitingly close yet perpetually out of reach. She must have gotten some or she'd be dead already, but it wasn't much.
n we were there... We don't even know where he was from, only that his "Mother from Italy, Father from Egypt and me speak seven language". His favourite language, unfortunately, was grunting and gesturing ambiguously, as we found out while he was trying, in a brief attempt at domesticism ("Woman good for bed, no more. That why me solo!"), to iron his clothes with the ironing board placed directly in front of the inwardly opening door. Okay t
hen. That night, sleep evaded Lana like the carrot tied to the end of the stick; invitingly close yet perpetually out of reach. She must have gotten some or she'd be dead already, but it wasn't much.
Day 5 - We visited the last remaining sites in Barcelona; two Gaudi designed apartments in the heart of the rich, swanky part of town, shortly after we finished at the metropolitan be
ach. The buildings were beautiful and were quite obviously Gaudi; not a straight line or perpendicular corner to be found. The beach was beautiful and bustling, and we stayed just long enough to get a wee little travelers burn on before we headed back uptown. We spent most of the rest of the day around the hostel, in a local pub watching the Barcelona game, and then eventually heading to bed at a very geriatric hour so that we might actually get some sleep before our repulsively early flight to Paris. The old fat man with the imaginary friend had been replaced by a young fellow from Amsterdam who was certain we'd be leaving before he returned from the clubs, and Lana might have gotten a bit of sleep except for our early departure and the inevitable anxiety which comes from having to wake up very early to catch a flight.
ach. The buildings were beautiful and were quite obviously Gaudi; not a straight line or perpendicular corner to be found. The beach was beautiful and bustling, and we stayed just long enough to get a wee little travelers burn on before we headed back uptown. We spent most of the rest of the day around the hostel, in a local pub watching the Barcelona game, and then eventually heading to bed at a very geriatric hour so that we might actually get some sleep before our repulsively early flight to Paris. The old fat man with the imaginary friend had been replaced by a young fellow from Amsterdam who was certain we'd be leaving before he returned from the clubs, and Lana might have gotten a bit of sleep except for our early departure and the inevitable anxiety which comes from having to wake up very early to catch a flight.We're currently in our hostel in Paris, munching on fresh grape tomatoes and strawberries from the local market, typing on numerous internet ready devices while dodging the crispy remnants of the various French pastries we've eaten. We've already been quite busy in paris but I'll leave that for another post; I'm sure your eyes are as tired as my fingers are. But then, nobody is as tired as Lana.
C+L
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