The trip to Spain was our first on an overnight sleeper train. Crammed into each compartment were 6 tiny bunks lining the walls, each with its own wee pillow and night light. Eventually, we stopped walking around the train in search of the invisible dining car, playing cards, and eating from our large junk food stash to settle down and get some sleep.
After arriving at the station, we found our hostel (a much cleaner place than Jaeger's), and found lunch at a local restaurant, A Taula. Later, we walked over to the beach. On the way, we saw a giant statue of Colombus pointing at what I'd imagine would be America, and we admired the marina full of exquisitely expensive boats.
We had to take a moment to get over the initial shock of realizing the beach was top-optional, but we lived. I was too thrilled to touch (and jump into) the Mediterranean Sea for the first, and hopefully not last, time. The water was a beautiful clear greenish-blue, and it felt crisp and refreshing after all that walking. That's 3 major bodies of water now on my list.
We ate dinner at a restaurant right off the beach, and it wouldn't have been right if I hadn't ordered that delicious pina colada. ;)
Sunday started with a tour of the huge futbol stadium, Camp Nou. Afterwards we hopped on the Metro to check out Gulle Park, an awesome place at the pinnacle of Barcelona filled with Gaudi architecture, decent street musicians, and the best view of the entire city. We climbed to the top of a winding tower made of stone and looked across rows and miles of houses and buildings all the way down to the Sea. I haven't ever seen anything like it before, and I don't think I will again. The rest of the park was full of fun little details until we got to the giant outdoor, stone, mosaic-covered hall and balcony. It was like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.
We hopped back onto the Metro and went all the way to Las Ramblas, a big long road with all kinds of shops, and then we found the Picasso Museum. It contained a broad collection of works throughout all his periods, but we have yet to see his most famous stuff. A guy in our group figures we might find some in the Louvre on our upcoming Paris trip.
We had just enough time to make it all the way across town to see a bull fight. There were tons of (what appeared to be mainly English-speaking) protesters across the street from the stadium. Apparently, they were the culprits who stained the front of it with tons of red paint bombs. After the "show" I could see where they're coming from, but I could also see the beauty in the old tradition. The crux of the matter is where one draws the torture line. What I recommend is go see one for yourself before you pick a side.
We had an early day ahead of us--we had to be up at 5 to catch the beginning of our 18-hour return journey--but I think it was totally worth it. And while most people would probably disagree with me, I think the time spent on the train was just as important as the rest of the trip. We made up some pretty good Mad-Libs towards the end that'll remain classified ideally until we're all dead and buried. ;)
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This is all wonderful!! Pictures are great and the girl in the pics is pretty great, too! =)
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