Sunday 27 June 2010

Barcelona WOA DO NOT TOUCH ME!

Hola! Back from Barcelona and the night is still young! But actually I am probably going to go to sleep as soon as I can tonight because I am tiiiired!
Barcelona was SO fun, but also SO unsatisfying because there is just SO much to see and we did not have time to see it or do it all. I have decided, (Mother and Father, and anyone else who wants to come) that the next big family vacation should be to Barcelona. It is just such a fun place with some of the coolest things that I have ever seen (Gaudi stuff especially) But a day and a half was not enough... it would be like going to Paris and only having a day and a half... how could you choose what to see??? At least a day and half was better than none!!
SO we left Kaja's house around 2 ish on Friday. It was exactly the time when everyone in Spain goes to get lunch so the metro was PACKED and it was probably the most miserable environment I have ever had to suffer through. It was hot and stuffy, the air was wet and thick, there were people pressed up against us and they smelled. Meanwhile I was carrying my bags and hoping that no one was trying to pick pocket me! Ickkky. Kaja and I were basically crying by the time that we got out of the metro and sweat was pouring down my face... eww.
When we got to Puerta De Atocha (The train station) we first got our train tickets figured out. We both had bought Eurail passes, which is something you buy in America. I got a 6 day pass, which means that for a lump sum I get 6 days of travel on trains. The biggest problem with the Eurail is that you have to physically go to the train station and get your ticket at the station... to reserve costs extra money, but even to reserve you have to go to the station, not online or on the phone. This was nerve wracking because literally we had already booked a hostel but didn't have a guarantee that we would find a spot on a train to Barcelona! Luckily a train leaves for Barcelona about every hour so we had no trouble getting there!!
The train was also SO nice. Really comfy seats and some strange movie playing with Richard Gere and lots of dogs... didn't really follow it. Kaja and I got some lunch on the train that was pretty gross and then fell asleep for the rest of the ride!
The high speed train got us to Barcelona in about 2.5 hours, which is soo fast!
We unfortunately hadn't planned out how to get to the hostel from the train station, (rookie mistake) but after two metro trips and a phone call to the Hostel itself, we got there!
We were staying at the Yellow Nest Hostel and out of the three Hostel's I have stayed in thus far, this one was the best!! It was social and friendly, with a huge kitchen with lots of cooking supplies, a big room with couches, tvs, music, a terrace on the roof and the most comfy beds ever! Kaja and I checked into our room (we were staying in a 10 person all female room, which was really nice but unfortunately the door didnt lock unless you pushed it really hard, so our stuff was basically not protected) and then walked to a supermarket to get food for dinner. I got some tortellini and Kaja got a rice dish, and we got some vegetables to stir fry and, of course, some Don Simon Sangria, our favorite!
Then we went next door to a little fruit shop and got tons of fruit to eat over the weekend as well to put into our Sangria and it was SO cheap! Great buy!
We took our food back to the Hostel and cooked it up and ate on the terrace! The food was yummy and the Sangria was fantastic, with so much fruit cut up and put into it that it was closer to a fruit salad than Sangria. Yummy.
After a bit of eating a guy who worked at the hostel kicked us out of the Terrace because they close it every night so we went down to the big common room to finish up the meal. They had a big library of books to read, so I pulled out a book of Spanish poetry and opened it to a random page and started reading to Kaja and the subject of the poem could not have been more applicable to Kaja and my experience traveling in Spain. I wrote down the line that spoke to us so much:
"Vamos a la calle sin destino; Voy, Vas."
It means, "We go to the street without a destination; I go, you go." It is so perfect! It was also fun reading some Spanish Poetry and actually understanding the poems! I might like it better than english poetry...
Then we went to bed, or more appropriately, went into a COMA for the next ten hours! That bed was so comfortable that I did not even stir until the next morning! I love sleeping like that!
In the morning we ate some breakfast foods that we had bought the previous evening and then set off to see as much of Barcelona as we could!!
By the way, I LOVE getting suggestions of things to do from everyone so far they have all been GREAT!
First we went to La Familia Sagrada. As per recommendation of Gma Frona, we decided to get an Audio Guide, and it was a really good decision! La Familia Sagrada, for those who do not know, is basically Gaudi's final and biggest and best masterpiece, ever. It is so grand, amazing, and epic, that they are still building it, as per his instructions, and it isnt due to be finished for about 30 more years! It is a huge temple, for Jesus obviously, and even if you are not religious it is impossible not to feel some kind of holy presence in that temple. It is so strange, huge, and different form anything I have ever seen... just wow. The inside is huge and there are the most amazing beautiful stained glass windows you have ever seen. Gaudi is a genius. It is a personal goal to return to see it once it is completed, when I am like 50. I think it will be spectacular! I also find it so cool that I witnessed the making of something so huge, who's creation literally took centuries. I've always wondered what it was like to watch something like Notre Dam being created over hundreds of years, and now I know! The Audio guide was especially helpful because I would have never known about so many of the intricate details that Gaudi included. Literally every single thing about that temple was put there for a reason, to symbolize something, to tell some kind of a story, everything from the giant yet unique Jesus on a cross that was in the front to the number pillars in a certain area to the slants of the columns that turn the cathedral into a Forrest! AMAZING!
Next, because we hadn't quite gotten enough Gaudi, we went to the Parc Guell which was also designed by my new favorite artist! This park was, as the temple, incredible! It's hard to describe, but it is just a huge park with really cool paths, plants, and statues. It also has really great musicians playing every hundred meters or so and we even saw a Belly Dancer in one corner of the Park! We must have spent about 2 hours walking through the whole park... I didn't want to miss anything! Just amazing!! In the center there is this huge flat plaza, but if you continue and go under it, it is all supported by row after row of thick beautiful Pillars! it was just amazing to look at!
Next we decided to head to La Rambla, a famous touristy place for shopping and walking down. We got out of the metro a little before La Rambla so we could see two more Gaudi designed buildings. First there was Casa Mila, or La Padrera and then we walked by Casa Batllo. Both of them seemed SO cool, but each one was about 20 Euros to go into!! It was so expensive, but actually looking back, I wish we had gone in... even though we didn't have much time... They seem like they were so cool and I think it would have been worth the money. SO on our family vacation, we have to see the insides, from the pictures, they look UNREAL! That is what I love about Gaudi... everything is just so strange and different from anything you have ever seen. Everything! Even the window frames and the light fixtures are art that is completely unique and cool! ahh! Gaudi obsession!
Annnnyways I tearfully bid the Gaudi buildings goodbye and we went to La Rambla! Here is the thing about La Rambla... it is definitely a must for Barcelona, but it is also really really icky if you are a young female. Kaja and I luckily read up online about how to deal with La Rambla, but we still got accosted a bit. First of all, you must avoid all eye contact with the men, if they even catch your eye for a second they think you are flirting and bother you and call after you until you are out of earshot. Secondly, the pickpocketing is CRAZY so Kaja and I were very very careful about not letting our attention waiver from our bags in our arms for even a minute! Sketchy men aside, it was a cool place! There are so many people dressed in costumes on the sides of the roads who want money, they are really icky but its amusing to see them all. There are also artists, similar to the artisty place we went to in Paris, and vendors on the sides of the roads selling turtles, fish, birds, and more! The most annoying thing were every 10 meters or so there was another man trying to sell these little whistle things that you speak through and you sound like you have a high silly voice. This means that everywhere you walk they were these men yelling in those ear-piercing voices... ugg. We also stopped in La Boqueria, which Gma Frona also recommended, which is a huge huge huge market with all kinds of food. We walked around it for a bit, because it is certainly a site to see, but after passing several shops selling what looked like dead dogs for eating, we decided to leave! AH!
We walked down La Rambla and then across a boardwalk to a big mall in the middle of the Mediterranean called Maremagnum! We ate some delicious Tapas and, of course, Sangria, by the ocean at this little restaurant. It was really fun because there were these two men waiters that were being so friendly and silly with us, pretending they were in love with us, and saying that we were breaking their hearts when we left. They gave us a rose, it was cute.
Then we left and did some shopping!! I got a really cute dress at a great European store, Mango, and I also got some foot cream because my feet are grooooss.
Then we went got some ben and Jerry's ice cream and walked back up La Rambla.
We thought La Rambla was sketchy in the day, but it didn't even COMPARE to the sketch level at night! There were all the creepy people but now they were drunk so they were even more aggressive and icky! And the men who in the day had been selling the tweety whistles were now selling these things that glowed and shot up into the sky, so as you walked there were glow stick things falling all around you... actually a cool sight. There were also all kinds of cool activities going on that we wanted to watch. There were all these artists who make amazing space pictures using spray paint and a break dancing crew dancing in the streets! But when we were watching the break dancers this one guy was getting really close to Kaja and freaking her out so we had to leave, and that kind of thing kept happening! Ah! The absolute worst was when we were getting ready to get onto the metro... Kaja was digging in my bag to pull out her metro map or something and neither of us were very aware of what was happening in our surroundings. Suddenly I felt an arm snake around my waist and seeing Kaja's arms in front of me I freaked out and jumped back. A gross gross guy with a couple beers in his hands was the culprit and he was going to say something but I literally YELLED like they taught us in a self-defense seminar in 5th grade, "WOA! DO NOT TOUCH ME." Kaja thought my reaction was hilarious and started laughing and then we ran into the metro laughing the whole thing off so it was ok! We went back to the hostel and my legs were completely dead from walking ALL day long and Kaja was feeling pretty sick (I half think she got my Mono, uh oh!). We got back just in time to watch the US lose its soccer game... All the Americans at the hostel were really bummed and all the non-American's started cheering when we lost... awkward! Pretty soon after we just went to sleep, which was once again, glorious!
In the morning after some food, we went on the metro to the Gothic quarter of Barcelona. We did some roaming around and shopping as we made our way to the Church Santa Maria del mar. It was on this walk that the absolute grossest thing happened. We were looking into a shop window when I became vaguely aware that there was this old man behind us, a few feet back. He started coming closer and suddenly Kaja was like, "Julia lets go" in a panicky voice. I didn't think anything of it because we always have this reaction when we feel icky about a sketch Euro man, so I followed her but then she started freaking out even more as he started following us and we ducked into a nearby shop. Once inside, I was like, "was that man freaking you out?" Turns out, what I didn't see is that he has his PENIS hanging out of his PANTS!! WHAAT??? WHY??? EWWWW??!! Then Kaja and I had about a 10 minutes of just freaking out about how incredibly icky that was. I mean... really????
Anyways, after we eventually got over the total ickyness of that man, we shopped and I got some pretty earrings! yay! We also walked by the Picasso Museum, but didn't go inside. The Church Santa Maria was really cool, we sat and observed Mass for a few minutes. It was very different from many of the other churches we had seen because this one was much simpler... just a huge open space with columns and stone. It wasn't as crazy decorated as some of the other ones and I liked that it was just about the building and not about how many Jesus's we can fit on the wall and how many Gold things we can cover everything in!
After the church we just did a bit more wandering and went into all kinds of cool shops! It was a really relaxing day. We made our way back to la Rambla and found the Sandwhich shop that Gma Frona suggested, Cafe Viena! It was a great lunch spot, right in our budget (very small) and I got hot baguette with bacon, cheese, and onion (perfect for me!) and Kaja got a strange vegetarian wrap thing that looked strange to me but which she liked! Then it was about time to head to the train station so off we went back to Madrid!
Quick side note: the only bummer about the trip was that at no point did we get to do any beach! We really didn't have time because of all the things we wanted to see, but we didn't even manage to touch the Mediterranean, which KILLS me! Next time!!
I got home pretty early, around 8:30 PM. No one was home which was relaxing, so I got a head start on my Blog post for this weekend!
I miss everyone and thank you so much for all the suggestions and emails! I love them! I also hope everyone is ready for our HUGE family trip to Barcelona! You all have to bring me anyways if you go to Barcelona because my Spanish Skills are really good so I can tell all the creepy Spanish men to go away!
Also as far as next weekend, it is Rafa Sr's Birthday Party weekend, so Kaja and I have to stay and babysit our kids on Saturday night. That means that our plan is to check out the Madrid night scene on Friday night, go to the Mercadillo on Saturday morning, babysit Sat night, go to Segovia Sunday Morning, then watch a BULL FIGHT on Sunday night! Big weekend! Should be fun! Then the tentative plan for the rest of the summer is
-07/09/10 weekend in either Santiago with families or Pamplona for the Running of the bulls
-07/16/10 Grenada
-07/23/10 Lisboa, Portugal
-07/31/10 NEWTON!!!
I am really excited and MY how the time has flown by!!
xoxo Julia

4 comments:

  1. Another awesome post Julia! Every experience sounds thrilling. Good job yelling at the sketchy guys. No one's going to mess with you! I love you! XOXO Mom

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  2. Wow, Julia. What a weekend! Even the sketchy (what exactly does that mean?!) guys sound like an unforgettable experience. I've never been to Barcelona, so let's go soon! I love you. G'ma Carol

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  3. Penises can be scary!

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  4. Who are you anonymous person?

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