Woke up to another cool cloudy day. I got lunch at this tiny local cafe near my hostel, and surprisingly ended up with one of the tastiest dishes I had in Spain. Just grilled chicken and white rice, but topped with this most amazing savory brown nut sauce. So delish, and pretty good for six euros!
After taking it so easy yesterday, I really wanted to make my way around the city properly today. So to knock out the Big Gun first, I metroed over to see the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral. Emerging from the station, I took a long look and the first thought that went through my head was "Lord, what a weirdo."
Barcelona sure loves Antoni Gaudi. All sarcastic quips aside, Sagrada Familia is one incredibly imposing piece of architecture, and I can only imagine how completely over-the-top it will be when they finally finish it. Also, major props to the Barcelonians for trucking on with this immense insane project. I've read that they expect to finish it maybe 2026 or 28, which means the cathedral will have been around 150 years in the making. Hey, that's about how long it took to build cathedrals in the Middle Ages!! :)
So then... I went into the Burger King right next to the church and had me a Whopper Jr. No judging. I happen to be of the opinion that a Whopper with cheese, bacon, and jalapenos is one of the best things that can ever happen to a person. And even a tiny Whopper, sans the cheese, bacon, and jalapenos, still makes for a pretty delicious snack. And while my chicken and rice dish from earlier had been amazing, it had also been kind of small.
I walked through the lovely and architecturally chaotic Eixample District, wandering but also in search of two particularly famous Gaudi buildings. Barcelona is just so... neat. Nothing makes sense here. Take Paris -- Paris is beautiful, it's gorgeous, but all the buildings kind of look the same. On purpose. Everything's white or ochre, every building has a Corinthian column somewhere. Then there's Barcelona. In Barcelona nothing matches. Building next to building next to building, with completely different colors, styles, everything. And somehow it all comes together so perfectly to create this mad colorful mosaic of a city.
After a bit, I did find both the Gaudi houses. Do you think "Gaudi" is where we got the word "gaudy" from?
One disappointing word about Barcelona. The ticket prices to get into anything here were absolutely insane. Famous things in Europe of course do tend to be jacked up so the city can make money off the tourists, but here it was noticeably worse than usual. I did not buy a ticket to get into Sagrada Familia, not because I wouldn't have loved to see the inside, but because it was something like 17 euros. To get inside this last Gaudi house, above, was over 20 euros. I can't think of any museum that I would willingly pay 20 euros to see. I don't care what the hell is inside.
Instead, I walked over to (another) contemporary art museum the CCCB. (I can't remember what that stands for and am too lazy to look it up. Sorry.) Admission five euros. Better. They had an interesting collection of mixed media contemporary art on the bottom level, and a neat photography exhibit upstairs.
... And then, I went back to the hostel and kind of took a nap. Out a bit later for another cheap quick dinner at the market, and then I finally did have that early night I'd been wanting!
During my stay in Barcelona, it had been cool and cloudy, but so far it had not actually rained on me. This changed my last day in the city, when it poured. I of course had not brought my rain gear (I am a genius after all), so ended up buying an umbrella for five euros from one of the gypsies outside Barcelona's cathedral. My umbrella I'd brought from home was kind of a piece of crap anyway.
I walked around for a while, got myself pretty lost, and eventually got myself some fish n' chips at an Irish pub. Because lawd, I have not had enough fat and carbs on this trip so far.
Saw Barcelona's Arc de Triomf (did not know they had one), and walked down through a park to see a famous Gaudi fountain.
Dodged more gypsies with fake redic "petitions" at the fountian. Those fuckers make me so damn mad. One day I'm going to just lose my temper and probably get beat down for my efforts. Or at least spit on.
For my last Barcelona Adventure, I took the metro way up north to see the Parc Guell, designed by... Antoni Gaudi!!! Barcelona really is all Gaudi, all the time. Parc was neat in a Candyland sort of way, but you know what I am going to say next. So... Many... TOURISTS!!! Of which I am one, of course yes. But jeezus people. I legit heard one Mensa Candidate say to her friends as she posed for a picture: "You know, it seems that whenever we do photos, I just always have my hair up." Die in a fire.
I decided I should at least see inside one Gaudi house while in Barcelona, so paid 5.50 to go inside the house here. It was okay but very small and probably not worth 5.50. I did get to see Gaudi's bed and Gaudi's death mask, so that was kind of cool.
I was feeling really strung out and annoyed by all the fucking tourists being retarded, so decided to take advantage of food and drink being really cheap in Spain and get myself a glass of red wine at an outdoor cafe. (Normally I would never do this at a place like this as it would be way too expensive, but that is one of the wonderful things about Spain.) Lovely man filled my glass to the tippy-top, so that made me happy. I took deep breaths and looked out at THIS, and started to chill out.
And then I got pooped on by a bird. Right on my head.
So I finished my wine, stood in line for the toilet to clean the bird shit off my head, and then went home to the hostel to wash my hair.
They had free wine and snacks at the hostel that evening, and I made friends with a cool guy named Harp, so at least Barcelona ended on an up note. But another early night for Mama, because once again I had to be up with the sun, this time at 7:30 for another Slow Boat Budget Train that would take me to Valencia.
I did love Barcelona, despite the weather, the crowds, the prices, and the disappointing Flamenco. It was wonderful to be able to finally revisit a city that had lived so long in my memory, and find it to be every bit as engaging and unique as I remembered it to be, but in none of the same ways.
I have changed quite a bit from when I was 17. It's been a ride, but overall I think I've learned more than I've forgotten. Until next time, Barcelona. I'm sure you'll have a whole new set of surprises for me.
After taking it so easy yesterday, I really wanted to make my way around the city properly today. So to knock out the Big Gun first, I metroed over to see the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral. Emerging from the station, I took a long look and the first thought that went through my head was "Lord, what a weirdo."
Barcelona sure loves Antoni Gaudi. All sarcastic quips aside, Sagrada Familia is one incredibly imposing piece of architecture, and I can only imagine how completely over-the-top it will be when they finally finish it. Also, major props to the Barcelonians for trucking on with this immense insane project. I've read that they expect to finish it maybe 2026 or 28, which means the cathedral will have been around 150 years in the making. Hey, that's about how long it took to build cathedrals in the Middle Ages!! :)
So then... I went into the Burger King right next to the church and had me a Whopper Jr. No judging. I happen to be of the opinion that a Whopper with cheese, bacon, and jalapenos is one of the best things that can ever happen to a person. And even a tiny Whopper, sans the cheese, bacon, and jalapenos, still makes for a pretty delicious snack. And while my chicken and rice dish from earlier had been amazing, it had also been kind of small.
I walked through the lovely and architecturally chaotic Eixample District, wandering but also in search of two particularly famous Gaudi buildings. Barcelona is just so... neat. Nothing makes sense here. Take Paris -- Paris is beautiful, it's gorgeous, but all the buildings kind of look the same. On purpose. Everything's white or ochre, every building has a Corinthian column somewhere. Then there's Barcelona. In Barcelona nothing matches. Building next to building next to building, with completely different colors, styles, everything. And somehow it all comes together so perfectly to create this mad colorful mosaic of a city.
After a bit, I did find both the Gaudi houses. Do you think "Gaudi" is where we got the word "gaudy" from?
 |
| Gaudi House 1 |
 |
| Gaudi House 2 |
Instead, I walked over to (another) contemporary art museum the CCCB. (I can't remember what that stands for and am too lazy to look it up. Sorry.) Admission five euros. Better. They had an interesting collection of mixed media contemporary art on the bottom level, and a neat photography exhibit upstairs.
 |
| Book phoenix |
During my stay in Barcelona, it had been cool and cloudy, but so far it had not actually rained on me. This changed my last day in the city, when it poured. I of course had not brought my rain gear (I am a genius after all), so ended up buying an umbrella for five euros from one of the gypsies outside Barcelona's cathedral. My umbrella I'd brought from home was kind of a piece of crap anyway.
 |
| Inside the cathedral |
Saw Barcelona's Arc de Triomf (did not know they had one), and walked down through a park to see a famous Gaudi fountain.
Dodged more gypsies with fake redic "petitions" at the fountian. Those fuckers make me so damn mad. One day I'm going to just lose my temper and probably get beat down for my efforts. Or at least spit on.
For my last Barcelona Adventure, I took the metro way up north to see the Parc Guell, designed by... Antoni Gaudi!!! Barcelona really is all Gaudi, all the time. Parc was neat in a Candyland sort of way, but you know what I am going to say next. So... Many... TOURISTS!!! Of which I am one, of course yes. But jeezus people. I legit heard one Mensa Candidate say to her friends as she posed for a picture: "You know, it seems that whenever we do photos, I just always have my hair up." Die in a fire.
 |
| For serious. |
 |
| Gaudi slept here. |
 |
| Death Mask |
 |
| There's zen behind that maddening crowd somewhere. |
And then I got pooped on by a bird. Right on my head.
So I finished my wine, stood in line for the toilet to clean the bird shit off my head, and then went home to the hostel to wash my hair.
They had free wine and snacks at the hostel that evening, and I made friends with a cool guy named Harp, so at least Barcelona ended on an up note. But another early night for Mama, because once again I had to be up with the sun, this time at 7:30 for another Slow Boat Budget Train that would take me to Valencia.
I did love Barcelona, despite the weather, the crowds, the prices, and the disappointing Flamenco. It was wonderful to be able to finally revisit a city that had lived so long in my memory, and find it to be every bit as engaging and unique as I remembered it to be, but in none of the same ways.
I have changed quite a bit from when I was 17. It's been a ride, but overall I think I've learned more than I've forgotten. Until next time, Barcelona. I'm sure you'll have a whole new set of surprises for me.
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