Saturday dawned full of possibilities and promises. I had always wanted to visit Spain and still want to go back and see more of it. We started the day with a trip to Sagrada Familia. A massive, still incomplete church that when they started building it they expected would take 750 years to build. With advancements in building techniques they expect it to be complete in 2026, 150 years after they started. It was designed by someone with a mind similar to Dr Seuss. It towers over Barcelona. Massively intricate the detail is breathtaking. Unfortunately I didn't have time to go inside, but those who did said it was better than the outside. They had the videos to prove it.
Instead I went on a quick tour through the gothic quarter. I have decided that I quite like gothic architecture. We should build more buildings now with the care and detail that they did then. We explored the area and saw the steps where Christopher Columbus presented the rulers with the results of his voyage to discover an alternate route to India, including oranges. This was his voyage where he actually discovered America. Another interesting spot was a place where thousands of people were executed by firing squad during the Spanish civil war.
A group of us had planned to head to Camp Nou. So from the gothic quarter we took the metro across town to the stadium complex. The place is huge. Eventually we worked out how to get tickets to see inside. Making our way to the entrance I realised that my ticket was no longer where I had put it. A thorough hunt back where we had been showed no trace of it. I was too angry at losing my ticket to get another one, so I explored everywhere else that I could while the others did the tour. I tried to get into the handball stadium but with no luck. Barcelona FC Handball were playing the next day, but I couldn't get a ticket as they were all sold out. Eventually the others came back out and we went in search of food. We found a random hole in the wall cafe and I tried something that had a spanish name. It turned out to be a pile of hot chips with cut up hotdog and roast chicken on top. It was delicious. We took the metro back to the centre of town and wandered down Las Ramblas seeing alot of street performers and a statue to Christopher Columbus.
We had a special evening planned for us that night. We went to a flamenco show followed by a walk about dinner down in the port region. The flamenco show was good. Turns out flamenco isn't what I though it was. The perfomers were great and they included alot of audience participation. The free sangria and tapas helped too. From the show we went to the port and negotiated our dinner with all of the resturants trying to lure us in. Again free sangria was the clincher. The food was amazing. I had a seafood platter that included whitebait, calamari rings, baby octopi, prawns and fried peppers. Was definitely happy with that dinner. From there we proceeded to a bar that did cheaper drinks for Contiki. I had been feeling better that day, back to about 80%, so decided I could go out. Was a good night until I lost everyone. After a short search I found some people at a hookah bar and found out that the rest had gone clubbing. Instead a few of us went for a walk down the beach before heading back to the hostel and sleep.
Barcelona was great. Alot like places Paris. Big old buildings, layers of history and memories. However it was a bit more fun, relaxed and arty. It was more Spanish than Paris, so was always going to be a winner.
Sagrada Familia
Location of a delivery of oranges
Christopher Columbus
This way to Camp Nou
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