5.26.08 (Monday) _ Barcelona

View from part way up the street on our way up to Park Guell
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Monday, May 26^th

Forecast: 75F high/ 63F low – Chance of rain 20%

For the first time all weekend, we awoke to no rain! We checked out of our hotel around 9:15am and decided to head toward Park Guell where we would eat our breakfast. To get to the park we took the metro from the Placa de Catalunya to the metro stop Vallcarca. From the Vallcarca metro stop we followed the signs to the park. Going in this way took us up a high hill that rotated from escalators to stairs that we had to climb to get to the top. But once we were at the top we had another spectacular view of Barcelona. We sat on a railing on a pathway that would lead down toward the Gaudi sculptures. While we were sitting we ate our breakfast: cereal, crackers, and raisins. A man approached us and asked if we knew Spanish. We said not really. Then he said, “a little”? Jon said, just a little bit. So, the man asked Jon if he knew what was up the path and down the path from where we sat. Jon responded very well in Spanish that above was a view of Barcelona from high up and below were the Gaudi sculptures. The man said thank you and then asked where we were from and we said the U.S. and he said he was from Mexico. Then he made a motion that showed the U.S. and Mexico are not getting along very well. We felt sorry to have to hear that from him because we know it to be true.

Cactus
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After our breakfast, we headed up to the top of the hill to see the view of Barcelona. It was such a beautiful day out we could see very far away! After marveling at the sights, we headed back down the hill to the area where all the Gaudi works are displayed. Everything is so colorful and modern in appearance. On our way out of the park we saw the famous sculpture of the lizard and the two houses that are on either side of the entrance.

By this time it was almost 11, which left us about an hour to an hour and a half before we needed to leave for the airport. We walked through several gift stores near Park Guell looking for souvenirs. Jon had purchased a shot glass earlier in the weekend. After awhile Katie found a lizard figurine that she liked.

View from atop Park Guell
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Then, we were off to find the nearest metro, which was regretfully at least a 15 minute walk away! By the time we got to the metro we had another long walk ahead of us to get to the appropriate track. We then needed to walk quickly through the metro station to get on a different line in order to get to the beach! Around noon we were off the metro and on our way toward Port Olympic.

The beach was beautiful. We wished we had more time to relax in front of the water. But, we walked along the beach for a bit and put our hand in the Mediterranean Sea. On the beach, I did not find very many sea shells, but I did find gorgeous rocks scattered around!

Building on our way to Park Guell
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It was then another rush to get to the airport. Our flight was scheduled to start boarding at 2:40 and we arrived at the airport around 2! Thankfully, the security system they have set up at the airport was very well organized. They had stations where you could pick up a tray and gather up your belongings. Once everything was organized, you could take your bag(s) and tray to the security scanner. Once thru the scanner, there were more stations that you could take your tray to in order to put everything away again. This was probably the best organization of a security checkpoint that we have been through thus far.

street up to Park Guell - very steep....
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Since we got to the airport so late, we were not able to pick seats next together. Jon sat five rows ahead of me and we were both seated in the middle seat. The flight time was about 2:45. We took off late due to a delay in the previous plane arriving to Barcelona, but we still arrived back in Uppsala around 7pm (the earliest we have been back thus far).

We enjoyed our stay in Barcelona, but we feel that other places have been more our speed. Barcelona is definitely a place to go if you want to relax by the beach – but we probably would prefer the Bahamas. We know a lot of people have really enjoyed Barcelona so we don’t want to say we had a “bad” time – because we definitely didn’t. The people are nice and though we had read a lot of articles about thefts and pick-pocketing being popular here, we did not encounter any issues or problems. There is a saying that if you drink the water in Barcelona you will return to the city … since we drank the water we may end up back in Barcelona one day! : )

Gaudi house - we thought they looked like Gingerbread houses
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We want to thank Eleanor and Brandy for your information and tips – they definitely helped and provided good insight and information for our trip. We are very grateful to have had your help!