Actual Barcelona

check the curves on this Gaudi-inspired building! The chimneys are very elaborately built as well, they look like toadstools actually.
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Okay, today we actually went to Barcelona.

It took us one hour from Villafranca by train to get to downtown Barcelona.  We found the main street and walked along it to see the artistic works in the name of Gaudi.  He is a modernist (I believe) that used many natural things (flowers, animals, etc.) in his artwork.  Most impressive are his representations of nature in his architecture.  There were a couple of buildings that really stood out along the walk because they were curvy and colorful as opposed to the rather straight and colorless renaissance buildings next to them.  They (not sure who) were charging roughly €15/person to get into the buildings and have a look around.  The queue was long so we decided to keep on moving...there´s so much to see in the city!

walking through the bocaria market
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We stumbled upon Las Ramblas of the city and walked through to see many vendors selling all kinds of things from birds, rabbits, flowers, and food.  There were many impressive street performers dressed in old Romanic style of Greek and Spartan soldiers.  The ones that weren´t making money looked extremely bored....a cycle that feeds upon itself.

Along Las Ramblas we found the Boqaria, which is an open market for the best and freshest fruits, meats, cheeses, and juices.  I bought some chocolates from a stand and they were amazing.  My Spanish wasn´t good enough to communicate which ones I wanted so I had to reply on the point-and-nod technique.  Whatever I had was delicious!  Truffles, nuts, fudge, etc!  We saw many pig parts and even a head that was completely skinned...that was odd.  Cam was getting really sick especially when all three of us guys were saying how good the parts actually tasted.  One stand was selling the bottom jaw assembly of rabbits!  That was really weird because it wasn´t recognizable at first glance.

Palace Plaza
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At the end of Las Ramblas was the monument for Cristobal Colon (Christopher Columbus).  Many argue that he came from Catalonia but I think that it´s generally agreed that he is from Italy.  Anyway, it´s ironic because his statue points away from America...I suppose in India´s direction if you follow it far enough.  It was an impressive monument nonetheless.

We stumbled upon the pier where Cam found a bathroom and Sacha and I watched some fish eat bread being thrown off the pier.  It was relaxing and reminded me of the times when we used to feed the koi at the Valley of the Temples.  The fish would scramble over each other for the bits of food.  Some pelicans swooped down and would take the entire bread piece, ruining the fun for everyone.

Take the picture of the cool looking pier!
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Lunch was at a simple shop on the pier where we all had baguette sandwiches and I included some McDonald´s fries with my meal.  It was quick and cheap and we moved on to the aquarium.

Let´s Go said that the aquarium in Barcelona is Europe´s largest aquarium so of course we had to go!  It cost us €14/student and we were not pleased about that.  The place had a bad smell throughout the entire grounds.  We were hoping it would be just at the entrance but it really permeated the entire exhibition!  The aquarium was neat and we saw a sunfish in the largest tank they had on display.  Look up what the fish is...it´s god ugly.  The aquarium was complete with penguins, exotic and tropical fish, eels (they actually swam around rather than hanging out in the coral holes), shrimp, and videos for kids.

ahh, that´s better
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Bottom line: the aquarium was horribly disappointing for being the largest aquarium in Europe.  It was quite pathetic even compared to the one that Donna and I went to (can´t remember what that city is called) in Los Angeles...not Monterey.  It was not worth the €14 but we had fun so that´s all that mattered.

We continued out of the aquarium and got lost throughout the city.  We found some more Roman ruins that were incorporated into medival structures.  I had my ice cream of the day: dulce de leche, which was really good.

Chilling out at the pier. The tall structure is a landing point for cable lifts that run along the coast of Barcelona
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We took the tube to Sagrada Familia where a cathedral, in the stye of Gaudi, is currently being constructed and revamped.  It has been taking them so many years (I believe over 100) to do what they have done so far.  It is magnificent to look at once you get used to the cranes and scaffolds everywhere.  It´s colorful and curvy, just like the other buildings, which is odd to see on a cathedral.  They were closing down for the day so we didn´t get to climb any of the spires or see the interior, but the exterior was magnificent on its own anyway.  I´m not sure I like the colors but it´s good to see the old blending in with the new.

See! The eels actually swim. I thought this was most exciting about this aquarium...kinda sad huh.
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Finally took the train back from Barcelona to Villafranca and had a fairwell dinner at home.  We had chicory with cream sauce, potato omlette thingie, tossed salad, bread, and a seafood pie.  Desert was a blackberry pie and some cookies Sacha brought.  We had a good chat getting around language barriers again...just shooting the moon.  Sacha impressed us with some magic card tricks and so did Ramon, Pere´s brother.

We cleaned up, said goodnight and ended our day.  It´s 0100 in the morning now and I have to shower and go to sleep...good night all!