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Barcelona
What can I say about Barcelona...there is nothing I can say that would do the city justice. The food, the buildings, the women, the art, the futbol, the beaches, the parks...the people. When I say the people, I not only mean the people of Barcelona but the people from all over the world, both travelers and citizens of the city.
There is a feeling in the air that consumes you the moment you arrive and you instantly know you are in one of the great cities of the world.
My only regret is I only had three days. I have had a few friends over the years move to Barcelona after visiting and it is easy to understand why.
Although it was only three days, I did manage to see most of the main attractions and each one went beyond my expectations. In particular, Park Guell sticks out in my mind. The park has been a place of inspiration for many great artists over the years and I would say it is impossible not to be inspired by the tranquil beauty all over the park.
Choosing a highlight of my time in Barcelona is easy though...watching the FC Barcelona futbol game. I know nothing about futbol, have never watched an entire game and often mock the fans and the sport but going to a futbol game was still on my bucket list.
I was told by people my first day in Barcelona it may be impossible to get tickets so I had thought it wouldn't happen and was ecstatic when a few of my hostel mates informed me they had bought tickets only a few days before and there were quite a few left for sale.
There were some similarities between the experience of a futbol game and attending a Flames game but so many things make it an entirely different experience.
The sheer magnitude of nearly a 100,000 people in one place is surreal, the chanting in the stands, tears in the eyes of lifetime fans attending a game for the first time and the massive size of the stadium. FC Barca is one of the great teams of all time and won easily 3 nil.
Another highlight was the Sant Jordi hostel. Sant Jordi has six hostels in Barcelona and if you are going to Barcelona, I would highly recommend Sant Jordi.
This was my first time staying in a hostel and I loved it. The guys running the hostel really go out of their way to help you enjoy your stay. Every night they made Sangria and gathered everyone in the common room to have some drinks and prepare to go on the town.
We left the hostel at around 11 pm each night; hit up a pub for some more drinks then everyone would convoy to a nightclub. Its quite a site to see the convoy of 30-50 hostel guests walking the streets, jumping on the metro and arriving at the club.
When we get to the club, we skip the line and pay no cover and the clubs we went to were some of the hottest clubs in Barcelona, my last night we went to the grand opening of Club Privelege.
I have never really been a club person but I danced every night till 5 am! It's amazing the energy being with so many great people can give you.
The final amazing thing about Barcelona were the hostel guests who were all amazing people from all over the world...India, UK, Aussies, Hong Kong, Brazil, all corners of the USA, New Zealand, Ireland and of course a few Canadians. They were students, bankers, models, teachers, firemen and came from most any walk of life you can imagine. Although I was by the far the oldest amongst the party, not once did I feel old...in fact I don't remember a time when I felt younger.
LET'S GO!
- comments
sue Just finished reading through all your posts. E.N.V.I.O.U.S. So glad you are having a grand ol' time. I still haven't looked through all the photos yet...plan on doing that after posting this message. Wishing you the best of luck with the challenges of eating good food and enjoying the beautiful sights and sounds.
Leigh Well written Dean. Although I didn't go to the game everything else you have written sums up exactly the way I felt about the time I spent in Barcelona and the people that we hung out with from Sant Jordi. It was my second time in Barcelona and you can easily see why I came back. It was good to meet you and hopefully we'll cross paths on future travels. Mate, it still makes me laugh when I think of how you showed me how to sneek into the VIP party.