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We arrive in Barcelona late at night having still not heard back from Vanessa's friend who we had arranged to stay with. We didn't have his address, only a metro station he told us to go to. Once we got there we wandered around a bit until we found a bar with wifi to try and contact him. After a while it became apparent he wasn't going to reply, so now it was near midnight and we needed a hostel. We found one online but didn't bother booking it, thinking it would be pointless at this hour anyway. That was a mistake. When we got there we were told the last beds had just been taken. After much dicking around I'm not sure what was actually done, but we did manage to get a couple of beds. But they charged us more than was advertised. The showers were beyond s***. And the breakfast was abysmal and also not what they advertised. When we pointed to the very sign on the wall describing the breakfast they told us it was wrong. So why the f*** do they have it up?!? Anyway, the next day we couldn't get out of that place quick enough to find somewhere better. We ended up finding a brand new hostel which was cheaper, better located and far far nicer.
The next day we just basically spent walking around the old town. We visited the cathedral and walked around some of the old Roman walls. Then we visited a museum would took us under ground through some old Roman ruins with streets, houses and workshops for dying clothes, making some fish sauce and making wine. It was cool to see in the dying workshops evidence of the tubs they used and which colours those tubs contained as they were stained red and blues etc. After this we headed to the Picasso museum but the line was ridiculously long, so we didn't bother going in.
On our second full day we did one of the free walking tours. The one we chose was the Gaudi experience which takes you around to all the famous Gaudi buildings as well as a few not so famous ones and some even done by other architects who had some relation with Gaudi. The guide was a really awesome guy who really knew his stuff. But just as importantly he was funny and very entertaining. The tour of course finished at the Sagrada Familia. Gaudi's final work which he only got to see get to like 10% completion before he died. Even today it's probably only like 60% complete. But work is moving quickly. Even in the few months since I last saw it quite a bit more had been finished. It was time for lunch when it finished so we headed back into the city to a place our guide had recommended and ended up finding a Venezuelan joint which did some awesome food that we had never had before. After this we headed back to the Sagrada Familia (I know, not very efficient) to see if we could somehow get some tickets to bypass the line, but the wifi connections in the area were too slow and the ATM which apparently use to see the tickets no longer seemed to. So we went back to the hostel and booked some tickets for the next morning.
We had to get up bright and early to get to the Sagrada Familia right as it was opening as we had got tickets for the earliest time slot. Seeing the inside of the cathedral is really something else. It's like no other one in the world. Just amazing. The inside was only completed in 2009 (the outside not set to be finished by at least 2030, possibly more like 2040), and it really does look like a very modern take on and old style. It still has columns extending up into the high ceiling,but these columns or all angled and branch out several times at the top. Gaudi was going for the feeling of walking into a forest, and I think that's been achieved. The windows too are similar to what you would normally see in a cathedral while still being somewhat different and unique. Just the whole overall architecture of the place is unreal. I think we spent nearly an hour in there. We just didn't want to leave. Because once you left you couldn't get back in. We finally did have to leave though. Next stop was the science museum.
We had to catch the metro to the science museum. When we got off at the stop we couldn't see the museum and so asked around. But nobody seemed to have any clue what we were talking about let alone any clue where it was. We found a shopping mall and went there to use their wifi and get a coffee while we were at it. Turns out the museum was right next door. As we walked up the street and the museum came into view it was difficult to fathom how no one knew what we were on about. It was in an very uniquely designed building with the name of the museum written upon it in giant letters. The museum had everything from fossils, to minerals, to stuffed animals, to fungus. It was very interesting. A nice way to spend an afternoon. When we were done we decided to walk back along the beach rather than catch the metro. On the way back to the hostel we passed the Travel Bar which is where the free walking tour started. We had a coupon for a free meal for doing one of the tours, so we stopped by for some free dinner. It was pasta and not at all bad for being free.
The last thing on my list of things I didn't manage to do last time I was here was Guell Park. This is the park which was designed by Gaudi. To be completely honest the park wasn't really quite as cool I expected it to be. I mean, it was pretty cool, but we had walked around it in almost no time at all. And it didn't really exactly offer anything any more amazing than all the other Gaudi buildings we had seen around the city. I was still glad I got to see it though. This trip to Barcelona had certainly been a lot more productive than the last one.
The next morning I had to get up early to catch a plane back to Lisbon where I was to catch up with Patricia again and collect the luggage I had left with her. Unfortunately before doing this I had to do one of the worst parts of travelling. And that was to say goodbye. The last 2 months with Ness had been awesome and this was also the longest I had travelled with any other person. I think it was a little easier knowing we plan to meet back up in India, but it's still rough. Cheers Ness for the adventures.
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