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"Barcelona!" It really needs to be said in the same tone as our amazing tour guide Fi - ask me to do it when I get back for the full experience!
1.5 days really isn't enough to fit the city of Barcelona in! We arrived nice and early and headed out for a whirlwind tour of the city sights to get a taste and start planning our free day the next day/ We headed up to the Olympic Stadium, Sagrada Familia, past the Picasso Museum and the Port!!! Yes I got a couple of great photos of the port to share with the team! AEH you'll love it :)
After a quick and not really satisfying bite at the hotel - I mean come on we are in Barcelona and your serving us pork/beef or fish with salad :( A group of around 20 of us headed out to check out La Rambla - the main shopping/nightlife area of Barcelona! Sangria is very different to Aus - you order a Sangria and its poured out of a massive 10L premix (in a old water bottle) with a slice of lemon, 800ml for 6 Euro! Remember the free pouring?? In La Rambla you can find your favourite cocktail, free poured for around 5.50 Euro!
TImed the cab back to the hotel perfectly getting a few hours of decent sleep before the team tackled the lines at the Gaudi Cathedral Sagrada Familia. AMAZING, SPECTACULAR - a definite on anyones list when they visit Spain!
Post the Sagrada Familia it was a quick walk around for find a Farmacia (Pharmacy) for cold and flu tables and decongestants. The great thing about big groups is that if your sick its highly likely that many people in your group have been already or are suffering at the same time - makes perfect company when your searching for a pharmacy - then we get to split up the packets and share.
After downing some tablets I took off by myself to find ZARA! Yes AEH and Jane, thought I would get some shopping in early in what I have been told is the home of Zara. What I didn't know but quickly found out during my afternoon is that Sundays in Barcelona you don't shop. Zara visit 1 failed, it was about a 10 minute walk from my hotel. I thought that this was just because it was a little more regional where we were staying.... A 30 minute trip to La Rambla in the city centre taught me otherwise with all clothing stores shut tight except for the touristy clothing stores.... Don't go to Barcelona on a Sunday if you want to shop!
Flamenco dancing was on the agenda for 9.30ish that night, Andrew, Kate, Liz, Steve, Elise and I headed out to the Gothic Quarter for Tapas. Found this fabulous little restaurant called Sinatra. The guys on the street gave us all a glass of champagne on the house to start the night then we went crazy on the tapas, cocktails and desserts. 25 Euro each got us a couple of cocktails each, a share of 14 tapas and 5 desserts!
Then it started to pour! Steve and Andrew were forced to head out of the restaurant in search of umbrellas to ensure that we made it to Flamenco still looking half decent. We staggered up there - you really need to remember the free pouring (Liz asked for a G&T and got a dash of T.....)
Flamenco was eye opening. The music was out of this world and the dancing was riveting, boy can they move! The next day it was goodbye to the tour, temporarily, and hello to Florence as I skip Nice and Switzerland to spend an extra week in Italy!
xox Steff
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