Barcelona day 2

Entry 4- my second day in Barcelona

I've now more or less established my niche here in Barcelona. There are 8 of us; 3 aussies, 1 american, 1 swede, 2 from Bermuda, and 1 Canadian. Though I got to bed much later than I'd hoped, I dragged my butt out of bed at 8:40 am to take a shower and get my day started. I met a girl from northern Ireland today at breakfast. She was really sweet and had a name I had never heard and could not pronunciate. She was here deciding whether she wanted to move here and where to. She was headed on a bike tour of the city today so we walked down to the main plaza together after breakfast so she could book her bike tour and i could catch the tour bus. Today I was joined by Lindsay only. Sophie and Presley were supposed to join us but they only came in after 6 am so that was not going to happen. So I spent from 10 am till 7 pm touring the city with Lindsay from Australia. We talked about all kinds of things- he's a newly wed to a lovely sounding girl named Lauren.

So we took a tour bus that had 3 different routes of which we could get on and off of it as we pleased. Well worth it though the audio tour which accompanied it left something to be desired. Today we started by heading to Meis Van de Rohe's Pavilion from the 1929 Barcelona International Exhibition. It was originally taken down in 1930 as it was only intended to be a temporary structure. It was rebuilt in the 80s and now is one very famous, though small building. From there we walked the grounds and garden of a museum, walked around part of the 1992 Olympic grounds and saw the Torre de Calatrava- a tall radio tower which has been artfully constructed. We then did some more walking and then a took a gondola up the hill and saw the old fort. I wish I could tell you anything about it but we weren't given any informtion. It did provide some beautiful vistas of the city and the port. The port was really interesting actually as I hadn't ever seen one while it was working. From there we headed onto the bus again and rode it around the harbourfront past several museums and monuments. We got off again by Gaudi's Casa Mila and took the tour through there which included a period decorated apartment, the attic space, a Gaudi museum and the roofscape (gaudi is known for his unusual roofscapes). From there we headed back onto the bus, this time on a different line. We ended up just riding the blue line around town and getting a tour of a different part of the city. We had planned to get off at Gaudi's park but by then we were tired, cold, hungry and just about toured out for the day. I was full on falling asleep on the bus and bobble heading the whole way back.

Last night the guys made dinner and tonight the girls made dinner. Again, it was ready when I got back. Wow did I ever luck out! I guess it helps that I've been out all day everyday sightseeing and, well they hung around all day and had a low key day. I never do expect it. Actually tonight there had been talk about us all going out for a nicer diner together but its way cheaper for all of us to cook at the hostel. Something like 12 Euro fed 8 of us a pasta dinner. Excellent!

Tomorrow I fly out to Pisa to start the Italy leg of my tour. If I can fit in the leaning tower I will stop by en route to Cinque Terre. I've given myself 2 days there which is perfect timing. Time for some natural beauty after a few days of mostly man made structures. I booked my ticket and hostel yesterday and printed my boarding pass tonight, and fly out tomorrow. After Cinque Terre I have 2 nights in Florence followed by two nights in Venice and then on to Paris. It will be a whirlwind tour no doubt but should give me a little taste of each city. Last night I met an american who'd just came back from Cinque Terre and Florence so he gave me the toal lowdown on what to see and where to stay. It was great :)

So overall a fullfilling few days here and a good start to my trip. I still can't fully believe I'm in Spain! and its only been ike 3 days! Feels like ages since I spoke to anyone I knew.

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Enjoy the Sunshine