European Adventure: Spain – part 2

Posted on May 12, 2009

I’m trying to remember where I was before I was here, now. So I’ll start by the present. Currently, I’m staying at the third barcelonian hostel in a week. Ideal Hostel is a nice, friendly and modern spot. Cheap as well which is always key when you’re travelling on a very small budget like I am. My first travel partner, Julie, left this morning. At this moment, she should be boarding the plane that will take her to London where she will transfer to Montreal.

Yesterday was my last day with her so we took that day to visit the big touristic attractions that we had been avoiding since the beginning in search for something more special. So yesterday we began by visiting La Sagrada Familia, that famous church with the eight towers to which Gaudí contributed. We didn’t bother paying the fee to visit it inside, but the building itself was gorgeous, though still under heavy construction. Then we took the teleferic up to Montjuïc, which gave us a breathtaking view of the city. There was also a cute castell up there. We walked around a bit then decended back to Passeig Graciá. We saw a few of Gaudí’s buildings and visited the stores we can’t afford.

We ended the evening at my absolute favorite bar in the whole world, Candela Raval. This charming place plays great music, has a gorgeous and simple red and white decor and the locals are mellow and friendly. I’ve been impressed to find out that there’s pretty much no such thing as bad Spanish wine. It’s fantastic everywhere and super cheap. We have been taking full advantage of that since our arrival (with moderation of course).

The day before, we went to explore the beaches located North of Barcelona. We made our way to Mataró by train and then decided to turn back a few stations because the beaches appeared nicer there. The sand was thicker, and the water got really deep, really quick. The colour of it was nicer though. It was pretty much cloudy all day but we were determined to have another beach day. It was nice.

The day before that we took time to walk around the city and do some shopping. Both Julie and I were stunned at the amount of VERY unique stuff they have in Spain. Of course there’s the usual tourist shops as well as a variety of stuff we could probably buy back home, but a few stores stood out with unique displays of Spanish imagination and craftiness. Even though we didn’t buy all that much stuff, it was awesome just to see all of that stuff.

If that was the10th, well that just about brings my blog up to date. What’s next for me now? Well today my great friend Alain is arriving in the early afternoon and I’m meeting him in the middle of a star. Then, Toulouse on the 14th, then… who knows…