Getting to Barcelona was quite a trek. It turns out everyone in Paris the weekend of the 26th wanted to go to Barcelona either the 28th or 29th. Luckily (sort of) we were able to manage two tickets on a day train from Paris to Montpellier and Montpellier to Barcelona. After 8 hours of traveling and 3 hours worth of layovers in train stations, we finally made it to Barcelona around 8:00. In most cities this would probably seem rather late, but in Barcelona this is when things are just getting started. With the Spanish siesta from 4 to 6 pm, dinner doesn’t even get started until around 8:00pm and goes until around midnight depending on what part of the city you are in.
With our hostel being on Carrer de Ferran, just a few feet from Las Ramblas (one of the major tourist areas in Barcelona) most restaurants were open until at least 11:00. After dropping our stuff off at the hostel that I had very luckily found during our layover in Montpellier, we headed out into the busy and crowded streets of Las Ramblas. We went to dinner at, oddly enough, a French restaurant called Las Qinze Nits. The funny thing is that the French food I had here, was better than the food I had in France. That may be because the cost of living (although still high in Barcelona) is lower than in Paris
The next day we went out and rented bikes, hoping that it would be a nice way to see the city. Turns out its not only a great way to se ethe city, but a great way to see the beach as well. Choosing to take the scenic route we rode along the beach as we made our way to La Sagrada Familia. I have been to Sagrada Familia before and can honestly say that I love it. The cathedral, designed by Gaudi in 1882, is still being built, and is an incredible masterpiece. It is probably on the strangest, and most modern looking churches I have ever seen. One of the spires is actually painted green and has white doves all over it. I was really excited to finally get to go inside the church, which has very little finished. The inside is covered in scaffolding and the ground is littered with work tools, stone, half finished mosaics, and workmen, still buzzing around working to put together Gaudi’s church.
After Sagrada Familia we biked our way back to the hostel. When I got to the room I decided that a walk on the beach was necessary. When we got back to the room we finally met one of our roomates, Jared, who hadn't been to the beach. The two of us went for a walk on the beach. The Mediterranean was beautiful around 6:30, not quite sunset, but the sun was in a strange enough place that it made the water look gold. When we got back from the beach we met our fourth roomate, Alistor from Melbourne Australia. After showering and changing we went downstairs with our roomates and met Jared's friends from Australia. The six of us then headed out to find food, which took a lot longer than it should because we were all chatting so much. After dinner we once again wandered around the overly crowded streets of Las Ramblas. I'm amazed at how many people were out on the street considering it was fast approaching midnight. You would never see that back home.
After dinner we were talked into going into this small little bar by a very nervous guy (who was most definitely not Spanish). The bar sucked, but it gave us a quick place to sit down and chill for a second. After more wandering (do you see the pattern) we finally settled on a club around 2:30am. Oddly enough the club was packed. I was surprised because it was 2:30am and it was a Monday night or technically a Tuesday morning. After closing down the club at 5:00am we headed back to the hostel to crash.
I cannot believe how many people were still on the streets as I walked home from the club. I drive home at midnight in San Antonio and the roads are completely empty. I walked down the street at 5:30am and was surrounded by people either going back to bed, or preparing to just stay out. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I had a really good time and was also shocked by the cultural difference that can even exist in the nightlife.
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