So, I arrived in barcelona about 9 hours later at almost 10pm with no idea of the city and no idea where to stay..I'd been given the name of one hostel which I could have caught a cab to if necessary but luckily there was a macdonalds..so I used the wifi to find a cheaper hostel not too far from the station..I lugged my bag for the next half hour and got lost, but one local rang his friend to help me and another went out of his way to show me where to go..I also didn't feel unsafe walking the streets so late, which was nice :) eventually found my hostel, which was awesome ! An actual common room, big kitchen, games room, movie room, doors that locked, personal lockers, towels included, hair dryers ad straighteners, air conditioning and a comfortable bed..finally, a proper hostel!
Woke up and decided to extend my stay here to three nights all up (which also meant I got free laundry-washed, dried and folded!)..so I just caught the metro in to the city and explored..sat near the harbour to update my blog, until an African guy sat next to me proclaiming his love for me :| so I then went to Barceloneta beach which was nice but super crowded and hot..went for a quick swim, went in to a museum that had ruins of the old city, checked out the art in the park (awesome graffiti), got some groceries and made my way back..had a cheeky nap then made dinner, and discovered free sangria in the common room!! So of course I took advantage..met a couple of nice French guys and a French Canadian, chatted for a bit and then headed out..had a disgustingly sweet mojito then hit up 'Apollo' night club..which was fun, but pretty scroungy..and openly warned that being there could damage your hearing..and you couldn't breath in the female toilets due to the film of cigarette smoke :S but anyways! Had fun dancing, danced with a wolf mask on ('twas a 'The big bad wolf' themed night apparently) then when I started to have to cover my ears because it hurt too much we went home :P at about 4.30/5am, when a couple of girls were just getting up for the day to go to the airport lol...
I slept in as much as I could and then skyped mum and dad..decided to accompany a German girl from my room, Kudsia, to Guell park, which was a showcase of the famous Goudi's bizarre architecture...situated on top of a massive hill overlooking Barcelona (thank goodness there were escalators!), the park was indeed interesting..the architecture was very unique! We couldn't get a ticket to go in to the actual park so just walked around a bit which was cool anyways..made our way back down to the city and did a little shopping before going to a travel bar..here I met a group and went for a guided historic tour which was pretty awesome..went all through the old part and gothic quarter..really interesting to hear about the civil wars in Spain and how the Catalans (original people of Barcelona) don't consider themselves Spanish and even have their own language..saw where Pablo Picasso went to art school and learnt that instead of Santa, the Catalans have an artificial log that the kids hit and it shits (yes, shits) out the Xmas presents..true! Learnt about the torture of Christians, the presentation of virgins to a dragon and about the hardships of the Catalan people.. After the tour we went back to the bar for a drink and then a couple of girls from the tour (one from nimbin, Australia, and the other from Berlin) and I went to rhe magic fountain..which was awesome! Built in front of a palace, the fountain lit up and changed movements to music..'twas very impressive :) headed back to the hostel (was just a little bit exhausted) and chatted to a nice English guy..managed to avoid being convinced to go out again and confirmed a blablacar lift for late the next day to Valencia..
Another late night, so another late start to the day..checked out, met some guys from bankstown, then headed in to the city to check out more of Gaudi's buildings, one of which was under construction but the other was very 'funky', I would say..then went to see the famous Sagrada Familia cathedral, which Gaudi began over 100 years ago but never finished before his death..so it's still in construction and isn't expected to be completed until the late 2020s..and as with all his designs, it was quite bizarre! But very unique and awesome :) I met Alex (French Canadian) at Starbucks and then ran in to Kudsia (somehow!) who was also supposed to meet us but was late..we headed to the Montjüic castle, which was very impressive and from which you could see all of Barcelona..we strolled around the gardens and I annoyingly found out that my lift wanted to pick me up from another town..so we found a cafe with wifi, had a glass of wine and then headed back but the lady phoned me and said by the time I got a train to the town it'd be too late..Grrrr! I should've gone straight back to the hostel after the castle as I might've been able to make it but not to matter..I got my bags and headed to the station and was luckily able to get a train to Valencia..which might've been worth the extra 27euros due to awesome views of the sea! The track was literally on the coast, 'twas beautiful..I'd really enjoyed Barcelona, it was so lively and there was amazing art and sculptures and history everywhere..you'd occasionally be suffocated with the stench of sewage but it'd pass pretty quick :P didn't get to see the arc de triomf but you just can't see/do everything!
