Barcelona 2015

Barcelona was exciting. I found the hostel quickly but a huge sense of remorse set in when I discovered the showers were communal and didn’t have doors, (or hooks) and smelled like backed up sewage. And I paid to rent a blanket, while the alternative choice, to turn up the heat was ‘on-the-house’. Thanks for your help HostelWorld.com, that place sure deserved its 87% rating.

I instantly forgot about my grievances when I walked along Platja del Bogatell beach that night. The stars were out; people were jogging, working out at the outdoor fitness machines, and night fishing. I looked out to where the sky and water met; where everything in between is presumed by perception. It snapped me out of the rat-race and made me appreciate the beauty in life. Later, I wandering over to La Rambla pedestrian walk; marveled over the city planning and ate underwhelming vegetable paella.

The next morning I showered without a curtain, straightened my hair and went exploring. I ended up near the Torre Agbar; a 10 year old, 38 story office building that “marks the gateway of the new technological district”. Then walked on further towards Av. Diagnola; watching retired folks play bocci ball, children playing in kindergarten yards and an abandoned lot: with barricades insisting you don’t enter, and peaks of disobediently beautiful street art through the broken fencing. It all felt like a free, living museum!

While looking for a metro station I bought sweatshop made shoes for 10 euro at another pedestrian walk near Selva de Mar station (but hey, the brand was Spanish!) I made my way to the free New Europe walking tour by Jaume I metro station. It was good; the Catalan history, theology and myths were engaging, and it was nice to loiter through those very interesting streets. I signed up for the tapas tour through the same tour guides later that evening. There I met some new friends from Australia, Korea, Belarus, France, New Zealand and Atlanta. I drank out of a ‘Purruna’ and ate tapas in a Michelin recognized restaurant. After the tour a few of us sat on the beach waiting for the nightclub to open. Here I listed off Alex’s travel tips on my Note app. It wasn’t our first choice for the evening, but we got into a nightclub. As always, the nightclub was a let down; why do these places still exist? I felt incorrectly dressed and outside of the target customer. I bought a 15 euro mojito and danced.