Barcelona con mi hermana

Friday June 13th

4:30am: Sophia and I wake up. We have already packed a single small backpack. We throw on our clothes and pack the last of our things.

5:30am: We head out to the street to meet our taxi driver. The night before Consuelo called the cab company for us so that we could get to the airport on time. He arrives right on time and we have a quick uneventful ride to the airport. However once we got there we found out that he started the meter when he left his base, which explains why the meter was already at 7 Euros before we even left the house. Lame. Also there is a fee because we have to go through a toll. It turned out to be an expensive half hour drive!

6:30am: Getting through security was a breeze and we wander around the airport looking for coffee. The shops were just starting to open. We finally found one. I got OJ and a tortla and Sophia got cafe con leche and a napalitano. We take our time and chat while we enjoy our breakfasts. As seven rolls around we start walking to the gate. When we get there we find out they are already on the Final Boarding Call. Phew! Good thing we didn't miss it. That would have sucked.

7:15am: We are off! I brought "My Sister's Keeper" and read it on the plane. Allison told me I had to read it and I must say I wasn't disappointed. After a short nap and a short flight we landed in Barcelona.

8:30am: I was sort of surprised that we didn't have to show our passports to anyone, but why would we? We didn't leave Spain. It just seemed strange to be flying in a foriegn country and not have to show a passport. Since we didn't check in any luggage when we got off the plane we walked directly to the train station. Sophia showed off her MC Hammer dance moves as we went.

9:00am: We are on the train and waiting for it to take off. The thing is packed! It eventually gets moving... slowly. And before too long a voice says something over the intercom that causes everyone to groan. At the first stop everyone on the train gets off. Sophia and I (and another confused non-Spanish speaker) get off too. As the train heads back in the direction from which we just came we decide we ought to follow the masses to the next train. We get on another train and wait patiently for our stop. I was super surprised when we arrived at the our stop because I had been thinking we would have to take the subway and had been looking for our subway stop. But the subway wasn't needed. So here we were right where we needed to be.

10:00am: When we arrived at street level the city was wide awake. It is hard to tell the energy of a city from its underground system, but as soon as we could see the light of day we could tell what Barcelona was about. There were cars coming and going, amazing architecture was everywhere, and people from every walk of life where out and about. We walked down a couple blocks and crossed a couple streets and did a couple U-turns before we finally arrived at our hostel. I walked up to the counter and when it was my turn said, "I'm checking in." The young guy behind the counter responded with, "No you're not." Apparently, check in isn't until 11am. So we stashed our backpack in the luggage room and I grabbed some cereal from the free breakfast that was still going on. Then we took off to wander the city. We found Plaza Cataluña right off the bat. It is one of the major centers of the city. We wandered through the neighborhoods and stumbled across some neat places. We found the Arc de Triumph (which apparently isn't just in Paris) and the Mediterranean Sea.

1:00pm: At one or so we were certifiably exhausted. We made our way back to the hostel and proceeded to wait for what seemed like forever. A bridal party from Italy, presumably in town for a bachelorette party, was ahead of us in line and since only one computer was running we had to wait for all eight ladies to show their passports and sign in. When we finally got to check in the guy at the counter was nice. We paid, signed in, and headed upstairs to get our backpack and find our room. Finding our room was easy enough, it was the one closest to the cafeteria/common room. We made our beds and prepared for a little siesta. As we unwound we became curious about our roommates. There were two towels hanging on two of the bunk beds and being the mighty detective that she is, Sophia was able to determine that our bunkmates were in fact female. This determination was based solely on the smell of the towels mind you. We relaxed in our rooms for a couple hours. I read, napped and showered. Sophia showered, read, and napped.

5:00pm: I actually don’t know what time we got up and out the door again. But I’m going to guess it was around 5pm. We headed back down to Plaza Cataluña and into the area known as Barri Gotic.

8:00pm: Armed with information copied down from our Frommer’s guide we wandered the streets some more and eventually found Taller de Tapas. We enjoyed a nice tapas dinner… chorizo, sautéed mushrooms, patatas bravas, bread with tomato, and croquets. It was all very tastey. My favorites are the patatas bravas (potatoes with a spicy sauce) and the croquets. Next we headed off to see the city at night. However we didn’t see much.

11:00pm: After wandering around so much and not really knowing where else to go we went back to the hostel and to bed. I’ve decided that I’m really not that interested in the club scene, which I’m sure was a disappointment to Sophia. We were the first to arrive back at our room and were already in bed when two young (21ish) Canadian girls (just like Sophia detected) and two young (27ish) Argentinean guys made their ways back to the room later in the evening. I read for a while then turned out my light. After all, tomorrow was going to be another busy day full of wandering and food.

Saturday June 14th

8:00am: I wake up several times to the sounds of our roommates packing and leaving. I finally decide that more sleep just isn’t going to happen for me around 8am. I turn on the light near my bed and read some more of my book. I only have about a quarter of the book left at this point and it’s good.

9:00am: It’s time for Sophia and I to start moving. We are supposed to be checked out of the hostel at 10am, the same time that breakfast stops being served. We load up our bag (and acquired shopping bags) then head to breakfast. Even though our room is the closest to the cafeteria we couldn’t really hear all the people in there eating. There had to have been at least 25 people in there enjoying cereal, fruit, toast, juice, milk, coffee, and tea.

10:00am: Finished with breakfast and with our bags securely placed in the Luggage Room we head out to explore more of Barcelona for the day. We find a Starbucks so Sophia can have coffee (can you believe it’s the only shop we could find that offered soy milk?). While she drinks we plan our route for the day. Route is a term I use very loosely. We basically wandered… a lot. We wandered up and down La Rambla, to the beach, to the zoo, through a park, and past the Cathedral.

2:30pm: After our stroll along the beach we headed back to the fresh farmers’/seafood/meat market near La Rambla. There we bought some fresh fruit, an assortment of olives and nuts, and fuet. Then we found a quiet street and ate our own little picnic.

3:30pm: After our picnic we wandered some more. Barcelona is a great city for wandering, let me tell you. Neither Sophia nor I were particularly interested in going into any of the museums or churches or any of those typical tourist type things. But in the end we did go into both a church and museum. After I had stopped for a gofre (waffle) with ice cream (pretty much my favorite Spanish desert/treat) we sat and ate it in front of Saint Mary’s church. After we (I) finished we stepped inside to see how it looked. Unbeknownst to us a wedding ceremony was in progress. We stood in the back with other passersby for several minutes than continued on our wandering. Next we found the Picasso Museum. It was very neat. I don’t think any of the pieces in the collection had been in the exhibit I went to several months ago at the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid. I really liked seeing more of his work. There was also a great exhibit featuring artist’s interpretations of the famous Velasquez painting “Las Meninas”. I liked it a lot.

7:00pm: After the museums we found a government convoy that led to a plaza where a protest was going on. There were a small group of people with signs and just as many police officers. Sophia and I thought it was wise to keep moving. We found some souvenirs and then found dinner at a little sandwich shop. Bocadillos for the win.

8:30pm: We made our way back to the hostel and walked the streets of Barcelona one last time. The weather cooperated with us the whole weekend. It was over cast and warm, but not rainy. The people had been friendly and diverse (tons of travelers). When we got back to the hostel we got our bags and relaxed in the common room until it was time for us to head to the train station. We weren’t able to relax much though. The Eurocup football (aka soccer) matches were being played and a large group of Spanish fans, dressed as toreros and a toro, sang, yelled, and drank pretty much the whole time we were in there. I was surprised by their enthusiasm considering I haven’t found a single Spaniard yet who thinks Spain will get passed the next round.

9:15pm: Sophia and I left the hostel and rode the short ride on the metro (aka subway) to the train station. We got to the station about 45min early so instead of waiting around twiddling our thumbs we decided to head to a nearby bar for some calamari and beers.

10:20pm: When we got back to the train station we were running. Our train was supposed to leave in only a couple minutes! When we got to the platform indicated on the screen the train that was there was a local train and was not what we wanted. I became anxious and ran back up the escalator and asked an employee where we needed to be. Apparently, had accidentally by-passed security and check in. Oops. We found the right platform and our train, but were unable to find our seats. There was no 115 or 116 on that train so we sat down in two empty seats and hoped for the best. The conductor wasn’t bothered a bit when he came by so we stayed where we were, in the car closest to the dining car.

10:30pm-7:30am: We “enjoyed” a long, loud, pretty uncomfortable train ride back to Madrid. The dining car quieted down around 3am but I still woke up every hour or so as various limbs fell asleep. Our seat didn’t recline and the arm rest wouldn’t budge so we were pretty limited in our positioning. We were able to sleep a bit, but were ready for more when we finally rolled into Madrid.

Sunday June 15th

7:30am: We got into Madrid on time and found a train to Tres Cantos that would arrive in 15min. We waited quietly in the station and rode quietly to Tres Cantos. We were both really tired.

8:15am: When we got off the train in Tres Cantos it was a short three block walk to the bus stop that would take us to my house. On the way we found a coffee shop that was open. We decided to stop in for juice and churros. Churros and chocolate are a famous Madrid morning treat, particularly after a long night out at the clubs. We skipped the chocolate and had OJ instead and I’m sure this confused everyone in the little shop because it’s a pretty strange combination. The churros we got were small and crisp. They looked nothing like the thick doughy things everyone else in the shop were eating. Not wanting to deal with the language barrier in our tired state we ate our little puny churros, drank our fresh squeezed juice, then went to the bus stop.

9:00am: We got home and slept. We slept well into the afternoon and it felt good… really good. When I woke up I finished my book, with a “what?!” ending, took a shower, had brunch (aka breakfast at 2pm), and relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. The family had gone to a friend’s birthday celebration so we had the house all to ourselves.

5:00pm: Finally, we decided it was time to get moving for the day. We got dressed and ready and headed to Madrid to do some more wandering. As if we hadn’t wandered enough this weekend!!

7:00pm: We met my friend Jenny in Sol. I bought some summer sandals, we watched a mime entertain a really large crowd in a crowded intersection before getting stopped by the cops. He was by far the funniest street performer I’ve seen to date. Then we went to the Palace and the Palace garden. It was sunny and warm.

9:00pm: Sophia, Jenny, and I had little sandwiches for dinner and Sophia got to try her first Spanish sangria. I think she liked it, though there wasn’t anything too exciting about it. Jenny headed off to find an internet café and Sophia and I headed toward the bus station for our ride back to Tres Cantos.

11:00pm: Back home and back in bed our long weekend finally came to an end. It was only three days but I felt like we covered a lot of ground. We had a great time with each other and I am really glad I got to see Barcelona. I know there is much more of it to see and some day I’ll make it back to see where else I can wander to.

All in all, it was a great trip.