Thursday - I drug myself out of bed on thursday morning so I could get up and throw together a few last minute things before leaving the house to catch a cab with R and J to the train station. We picked up Emily on the way and we were off. We made it with time to spare. So we boarded the train we would spend the next eleven hours on. The train was comfortable enough but eleven hours is a long time and I swear the train made a stop about every half hour at least. So obnoxious. But there was plenty of spanish countryside to see and I enjoyed having the time to just sit and stare out the window and contemplate for the hundredth time the fact that I am in spain. Everything seemed to be going fine until it got to be about 6:30 maybe. Then we heard the announcement. I don't exactly what it said, it was all in spanish, but what I got out of it was that there was a train with some problems at a station that we needed to go through to get to barcelona and I think there was something about having to wait at the station we were in at the time for an extra five or maybe it was fifteen minutes. Whatever it was we got going again shortly and thought that was the end of it. Well, when we stopped at the next stop we knew that we had not actually seen the end of this little problem. We were stuck at that stop for an excessive amount of time and were wondering what was going to happen and when and how we were finally going to get to Barcelona. Eventually, like probably 7:30 by now, (we were supposed to get to Barcelona by 8) one of the train people came and told us that we would be getting off the train and getting on some buses. So it was a crazy rush of people leaving the train and trying to get a place on one of the four buses that had come to take us the rest of the way to barcelona. We sat on the bus for awhile as everybody got on and stowed their stuff and the rest of the buses headed out. Finally a little after 8 I believe we got going. So after 11 hours on the train we then got to spend another hour and 45 minutes or so on a bus. But a little before 10 we did finally arrive and the bus dropped us off at the train station. From there we were able to get to the metro easily and the route was exactly what I had thought. We got a little turned around when we left the metro, but we quickly got back on the right path and found the hotel. But by this point it was between 10:30 and 11 and we were both too tired to go back out. So we made a makeshift dinner out of some snacks we had brought with us. The room was simple but clean and nice although almost a little bit too warm. But feet always enjoy being liberated from the socks and shoes that usually hold them captive when we spend time in these hotel rooms. After we ate a little something it was time for bed so that we could get up the next morning and be ready to see all the sights that the city has to offer.
Friday - We got up friday morning and walked to the plaza cataluña, or placa catalunya in catalan, so that we could find the hop on hop off tour bus. On the way there we found a tourist information type building that said they sold tickets for this bus so we stopped in there to buy our tickets. Then we got to the plaza and got on the bus. The first place we got off was the sagrada familia which is this enormous church designed by antoni gaudí and it is still unfinished. But even unfinished it is still seriously huge and impressive. It's very unique and the architecture used is like nothing that's ever been done before. It's basically amazing. You can see for yourself.
After that we grabbed a quick lunch and got back on the bus. Our next stop was park güell which was supposed to be this neighborhood designed by gaudí but the whole neighborhood thing didn't really happen so now it's a park that has a few houses and buildings that he designed. It was nice to walk around and it's up on this hill so there was a good view of the city down below.
We then got off at these other gaudí houses. I'm sure they're great on the inside, but we were too cheap, really the tickets are excessively expensive like everything in Barcelona, so we just took some pictures of them from the outside. Which is still pretty cool looking.
After that we went down to the beach and got a look at the mediterranean sea. Unfortunately it was getting dark and it was pretty cold so we didn't stay for too long. Then we rode the bus back to the plaza cataluña and walked back to the hotel. We went back out to get some dinner and get a yummy pastry for dessert. Then we went back to the room and watched this spanish game show that was pretty interesting.
Saturday - We got up and walked to the plaza to get the bus again. Our first stop was the gothic cathedral in the gothic neighborhood. It was really pretty and it had a saturday night mass and was in walking distance of the hotel. Score.
Next stop was this big statue of columbus. It marks the end of the ramblas area which is this street that connects the plaza cataluña in the heart of the city with the port and the sea. So we saw the statue and then we walked along the port a bit before getting back on the bus.
The next stop we got off at was the olympic stadium from when the olympics were in Barcelona in 1992. There was a moment when Emily said something about that being 20 years ago and I was seriously about to correct and tell her how it could not possibly have been 20 years since 1992, but then I remembered that I'm 20 and it scared me a bit to remember that I'm so old. But anyways... It was really sunny and nice out so it was great just walking around near the stadium where there were some pretty fountains and grassy areas and benches and such.
We got on the bus again but got off at the first stop thinking we might go and see this architecture museum thing which is basically a bunch of buildings in all different architectural styles and they were built for the world fair when it was in barcelona in the late 1800s. But we didn't feel like paying whatever it cost to get in there. So we got on the bus again and observed the other sites from there. We would have liked to have seen the plaza españa, but a lot of it was closed off for what looked like a cell phone company convention of some sort. Something like that anyway. So we rode the bus back to the plaza cataluña and then walked down the ramblas area. We got lunch there and looked at all the little stands and shops and street performers. Then we walked around a little more before heading back to the cathedral for mass. It was really nice to have a mass with music. And I understood the majority of the homily which was really exciting. After mass we got some dinner and another chocolatey pastry and decided to just relax in the room after that. And I discovered that I actually managed to get a little sunburnt on my face.
Sunday - Got to sleep in a whole hour today. It was really nice not getting up until 9. Getting up at 7:45 all week is going to be rough. Checked out of the hotel and walked to plaza cataluña to get the aerobus that would take us to the airport. We got to the airport with plenty of time to check in and go through security and then sit around for a long time. The plane ride was quick, only like an hour and a half and mostly uneventful. The take off and landing were pretty bumpy though. Then when we got to the airport in sevilla we opted for taking the bus instead of a taxi. Well the closest the bus stopped to where we live was still a good 20 minute walk at least which was kind of frustrating. But I guess we saved some money...
Got back to the house. Unpacked. Chilled in the room. Forgot to eat. Then it was too close to supper to eat. Wish there had been more to eat. We had these little salmon things. It's buttered bread with this slice of salmon on top and I think some pepper on it. It's really kind of weird but I almost kind of like it. There was also a potato soup, one of the ugly colored soups I haven't seen in awhile, which was good. And a pear for dessert. I think I need to break out some chocolate...
Oh we also have two additions to our family this week. Two girls from norway. I couldn't really understand what their names are. They are high school aged like the italian girls but I'm not sure exactly how old they are. They seem nice but I don't think they speak spanish quite as well as the italian girls did. But they still know enough to communicate pretty well.
And now I think that is finally all I have for this weekend. I don't know how I'm going to get through 5 full days of class this week. The whole 3 day week seems like a pretty good idea to me.
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