Saturday-Tuesday
Last weekend, I went to Barcelona. I got there at around noon, and my friends Nicci and Liz (and Liz's friend Kyle) were supposed to meet me at our hostel at around that time. I checked myself in and found a phone to call them, and they were only at the France/Spain border. I went and got myself some lunch and watched an hour of Spanish TV. They got there, and we started our adventure in Barcelona.
We started walking towards Las Ramblas, the main tourist-y street. On the way, I saw something that I haven't seen in six weeks:
Palm trees! And the temperature was in the 40's! Hot!
So we get to Las Ramblas, and it is tourist city. Liz even tried to ask directions to Las Ramblas in Spanish to a group of people, and it turns out that they were Scottish! English-speaking people! Hooray! Note: Liz's Spanish sucks. It was only one of the many annoyances that she was on this trip.
A statue person! They line Las Ramblas and try to get money from the tourists. Maybe if Spain were still using the Pesata, I'd give them some. But not any of my expensive Euros!
Plaza Catalyuna. It's at the north end of Las Ramblas; a nice plaza with a lot of pigeons and some statues.
This is Casa Batllo, a house designed by Antoni Gaudi. He's got a lot of weird buildings all over Barcelona, and you can go inside this one and see curvy walls and windows, kind of like a Dr. Suess house.
On the patio of Casa Batllo, I decided to take a picture of the real Barcelona.
Nicci and me after we stopped for coffee at a local coffee place. Nicci is a nice friend, not annoying like Liz.
We walked down to the Mediterranean and had dinner at a nice restaurant there. We stayed there until 1am and walked back to the hostel, exhausted, and went right to sleep.
The next day, we went to another Gaudi-designed building, the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. It's a huge basilica that started construction in 1892 and won't be done until 2025.
What it looks like now.
What it will look like when it's done.
The nativity.
Crucifixion.
Since it's not finished yet, you can go up to the top of the towers and have a look around the city. It's amazingly high and gives you a good view.
The towers on the other side. That tall bridge is corresponding to where I am standing. You can see how high up it is in the picture "What it looks like now."
Stained glass.
After La Sagrada Familia, we took the subway to Park Guell, the highest point in the city. We had to walk up a hill and a bunch of stairs and then another hill to get to the top. But it's got a great view.
La Sagrada Familia from Park Guell.
Liz and me at Park Guell.
Me overlooking the city.
Kyle, me, Liz, and Nicci on a Gaudi-designed park bench (the world's longest).
Gaudi-designed lizard statue.
After that, had dinner on Las Ramblas. We were supposed to go out and party the night away, but all of us were too tired after walking around for the whole day.
Monday, Liz and Nicci and Kyle had to head back to France so that Nicci could catch her flight back to Birmingham. But Liz wanted to go back to La Sagrada Familia to get a souvenir. Kyle did not like this idea, but did not protest (he later told me that he'd wanted to go back early in the morning). I didn't care, because I was staying until Tuesday.
A statue in the road.
So we get Liz's souvenirs and go back to Las Ramblas, where we will have lunch and then say goodbye. But it turns out that we were not destined for just lunch. My friend Liz had a big bag and a little pocketbook that she kept in the big bag. She had it on the floor next to her, and at the end of lunch, she says, "Where's my purse?" We think that the guy sitting behind us scooted out his chair, grabbed her smaller bag, and left the place. Liz was being very annoying at lunch, and I think that she had to be taught a lesson not to annoy me. She didn't learn, though, because she started to make these high-pitched noises in the restaurant that drew everyone's attention to us. She then tried to explain (in horrible Spanish) that her purse was stolen. All I could think was to keep saying, "un ladron!" (a thief) again and again, because I am a robot and don't do well with emotions.
We had to go to the police station and stand in line with a bunch of other Americans who got their stuff stolen. It was now somewhere around 2:30, and Nicci's flight left from Toulouse (3 1/2 hours away by car) at 8. The wait at the police station was estimated to be 90 minutes. Nicci was not going to make her flight. Luckily for the group, Liz had the parking garage ticket in her big bag. Unluckily for Liz, her passport, camera, money, and credit cards were all in her purse.
They ended up leaving Barcelona at 5, and Nicci missed her flight that night. She made it back to Birmingham the next day. I walked to the Plaza Catalyuna and sat there for a while and watched the sky get dark. Then, I went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Tuesday, I got to sleep in, woke up and headed for the airport. I caught the bus to the airport at the Plaza Espanya, but I got a few pictures in before the bus came.
Plaza Espanya.
More photos at my Yahoo pictures
I am going to Berlin tomorrow and coming back on Sunday. It's my last hurrah in Europe.
This week, I had my last classes and I have to turn in my take-home Economics exam next Monday. My management exam is next Thursday, open-notes. It will be easy. Then, I leave for America! Hooray!
We started walking towards Las Ramblas, the main tourist-y street. On the way, I saw something that I haven't seen in six weeks:
Palm trees! And the temperature was in the 40's! Hot!
So we get to Las Ramblas, and it is tourist city. Liz even tried to ask directions to Las Ramblas in Spanish to a group of people, and it turns out that they were Scottish! English-speaking people! Hooray! Note: Liz's Spanish sucks. It was only one of the many annoyances that she was on this trip.
A statue person! They line Las Ramblas and try to get money from the tourists. Maybe if Spain were still using the Pesata, I'd give them some. But not any of my expensive Euros!
Plaza Catalyuna. It's at the north end of Las Ramblas; a nice plaza with a lot of pigeons and some statues.
This is Casa Batllo, a house designed by Antoni Gaudi. He's got a lot of weird buildings all over Barcelona, and you can go inside this one and see curvy walls and windows, kind of like a Dr. Suess house.
On the patio of Casa Batllo, I decided to take a picture of the real Barcelona.
Nicci and me after we stopped for coffee at a local coffee place. Nicci is a nice friend, not annoying like Liz.
We walked down to the Mediterranean and had dinner at a nice restaurant there. We stayed there until 1am and walked back to the hostel, exhausted, and went right to sleep.
The next day, we went to another Gaudi-designed building, the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia. It's a huge basilica that started construction in 1892 and won't be done until 2025.
What it looks like now.
What it will look like when it's done.
The nativity.
Crucifixion.
Since it's not finished yet, you can go up to the top of the towers and have a look around the city. It's amazingly high and gives you a good view.
The towers on the other side. That tall bridge is corresponding to where I am standing. You can see how high up it is in the picture "What it looks like now."
Stained glass.
After La Sagrada Familia, we took the subway to Park Guell, the highest point in the city. We had to walk up a hill and a bunch of stairs and then another hill to get to the top. But it's got a great view.
La Sagrada Familia from Park Guell.
Liz and me at Park Guell.
Me overlooking the city.
Kyle, me, Liz, and Nicci on a Gaudi-designed park bench (the world's longest).
Gaudi-designed lizard statue.
After that, had dinner on Las Ramblas. We were supposed to go out and party the night away, but all of us were too tired after walking around for the whole day.
Monday, Liz and Nicci and Kyle had to head back to France so that Nicci could catch her flight back to Birmingham. But Liz wanted to go back to La Sagrada Familia to get a souvenir. Kyle did not like this idea, but did not protest (he later told me that he'd wanted to go back early in the morning). I didn't care, because I was staying until Tuesday.
A statue in the road.
So we get Liz's souvenirs and go back to Las Ramblas, where we will have lunch and then say goodbye. But it turns out that we were not destined for just lunch. My friend Liz had a big bag and a little pocketbook that she kept in the big bag. She had it on the floor next to her, and at the end of lunch, she says, "Where's my purse?" We think that the guy sitting behind us scooted out his chair, grabbed her smaller bag, and left the place. Liz was being very annoying at lunch, and I think that she had to be taught a lesson not to annoy me. She didn't learn, though, because she started to make these high-pitched noises in the restaurant that drew everyone's attention to us. She then tried to explain (in horrible Spanish) that her purse was stolen. All I could think was to keep saying, "un ladron!" (a thief) again and again, because I am a robot and don't do well with emotions.
We had to go to the police station and stand in line with a bunch of other Americans who got their stuff stolen. It was now somewhere around 2:30, and Nicci's flight left from Toulouse (3 1/2 hours away by car) at 8. The wait at the police station was estimated to be 90 minutes. Nicci was not going to make her flight. Luckily for the group, Liz had the parking garage ticket in her big bag. Unluckily for Liz, her passport, camera, money, and credit cards were all in her purse.
They ended up leaving Barcelona at 5, and Nicci missed her flight that night. She made it back to Birmingham the next day. I walked to the Plaza Catalyuna and sat there for a while and watched the sky get dark. Then, I went to dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Tuesday, I got to sleep in, woke up and headed for the airport. I caught the bus to the airport at the Plaza Espanya, but I got a few pictures in before the bus came.
Plaza Espanya.
More photos at my Yahoo pictures
I am going to Berlin tomorrow and coming back on Sunday. It's my last hurrah in Europe.
This week, I had my last classes and I have to turn in my take-home Economics exam next Monday. My management exam is next Thursday, open-notes. It will be easy. Then, I leave for America! Hooray!