sorry to make your friends' pages explode
spain was wonderful :)
the weather was utter shit, but we had a good time anyway. the hostel was really nice and clean and everyone who worked there was more than happy to help out in any time of need. they were really friendly and we had a very good time there, even though most of it was spent playing cards and drinking cheap wine. and napping. we napped every afternoon. it was lovely. the only thing is that i got so used to using their european/spanish keyboards that now i've been messing up apostrophes and things on my own :P
we found this amazing little restaurant/bar called barriga, which means beer belly in spanish, that's a little off the beaten path but has very inexpensive tapas that are very, very delicious. we went there the first night we got there and the last night that we spent there; the last night we got this thing called patatas raclette, and it was so good that i need to find a recipe for it so i can make it for myself here. we didn't end up spending much money on food, because we were cheapskates, so meals were about 5 euros each, which is amazing, in my opinion.
the first actual day we were there, we walked down this road called la rambla, which is home to a ton of vendors and mimes (the ones who look like crazy statues and who come to life if you give them money), and it was really cool. it was a sunday, so we were able to come across a lot of vendors of jewelry and scarves and things that are only around on weekends, which was nice. we stumbled upon another open air market for random little trinkets, and i got myself a gorgeous bracelet and i got karly a little somethingsomething as well. i think that, since i'm going to paris, switzerland and austria, i'll get my family members each something nice from one country. i just have to figure out who to get what from where. anyway, it was a really cool street and we made many visits back to it (because it's a central street that can get you almost anywhere you want to go). later that night we made ourselves wayyyy too much pasta, forced it all down, then played cards and drank a bottle of cheap white wine (it became a bit of a tradition). jess taught us how to play asshole, which is also dubbed president and various other names (i learned it as garbage back at echo hill sail/ski camp when i was 12 or 13), and so we played that as a drinking game. you drink a lot more the fewer people there are. lots and lots of socials. ANYWAY. funtimes were had.
the second day, monday, was our beach day. we walked all the way down the beach, and it was absolutely breathtaking - the water was aquamarine and the way the waves lapped up on the beach was so... romantic, almost. it made me decide that no matter what, i need to live somewhat near a beach. or perhaps retire to somewhere that has a beach nearby. or peru. possibly peru. we ate focaccia pizza type things for lunch, and they were delicious. we then headed back to the hotel and napped. (can you see a trend?) we then went out to dinner and got paella, which was amazing. i'm very sad we only got paella the one time, because it was so incredibly delicious and i want to find a good recipe for it so i can make it back here as well.
tuesday was our "culture" day. we went to two different gaudi museums (though the first one wasn't really a museum since it was mostly closed, and i feel bad because i steered us wrong about it - who knew palau güell and parc güell were two different places? i couldn't find the better one on the map, i swear), and the casa batlló was amazing. if you are ever in barcelona for some reason, this is one place that you must, MUST go and see, because the architecture is stunning and visionary and genius, really. i was very happy with our decision to walk all the way there, because even though it did cost to get in, it was well worth it. we then went to the picasso museum, which was definitely cool. not as exciting as the gaudi - i'm not much of an art museum person, to be honest - but it was cool. it was very weird, because there didn't seem to be much of a progression from picasso's realism to his cubism, though the blue period was a big marker, i guess. i dunno. some of his work i like, some i just don't understand, but i suppose that's just a trademark of cubism itself. that night we went to a flamenco show, and it was absolutely amazing. though i did feel like the one guy who had a solo totally eyefucked the audience, which took me back a little bit, the dancing was SO good and it really made me want to take up dancing again. though everything that has dancing in it EVER makes me want to take it up again. we then got back and ate less pasta and drank some wine and played some cards. a good night had by all.
wednesday was our church day. we made plans to see the catedral and the temple de la sagrada familia. we walked to the catedral and realized it was 5 euros to get in, and decided that since we were going to have to pay to see la sagrada familia anyway, we might as well just skip the catedral and go straight there. okay. the walk to la sagrada familia was fucking. long. it took us at LEAST an hour and a half just to get there, and we weren't exactly meandering. we did stop and take pictures of pretty things (including a miniature arc de triumph, which was still pretty big), but that doesn't take away from the fact that it was an incredibly long walk. when we got there, however, we knew it was completely worth it. it's another work of gaudi's (or at least, he planned it and began it, but he died before it was finished being built and is still under construction or restoration or something along those lines) and the architecture is breathtaking. whether you're on the inside or the outside you can't help but to gape at the view that it offers and at the mastery of the architecture itself. words truly can't describe how amazing it was, and i hope that one day when the construction is finally finished i can go back and visit it again, because it will be well worth it. that night, after dinner, we got two bottles of wine instead of just one and played cards and truth (truth or dare minus the dare) and talked until 3:30am. it was really nice and i feel like jess and i have bonded like crazy over this trip. could be wrong, but that's what i feel like.
thursday we were planning on going to the beach again, but it was raining (it was really only nice and sunny on wednesday, with lots and lots of rain every single other day), so we stayed in until 2 playing cards, then went to get some lunch and then walked down to the beach. i have to say, i think the bad weather made it even more pretty, just because the waves were slightly more turbulent and the water was still a pretty shade of green. we stood there watching the waves for a very, very long time. it was lovely :) then we headed back to the hostel, got everything sorted out, got a cab and left for england. almost a full day later, here i am.
i'm really very excited to go to paris/interlaken/bern/salzburg, just because i hope/imagine that it'll be just as amazing an experience. i'd love to go back someday.
the weather was utter shit, but we had a good time anyway. the hostel was really nice and clean and everyone who worked there was more than happy to help out in any time of need. they were really friendly and we had a very good time there, even though most of it was spent playing cards and drinking cheap wine. and napping. we napped every afternoon. it was lovely. the only thing is that i got so used to using their european/spanish keyboards that now i've been messing up apostrophes and things on my own :P
we found this amazing little restaurant/bar called barriga, which means beer belly in spanish, that's a little off the beaten path but has very inexpensive tapas that are very, very delicious. we went there the first night we got there and the last night that we spent there; the last night we got this thing called patatas raclette, and it was so good that i need to find a recipe for it so i can make it for myself here. we didn't end up spending much money on food, because we were cheapskates, so meals were about 5 euros each, which is amazing, in my opinion.
the first actual day we were there, we walked down this road called la rambla, which is home to a ton of vendors and mimes (the ones who look like crazy statues and who come to life if you give them money), and it was really cool. it was a sunday, so we were able to come across a lot of vendors of jewelry and scarves and things that are only around on weekends, which was nice. we stumbled upon another open air market for random little trinkets, and i got myself a gorgeous bracelet and i got karly a little somethingsomething as well. i think that, since i'm going to paris, switzerland and austria, i'll get my family members each something nice from one country. i just have to figure out who to get what from where. anyway, it was a really cool street and we made many visits back to it (because it's a central street that can get you almost anywhere you want to go). later that night we made ourselves wayyyy too much pasta, forced it all down, then played cards and drank a bottle of cheap white wine (it became a bit of a tradition). jess taught us how to play asshole, which is also dubbed president and various other names (i learned it as garbage back at echo hill sail/ski camp when i was 12 or 13), and so we played that as a drinking game. you drink a lot more the fewer people there are. lots and lots of socials. ANYWAY. funtimes were had.
the second day, monday, was our beach day. we walked all the way down the beach, and it was absolutely breathtaking - the water was aquamarine and the way the waves lapped up on the beach was so... romantic, almost. it made me decide that no matter what, i need to live somewhat near a beach. or perhaps retire to somewhere that has a beach nearby. or peru. possibly peru. we ate focaccia pizza type things for lunch, and they were delicious. we then headed back to the hotel and napped. (can you see a trend?) we then went out to dinner and got paella, which was amazing. i'm very sad we only got paella the one time, because it was so incredibly delicious and i want to find a good recipe for it so i can make it back here as well.
tuesday was our "culture" day. we went to two different gaudi museums (though the first one wasn't really a museum since it was mostly closed, and i feel bad because i steered us wrong about it - who knew palau güell and parc güell were two different places? i couldn't find the better one on the map, i swear), and the casa batlló was amazing. if you are ever in barcelona for some reason, this is one place that you must, MUST go and see, because the architecture is stunning and visionary and genius, really. i was very happy with our decision to walk all the way there, because even though it did cost to get in, it was well worth it. we then went to the picasso museum, which was definitely cool. not as exciting as the gaudi - i'm not much of an art museum person, to be honest - but it was cool. it was very weird, because there didn't seem to be much of a progression from picasso's realism to his cubism, though the blue period was a big marker, i guess. i dunno. some of his work i like, some i just don't understand, but i suppose that's just a trademark of cubism itself. that night we went to a flamenco show, and it was absolutely amazing. though i did feel like the one guy who had a solo totally eyefucked the audience, which took me back a little bit, the dancing was SO good and it really made me want to take up dancing again. though everything that has dancing in it EVER makes me want to take it up again. we then got back and ate less pasta and drank some wine and played some cards. a good night had by all.
wednesday was our church day. we made plans to see the catedral and the temple de la sagrada familia. we walked to the catedral and realized it was 5 euros to get in, and decided that since we were going to have to pay to see la sagrada familia anyway, we might as well just skip the catedral and go straight there. okay. the walk to la sagrada familia was fucking. long. it took us at LEAST an hour and a half just to get there, and we weren't exactly meandering. we did stop and take pictures of pretty things (including a miniature arc de triumph, which was still pretty big), but that doesn't take away from the fact that it was an incredibly long walk. when we got there, however, we knew it was completely worth it. it's another work of gaudi's (or at least, he planned it and began it, but he died before it was finished being built and is still under construction or restoration or something along those lines) and the architecture is breathtaking. whether you're on the inside or the outside you can't help but to gape at the view that it offers and at the mastery of the architecture itself. words truly can't describe how amazing it was, and i hope that one day when the construction is finally finished i can go back and visit it again, because it will be well worth it. that night, after dinner, we got two bottles of wine instead of just one and played cards and truth (truth or dare minus the dare) and talked until 3:30am. it was really nice and i feel like jess and i have bonded like crazy over this trip. could be wrong, but that's what i feel like.
thursday we were planning on going to the beach again, but it was raining (it was really only nice and sunny on wednesday, with lots and lots of rain every single other day), so we stayed in until 2 playing cards, then went to get some lunch and then walked down to the beach. i have to say, i think the bad weather made it even more pretty, just because the waves were slightly more turbulent and the water was still a pretty shade of green. we stood there watching the waves for a very, very long time. it was lovely :) then we headed back to the hostel, got everything sorted out, got a cab and left for england. almost a full day later, here i am.
i'm really very excited to go to paris/interlaken/bern/salzburg, just because i hope/imagine that it'll be just as amazing an experience. i'd love to go back someday.