Telling the Tale: Emily and Matt's Trip to Barcelona, Day 1
Hello human beings! Matt and I got back from our epic adventure of epicness late last night, and so many fun and interesting things happened to us that I thought a day-by-day rundown might be worthwhile. Barcelona is a beautiful and multi-faceted city, and I can guarantee I saw a different side to it than most people do.
So, day 1, which isn't really a full day, because it was out first travel day, and we arrived in Tarragona, a small coastal city about an hour southwest of Barcelona, at about 9pm. We woke up earlier than our lazy bones are used to to catch our 9:45 train to London, a train which was excitingly stalled getting into London for about 2 hours due to signalling difficulties. I noticed something interesting about travelers - delays and shared inconveniences thrust upon them by forces beyond their control actually make them really lighten up. Whereas before everyone was sort of in focused travel mode, when they realized they were bound to be a few hours late and there was nothing they could do about it, everyone settled in and started entertaining themselves, by having animated sodoku races, practicing with magic floating orbs, or in the case of Matt and I, playing a traditional but very fun game of hangman. Luckily we still got to the airport in plenty of time, and after some confusion found the right gate and were ready to get on the plane with a good half hour to spare.
With no more hangman to distract him and the reality of the airport around him, Matt's severe flight anxiety kicked into full gear. He took some Valium but was still freaking out, and I felt like the most cruel girlfriend ever for making him go with me. When we were seated on the plane waiting to take off I was seriously afraid he was about to bolt, but strangely as soon as we got in the air he completely relaxed, and we ended up chatting happily for the rest of the way.
We arrived in Reus, Spain 1 hour and 45 minutes later, and from there took a bus to Tarragona, a city famous as the birthplace of Gaudi and the site of many very cool Roman ruins. I was expecting a quaint rural village, but Tarragona is actually part small-town, part romantic Mediterranean city and part metropolis. Huge (much taller than in Barceolona, strangely) high-rise apartments crowd the northern end of the city, and as you walk down the Ramblas towards the sea you see nice restaurants, cafes and gelatorias, naturally with lots of outdoor diners.
As Matt and I walked south along and the Ramblas on the way to our hotel, we at first took little notice of the occasional noise of firecrackers. Yet the closer we got to the sea, the more we heard. We began encountering children and families happily setting off one after another, and were both excited and slightly scandalized by the open and accepted spectacle of children playing with fire. We wondered what all the ruckus was about - something to do with the world cup perhaps? It wasn't until we got to our hotel (with the help of a friendly mother who was out with a teenage marching drumming group) that the man at the desk told us that we had arrived on the eve of El Dia de San Jaun, a huge Spanish national celebration which he likened to St. Patricks day. The festivities included an all-night party, beginning in a plaza in the old-town district and moving to the beach, where dancing drinking and revelry would continue until dawn.
After checking in, we headed out in search of food, and eager to observe the celebration. We found an absolute gem of a restaurant in the plaza where the partying was taking place, and got to watch a bonfire, the parading of a wooden dragon, and huge sparklers around 6-feet in diameter being spun around on sticks while enjoying what I can honestly say was one of the best meals of my life. We had bread with tomato and olive oil which in Catalonia is a typical starter like bread and butter, eggs with sausage and chicken with rice. Now, these dishes may sound simple, but they were completely mind-blowing. I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that an egg and sausage dish could be so rich and flavorful. The waitress was also very helpful and patient with my less-than-fluent Spanish skills.
We walked back into the night to a crowded plaza and a strange campy cover band performing cheesy disco and 90s pop songs, and attempting to teach the audience a macarena-like dance, the instructions to which they repeated over and over for about 15 minutes. Being exhausted, we headed back to the hotel, where we slept decently, though we were interrupted by the amusing sounds of some VERY loud sex at some point during the night.
So that was day one. Tune in tomorrow when Matt and Emily train their way to Barcelona!
So, day 1, which isn't really a full day, because it was out first travel day, and we arrived in Tarragona, a small coastal city about an hour southwest of Barcelona, at about 9pm. We woke up earlier than our lazy bones are used to to catch our 9:45 train to London, a train which was excitingly stalled getting into London for about 2 hours due to signalling difficulties. I noticed something interesting about travelers - delays and shared inconveniences thrust upon them by forces beyond their control actually make them really lighten up. Whereas before everyone was sort of in focused travel mode, when they realized they were bound to be a few hours late and there was nothing they could do about it, everyone settled in and started entertaining themselves, by having animated sodoku races, practicing with magic floating orbs, or in the case of Matt and I, playing a traditional but very fun game of hangman. Luckily we still got to the airport in plenty of time, and after some confusion found the right gate and were ready to get on the plane with a good half hour to spare.
With no more hangman to distract him and the reality of the airport around him, Matt's severe flight anxiety kicked into full gear. He took some Valium but was still freaking out, and I felt like the most cruel girlfriend ever for making him go with me. When we were seated on the plane waiting to take off I was seriously afraid he was about to bolt, but strangely as soon as we got in the air he completely relaxed, and we ended up chatting happily for the rest of the way.
We arrived in Reus, Spain 1 hour and 45 minutes later, and from there took a bus to Tarragona, a city famous as the birthplace of Gaudi and the site of many very cool Roman ruins. I was expecting a quaint rural village, but Tarragona is actually part small-town, part romantic Mediterranean city and part metropolis. Huge (much taller than in Barceolona, strangely) high-rise apartments crowd the northern end of the city, and as you walk down the Ramblas towards the sea you see nice restaurants, cafes and gelatorias, naturally with lots of outdoor diners.
As Matt and I walked south along and the Ramblas on the way to our hotel, we at first took little notice of the occasional noise of firecrackers. Yet the closer we got to the sea, the more we heard. We began encountering children and families happily setting off one after another, and were both excited and slightly scandalized by the open and accepted spectacle of children playing with fire. We wondered what all the ruckus was about - something to do with the world cup perhaps? It wasn't until we got to our hotel (with the help of a friendly mother who was out with a teenage marching drumming group) that the man at the desk told us that we had arrived on the eve of El Dia de San Jaun, a huge Spanish national celebration which he likened to St. Patricks day. The festivities included an all-night party, beginning in a plaza in the old-town district and moving to the beach, where dancing drinking and revelry would continue until dawn.
After checking in, we headed out in search of food, and eager to observe the celebration. We found an absolute gem of a restaurant in the plaza where the partying was taking place, and got to watch a bonfire, the parading of a wooden dragon, and huge sparklers around 6-feet in diameter being spun around on sticks while enjoying what I can honestly say was one of the best meals of my life. We had bread with tomato and olive oil which in Catalonia is a typical starter like bread and butter, eggs with sausage and chicken with rice. Now, these dishes may sound simple, but they were completely mind-blowing. I had never in my wildest dreams imagined that an egg and sausage dish could be so rich and flavorful. The waitress was also very helpful and patient with my less-than-fluent Spanish skills.
We walked back into the night to a crowded plaza and a strange campy cover band performing cheesy disco and 90s pop songs, and attempting to teach the audience a macarena-like dance, the instructions to which they repeated over and over for about 15 minutes. Being exhausted, we headed back to the hotel, where we slept decently, though we were interrupted by the amusing sounds of some VERY loud sex at some point during the night.
So that was day one. Tune in tomorrow when Matt and Emily train their way to Barcelona!