Barcelona

View the Barcelona gallery here!

We spent a couple of nights in Marseille, a port city with a wonderful Christmas market in the old portion, but otherwise not much else to boast. While we enjoyed walking around the Old Port during our single day in the city, we were happy to be there as a quick stop-over between Nice and Barcelona.

December 1st we walked through the city of Marseille before the sun or citizens rose to start the day to catch our train to Barcelona. The train ride was beautiful into Spain, passing flamingos, red rocks, and rolling hills. We arrived at Barcelona Sants station and then embarked on an hour+ long walk to our next humble abode in Barre Gotic (the gothic quarter). The hazy city of Barcelona was full of energy, and it was contagious. As we grew closer to Las Ramblas, a main shopping street in Barcelona, the population congestion grew thicker, the Castilian lisp accents more obvious, and our excitement grew because we could finally attempt to speak the local language.

We arrived at our AirBnB where our hard rock host, Kris, met us. He had a bit more cleaning to do before we could fully check-in, so we went out to explore our neighborhood and to make our traditional restaurant mistake. Just at the top of our road was a bar where we decided to have a beer. Had we only known that walking another 30 seconds up the road would lead to a handful of cool bars, we could've saved ourselves from an awkwardly quiet bar experience, but we're new here.

Forty-five minutes later we met Kris back at the apartment where he showed us around and then left us to enjoy our stay. I immediately passed out into a deep nap for an hour or two and Mike napped for half an hour. My new late night/late wake sleep schedule isn't conducive to these early morning trains. Rejuvenated, we set out to find a dinner spot. We went to Rosa del Raval, an inexpensive and delicious Mexican inspired restaurant. I got chicken tacos and Mike had the taco sampler.

After dinner we went to a tiny bar a stones throw away from our apartment. Literally- we could've gently tossed a stone off our balcony and it would've gone into the bar's window. Sugar (the name of the bar) had dim lighting, a small bar in the back that sat 6 people, old rusted mirrors on the wall, and played a killer playlist- tons of non mainstream US music. They advertised €2.50 mojitos, so we ordered a round and quickly understood the bar's name- the bottom third of our glasses had a mound of brown sugar. Nonetheless, it was delicious and we ordered two more... Regrets.

DAY2
So many regrets. As non-hard alcohol/ cocktail drinkers the next morning we were both hurting so badly. Throbbing headaches, movements were hard, and we lacked all motivation. Accordingly, we completely wasted a day feeling sorry for ourselves and trying to find remedies to cure our aching bodies and souls. I don't remember the last time I was that hungover- and without even getting drunk! Had we been sloshed, I wouldn't have felt so sorry for us, but the fact that we were both still sober by the end of the night, it didn't seem fair (haha). Blast, Sugar!

DAY3
The next day we were determined to have a rectifying day and be the good tourists we've become. Barcelona is home to one of the largest open air food markets in Europe, St Josep de la Boqueria, which we were more than excited to explore since our appetites were back after a long day of hangover bellies. There must've been 8-10 rows and 20-30 vendor stalls deep. We mozied our way up and down all of the aisles contemplating what to eat until we settled on a quinoa salad and an empanada from an organic kiosk.

After brunch, we decided to visit Gaudi sites, the first on our agenda being the Sagrada Familia cathedral. Hands down the most mind blowing architecture we've seen yet. The exterior looks like the drip-sandcastles we used to make as kids. 8 sandy-colored, sharp spires at various heights (by the time the cathedral is finished in 2026, it will have 18 spires). The exterior was was under construction and has been for years, as the cathedral was never finished during Gaudi's lifetime and still has another 10 years until completion. We made our way inside and were flabbergasted. It's like stepping into a kaleidoscope. The rainbow of stained glass illuminates the towering columns and gold and pink details on the ceiling.  

How can I even describe sights like these? Gaudi was either a crazy genius or doing acid, but either way, his visions were gorgeous. George Orwell, the author of 1989 which Mike is currently reading, was quoted saying he wished the cathedral had been destroyed in the Spanish Civil War! He may have written a great book, but he didn't understand great architecture. Gaudi was so ahead of his time- creating such a modern and eclectic piece of art in the form of a cathedral.

Next on our itinerary was Gaudi Park, which was more out of our way than we were expecting. After a 40 minute walk we arrived at the park, but it was too expensive to pay for full entry, so instead we enjoyed wandering through the public portion of the gardens, up to the lookout which is famous for 1: the view over Barcelona and 2: the Gaudi mosaics lining the curved benches. After an hour of wandering through the endless paths in the garden, we headed back to our neighborhood which was a little over an hour's walk away. We looked at Mike's iPhone health app, which we only just realized we had, and found out that on average we walk 8 miles per day, and today we clocked in at 10 miles! No wonder we're not absolute stuffed pigs at this point after enjoying so many decadent cuisines and carbs for the past two months. 

Back in the Gothic Quarter we stumbled upon a Christmas market, which was very fun and festive and we enjoyed looking at all the trinkets. Two traditions we had to look up were the log character that looks like a wood Rudolph statue and also the figurines of people poo-ing! The log is named Caga Tio (aka Poo Log) and children feed him and put a blanket over him every night to ensure that he is comfortable and full so that he will poo out lots of sweet treats and little presents on Christmas Eve. Another poo related tradition in Barcelona is the poo-ing characters, which date back to the 1700s when "El Caganer" ("The Defecator") statues started being incorporated into nativity scenes as a sign of fertility and good fortune. Poor peasants used to create their own fertilizer- the more fertile soil the more crop yields! Odd traditions if you ask me.. We made our way back to our flat, where we let our aching feet rest for a bit before going back to our cheap Mexican restaurant for tacos and a burrito. Back to Sugar for a night cap- no mojitos this time.

DAY 4
Having spent our first full day in Barcelona on the couch and the second full day walking and walking miles away from our neighborhood, we dedicated this day to discovering the hidden gems in Barre Gotic. We strolled down to the waterfront where cruise ships can be seen in the distance, sail boats are docked, and crew teams practice their pace. We crossed a foot bridge onto a pavilion that's home to a shopping mall and the aquarium. Side note: the weather has been so spectacular for the majority of our trip. Since our time in Austria we have had 99% sunny, blue-skied days and lovely, warm temperatures. Today was no different. We wandered around the pavilion before crossing back into the city. 

We picked a random road to cut into and began aimlessly wandering the tight and shady roads, which after an hour or so of exploring, we realized all the roads lead back to on main street or one plaza. After a full day of exploring our section of the city we stopped back at the Christmas to pick up a couple of trinkets we had our eyes on from the day before. 

That evening we spent some time re-evaluating our next journey once we're back in the states. Oregon has been proving to be incredibly difficult with jobs and housing. I spoke with a real estate agent who said rental vacancies are less than 1% currently.. Not exactly encouraging news. Having no set in stone plans, we decided to redirect our energy into Boulder, CO, which we are just as excited (if not more so) to relocate to in January. After doing a preliminary search for apartments and employment opportunities we went out to dinner. Mike found an awesome little tapas restaurant that sat maybe 25 people, and you had to wait outside to be let in by one of the three employees. You chose your tapas and then they warmed them up for you. Actually, tapas aren't a traditional Barcelona tradition, but we enjoyed eating this way, anyways!

That night, back in bed, my mind wouldn't shut off. I felt like this change in plans from Oregon to Colorado (which is only a few weeks away at this point) was a wonderful plan B, but made me anxious to lock down housing and jobs. My mind was racing about so many random things to look into: what jobs to look for, what the weather would be like in Northern France, booking our flight or train from London to Dublin, we need a dish drainer and bath mat-- random, dumb stuff! And I knew none of it needed to be keeping me awake, but my anxious, planning mind kept me up nearly all night.

The next morning and whole day I was exhausted- mentally from thinking silliness all night, physically from not sleeping, and that recipe made for an emotionally bipolar day. One minute I was feeling happy and thankful for all the excitement and unknowns in my life right now and the next moment I would be overwhelmed by it all. Mike and I walked down to the waterfront and got holiday lattes (Starbucks gingerbread and toffee nut lattes are too good) and sat in big comfy chairs with a harbor view for over an hour talking out our nerves, our stresses, our hopes and our excitements. A whole mix of feelings. 

After coffees we went and got brunch and then checked into our new AirBnB, which conveniently and surprisingly was located directly across the street from our first spot- this time right above Sugar! By now I needed a nap, which never happened because, once again, my mind wouldn't slow down. After another chat about the future and not worrying about it too much and living in the moment with Mike, I felt much much better. 

DAY 5
The following day we were ready to conquer again. We had to go to the train station to make our train reservation to Bordeaux, so we navigated the subway system and arrived in 20 minutes-- much more convenient than the hour walk when we first arrived. But, when we got there, the man at the information desk told us it was impossible to make train reservations for Tuesday today (Sunday). So, we turned ourselves around and took the subway back to our neighborhood. A waste of time or a practice subway run? 

Back on our side of town, we went out to brunch at our cheap Mexican spot- Rosa del Raval. Spaniards have their biggest meal of the day at lunchtime, so we just combine breakfast and lunch to save money. Just as I was about to take my first bite of museli, a girl hugged me from behind, drooping her body all over me, and then sat down at our table. She had gem stone stickers in the inner corners of her eyes and eye makeup melting down her cheeks- 110% strung out. "Do you guys want to come to a party? Like a realllly good party?" she asked. "No thanks, we're taking off today," we lied. She continued to chit chat with us about being from the states until her friend (thankfully) dragged her away and apologized to us. A couple bites into my brunch, and I again was covered in her droopy hug. This time it wasn't funny anymore and we definitely weren't looking to hang out or chat, so I wiggled my way out of her hug and Mike politely, yet sternly, asked if we could eat our breakfast in peace. She slunk back to her spot at the bar where she was drinking a margarita at 11:00 (and not her first) and loudly told her friends how, "these two people behind me totally just brushed me off. Who eats breakfast at this hour, anyways?"

We couldn't get out of there faster, which was a shame because it was one of our favorite spots, but today's experience was too weird and awkward. More wandering and exploring (sorry for all the vagueness, it's just that we really enjoyed wandering the streets and popping into shops!) until siesta. Siesta is very real in Spain. Almost everything, with the exception of the mini marts, close from 3:00-7:00/8:00pm. During this time we would usually do as the locals do and go home and relax before dinner and, obviously, then Sugar.

DAY 6
We had to go to the train station to make our train reservation to Bordeaux, so we navigated the subway system and arrived in 20 minutes-- much more convenient than the hour walk when we first arrived. Wait, did I say that already? Oh yeah, because it was an exact replica of yesterday's morning. But this time, when we arrived at the station, we took a number and sat for an hour until it was our turn to make our reservation. I think this might be Spain's version of the DMV. 

An hour and a half later we got back to Las Ramblas and went to the St. Josep market for brunch. We got a chicken wrap and seafood palleja- muy delicioso! After brunch we spent some time in a fun craft store and walked around the neighborhood popping in and out of shops before heading back for siesta and to pack. Around 8:30 we headed out for dinner. Just up our road in a little plaza is a tiny corner sandwich shop that literally always has a massive line coming out of its doors and into the middle of the plaza. After passing this spot everyday for the past week we agreed we had to try it. We waited in line until 10:00pm for these damn panini  sandwiches- and they were damn good. We wisely bought two extras for tomorrows train ride.

Back to Sugar for our, unfortunately, last night cap in this awesome bar. Back home by 11:00 to pass out because tomorrow we have an early morning and long day of traveling to Bordeaux, France!