Boobs and blunders in Barcelona

 This blog is so totally out of order, it's ridiculous, but then again - I've never been one to do things logically haha. Now I'm ACTUALLY back in Zaragoza (I know I say that all the time, but this time it's true...I hope) I can continue blogging! Yes, I can hear you all rejoicing!!

I'll stick with the Spanish theme for now, so today's subject is the wonderful and captivating, Barcelona.

To be honest, I wasn't expecting much from this city. I'd only heard good things about it, but for some reason I'd never put it on my "MUST VISIT" list. But when it came to booking my flight to Spain, Barcelona was the cheapest option so I penciled in two nights there before I headed to Zaragoza. Best idea ever! I was already on a high when I got there, I'd made a friend on the plane (Hi Amanda if you're reading this!) and I was starting to get really excited that I was about to land in the country where I'd be living for a year. As soon as I saw the beach from the plane window, I was suddenly so keen for Barcelona and wishing I could stay longer. It had been a long time since I'd seen the sea!

Now this was the first time on my trip that I'd be staying in a hostel and I know what you're thinking - what a princess, not staying in hostels! Ah no - I'm more than happy to stay in hostels, in fact I would have preferred it, had I not had so much crap with me. Also I'm just super lucky to have people to stay with, so needless to say, I had that nervous but excited feeling when you're about to open the door to your dorm and have no idea who you're gonna meet. Will there be some obnoxious fuckwit? A chronic snorer? Or worse, a group of friends who just talk amongst themselves and ignore you? Man, did I hit the jackpot!! I walk in to find the beds empty except for one - and on this bed was an Australian girl!! An awesome Australian girl called Ruby!! I was so happy! We bonded over beaten up Tim Tams, and just general antipodeanness. Yes, I know that's not a word but you know what I mean. That night we went out for tapas and just chilled out. As I had arrived in Barcelona pretty late and had had a full on day, we just went for a walk along Las Ramblas and headed back to the hostel.



The next day Ruby and I headed out with two goals in mind. 1. Hit the beach and 2. Find the lomography shop and hire a camera. We managed to do both of these while just generally soaking up the Barcelona atmosphere. It's such a cool city, it's busy but it doesn't feel like a major city. I guess because it's quite spread out. La Rambla is probably the most famous street and it runs for about 1.2km through the city, but you also have the Barri Gotic (gothic quarter) and El Raval (another part) before you even hit the beach. So while there are a lot of tourists, it never felt as suffocating as it did in other places I've visited such as Paris or Oxford.

Of course, Barcelona is very famous for being the home of a number of Gaudi's buildings, and they are really impressive. His style is so...I want to say bizarre but it's not. I really like it, his buildings are like something you would have imagined when you read fairy tales as a child. Or (totally gonna loose street cred here) like Floop's castle in the film Spy Kids. Guys, c'mon - don't pretend like it wasn't the best film of 2001. I'm a die-hard fan, not gonna lie. But anyway, La Rambla and the street surrounding my hostel had a couple of his buildings and I wish I'd had time to look inside too but that will have to wait for another day! I would totally suggest just googling Casa Battlo because the interior looks insane - I'm definitely not leaving Spain without a visit there!

Don't think this is Gaudi but it's a similar style and I love it

Casa Battlo - Gaudi

 

The house next door is just as beautiful - but not Gaudi

Amazing detail

We decided to head to the market for some breakfast, and we passed through the touristy part of La Rambla. This bit is full of postcard stalls, cheap tourist crap and also numerous amounts of men blowing some kind of tiny whistle that has an annoyingly high pitched sound. After walking past about 10 of these guys, I was ready to shove the damn whistle up the back passage of the next guy who tried to sell one to me. Luckily for that guy we reached the market!

La Boquería is amazing. It's the best market I've seen so far in Spain, but that is probably because it's so touristy. Ruby and I bought some fresh fruit, bread and fresh fruit juice and it cost less than a latte would in New Zealand! We sat in the street eating and just watching the scene in front of us. This is something I genuinely love about Spain, the supermarkets are the second choice when it comes to buying food. This is because it's possible to just head to the local market and pick up your meat and vegies etc. but you know that it's all local produce. Pretty incredible. It is true that in Spain people eat a lot more fresh food than other places - England definitely. NZ is pretty good for fresh food but Spain is something else!

Also - you can find some pretty hilarious things in the street outside the market... I doubt these actually work but who knows? haha

Entrance to La Boqueria

My favourite part - the juice section. Juices of every fruit you can think of!

 

 

  After the market, we headed off to find the Lomography shop, passing through the amazing streets of Barri Gotic and El Raval. This was what I was waiting for - tiny, labyrinthine streets. Oh man, I can't even remember how many times I said "Ahhh look at the sidestreets!" Poor Ruby haha.  But it was really beautiful. Words cannot describe how I felt so I'll let my (average) pictures do the talking. I wish I had a good camera but beggars can't be choosers!

One of the shops we popped into - so strange!

This freaky thing was standing outside the shop

It gives you a heart attack and/or the creeps when you turn around and look down the street

SIDESTREETS!

 
On our way to the Lomography shop we stumbled across an amazing piece of street art. It was so colourful and had so many different dimensions to it, it blew my mind. Every time you looked at it, you saw something new. The photos don't even do it justice! One thing I do love about Barcelona is the street art. It's everywhere!

Once we'd acquired our rented Lomo camera (I will develop the film soon!) we headed to the beach. I was pretty excited as I hadn't seen the sea since I left New Zealand, but while it was amazing to have some beach time, I definitely realised how lucky we are in NZ. The sand is dark brown, and the beach is packed. I understand why - it is one of the most visited cities in the world - but it just made me appreciate what I have at home. But I had a great time anyway! I swam in the Mediterranean for the first time in my life - not bad haha. We sunbathed, ate Tim Tams and just generally relaxed. We also got lucky and scored a free umbrella. You usually have to pay for hiring an umbrella or a recliner but we just rocked up, saw an umbrella with no one under it and parked ourselves there. No one noticed and the dude who was in charge of the umbrellas didn't have a clue! So sweet!

One huge difference between NZ and Spain is the attitude towards nudity. Boobs were everywhere; big boobs, perky boobs, saggy boobs, brown boobs, white boobs - boobs! haha. I'm no prude but it's kind of shocking to come from a country where most of the time, boobs are hidden, to a country where it's perfectly acceptable to get the girls out for some sun. Can't say I had the guts to try but I do admire their attitudes!

My view was partially obstructed but better than most peoples!

Masses of people! Horrible!

This was the least populated part of the beach I think!

Horrible bikini shot (with awesome Ruby) but proof I was there!

 We walked back to the hostel, all hot and sweaty but with that amazing feeling of salt and sand on your skin. We made sure to pass through the shady side streets (SIDESTREETS!) but had to stop a few times from sheer fatigue. Being a tourist is hard!

Totally didn't realise there was a kid on the balcony, looking wistfully into the distance, until I uploaded it onto my computer

Amazing architecture near the cathedral

The cathedral

 Once I got back to the hostel I had a much needed shower and then headed out to see La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell...or so I thought! It was really late by the time we got back and I rushed to Sagrada Familia to make the last visit. Sadly, this was not meant to be as I initially thought I would walk...I got lost. So I went to the metro (which I should have done in the first place) and got to LSF just before they closed, however, the line was too long so I wouldn't have made it to the ticket booth in time. Dammit! It looked pretty impressive on the outside, even with the construction, but I know the inside is even better. I just had to add that onto my "return to Barcelona" list. Also, I found out that Parc Guell was waaaay further away than I thought so that plan was foiled too.

 

 

La Sagrada Familia

 Defeated, I headed back to the hostel where Ruby and I decided that we would go out for dinner. We chose this amazing little Italian restaurant - Yes I know, I know, Italian in Spain but I have a year to eat Spanish food and also just had a mad hankering for carbs! Here I had my first taste of how hard my life was going to be until I learnt a bit more Spanish. I managed to ask for a table for two - done. I managed to ask for a beer and a bottle of water - easy. I ordered us pizza and carbonara - just point and pronounce, no sweat. But wait, the waiter stops my Spanish confidence when he asks me what size beer I want. I confidently say "Picante!" He looks at me funny and then laughs. I realise my mistake, feel like an idiot and say "Oh I mean pequeña." IDIOT. I'd just asked for my beer to be spicy instead of small hahaha. To make me feel even better, the waiter brings me over a bottle of chilli oil with my beer. Cheeky bugger haha but it was pretty funny. At that point I wondered...what the hell am I doing in Spain?! haha. 

I had to leave the next morning so it was an early night and repacking for me! The next morning I said bye to Ruby and Barcelona and headed off to start my new adventure in Zaragoza. I really wish I'd been able to spend more time in Barcelona, it really is an incredible city. But luckily I am only a 3h 45m bus ride away so hopefully one day soon I can explore a bit more and see all the things I missed.