Tuesday, May 29, 2012

I MADE IT!

I have returned from Spain and it was a joyous trip. I did keep a journal during the trip although some entries are more exciting than others. I'll just go through them day by day.

On the plane on the way there I was far too excited to get any sleeping done. Plus our flight from Chicago left at 4pm meaning we landed in Madrid at what would have been about midnight Chicago time. That's right around my bedtime and then we had a two hour layover and an hour flight to Barcelona. Trying to sleep at all on the plane is usually a bust for me anyway as I tend to get airsick. But thankfully four plane rides and back and forth across the ocean were accomplished without hurling. YAY ME!

First days in Barcelona were great. It is such a large bustling metropolis albeit we were staying in the area that would be the Michigan Ave of the city so it would be hard not to feel like it was bustling.

We did a lot of window shopping and studied the old city architecture. There are these lovely thin brick roads everywhere. Barely wide enough for two persons to walk abreast and people will come careening down them on their little scooters. I've never seen so many scooters in my life.

My first day dealing with jet lag was a little rough. After staying up for nearly 20 hours we arrived at 11am Barcelona time and at that point you just have to make a go of staying awake all day so you can get back on schedule that evening. I was more moody than a teenage girl according to Peter.

We walked down La Rambla which according to wikipedia is a tree lined pedestrian mall. It was very similar to the French Quarter in New Orleans. Lots of touristy stands selling fridge magnets that say Barcelona and have flamenco dancing ladies on them. My favorite shops were the sidewalk pet shops. Literally newspaper stands with aquariums, terrariums, and cages filled with rodents, birds, and fish. There was a very large open air market with meats and produce of all kinds. If you need a skinned sheep's head with eyes intact look no further.


Peter and I were crawled on by vermin in the Placa de Catalunya, which is the large square in the center of downtown Barcelona. We bought some bird seed; fed the pigeons, and it was easily the best two euros I spent the whole trip.

We also visited the Barcelona Cathedral but I don't seem to have any of those photos. When they arrive I'll post some. It was a magnificent structure completed throughout the 13th to 15th centuries. I was forced to cover my bare shoulders which I knew was something the Catholics frown upon but I've never been required to do it before entering a church. There was a very well dressed man at the door turning inappropriately dressed men and women away. He didn't speak he would just look you up and down and shake his head and wag his finger at you. It was a very effective if not considerate way of communicating his meaning.

I'll share more about a street musician and Park Guell later this week.

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