Least recently, I was in Barcelona. It was an uneventful flight there (which is how I like my flights). The cheapest airline that flies between Munich and Barcelona is called Vueling (pronounced: vway-ling) and it is so cheap because they literally pack people into this little Embraer/Airbus/Regional Jet of sorts like sardines. It's like they tried to fit the number of people on a 737 or bigger plane into a RJ.
Alright, so after 2 hours or so of mild discomfort and a very inconsiderate armrest hog who managed to claim both armrests in the middle seat, we (me and Val) were elated to get off of the plane. We took the bus into Barcelona from El Prat and then oriented ourselves in La Placa Espanya (pardon my questionable Spanish spelling). It is a beautiful plaza with a palace-museum building and a huge fountain. I couldn't get a very good photo with my old cell phone, but I found this one:
Not bad.
We then successfully navigated the subway to the different places we were staying. That was kind of stressful because the language of Barcelona is Catalan. So, even if I could remember a single word from 8th grade Spanish, it wouldn't have helped. Not to worry, I met my gracious host, Farah, without delay and it was quite a relief to make it to a nice place to sleep at the end of a long travel day.
The next morning Farah had plans to go Cava tasting (or as I prefer to call it, Cava drinking...) which she invited me to as well. We got up early to catch the train to the Freixenet and Codorniu wineries outside of Barcelona. I learned all the facts on how to make a delicious Cava at the Freixenet tour (which was, thankfully, in English) and nodded politely and smiled at the (apparently) amusing tour guide at the Codorniu tour-- which was given in Catalan. I think he was saying the same things as the guy at the last tour, but I honestly have no idea.
I was 3 drinks in by 2 pm.
I was probably a little tipsy when I took this picture at Codorniu; that's Montserrat in the background.
Personal Favorite: Codorniu Anna Pinot Noir
On the way back to the apartment we stopped by Sagrada Familia. By far the largest work of art I have ever seen. It is truly amazing. It's hard to get a good picture of it-- if you get to close you can get the detail but not the scale, but if you back up to get all of the cathedral in one picture you can't see all of the amazing work. It's super frustrating! Here is my feeble attempt to capture it:
This is the side Gaudi himself worked on. Cranes in the background because they are trying to get this building done by 2026. Construction will only have taken a modest 150 years at that point.
We caught up with friends later that night to get Tapas which were absolutely delicious. One thing I really enjoyed was how much cheaper Barcelona is than Munich. The amount of food per Euro was EXCELLENT.
We were all pretty tired so we just headed back to the apartment after dinner (disclaimer: Barcelonians and most Spanish people eat dinner at like 9, so by the time all was said and done, it was kind of past my bed time!)
Sunday dawned and I was ready to hit the beach, but I was having trouble reaching Val (I found out later she had her phone stolen Friday night after she went out with friends), so I went to Parc Güell with Farah and hoped I could get things straightened out by the afternoon with enough time to go to the beach.
Everyone and there cousin is at Parc Güell on Sunday since most other places are closed. Luckily it is a pretty big place and everywhere you look you see Gaudi. There is also a spectacular view of the city where Sagrada Familia is also visible (by visibile, I mean hulking in the middle of apartment buildings).
So the detail isn't great in this one, but that thing in the middle left is Sagrada Familia. Downtown is off in the distance along with the Mediterranean.
After a few hours taking pictures and enjoying the views from the park, I went to the beach to relax for a couple of hours. It was beautiful and the water was a perfect temperature. I was very paranoid about leaving my bag alone on the beach so I asked a couple of girls who I was sitting next near to watch my bag. They were English and I trusted them enough-- plus it was too hot not to get in the water for a bit.
It was pretty popular, but not as crowded as I thought it would be. I hastily took this crooked photo for proof. I think I'm getting worse at this photography business.
I enjoyed some time absorbing vitamin D and swimming in the Mediterranean and then navigated my way back to Farah's apartment.
We went out for what was supposed to be a quick dinner and with full intentions to see the magic fountain at La Placa d'Espanya (it lights up, plays music, and does some kind of fountain-y dance, I guess), but, dinner was taking a while-- so we didn't get to see the fountain show. However, we did get a free 'salad' out of the deal to go along with our paella and sangria.
This 'salad' was a combination of jamon iberico, greens, olives, more random vegetables and a really yummy vinagrette. I wasn't complaining about any fountain if this was what I got instead. Jamon iberico (Spanish bacon) is heavenly.
The next morning Val and I managed to catch the appropriate trains and buses back to the airport with plenty of time. The Barcelona airport is rather annoying. They announce your gate about 5 minutes before boarding, so you have to hustle to the gate and then you get on a bus that takes you out on the tarmac to where you plane is waiting. You then climb the stairs from the tarmac onto the plane. It was all a bit much before 7 am, but we made it back to Munich and into work around 10:15. I can't say that I was an especially productive employee that morning and I may have had a coffee every hour on the hour, but it was all worth it when I look back.
That sums it up for Barcelona! Only one thing left...
Totals:
Beer: 15 (+1 Damm Limon-- It's like a Spanish Radler)
Lederhosen: 33 (holding steady-- no Lederhosen spotted in Barcelona)
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