Let's get down in Barcelona
Apr. 18th, 2012 12:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bitchy_merlinI just got back from a weekend spent in Spain and Andorra! :D (in media res, much?)
Jamie and I left early (5am) on Friday, April 13th (le gasp!) to catch the train to Amsterdam Amstel. From there, we hopped on a Eurolines bus. Twenty-six (yes, you read that right) hours later - Saturday, April 14 - we had passed through Belgium, Luxembourg and France and arrived at our destination: Barcelona Sants bus station. We took the metro to Dressanes station where we dropped our bags off at our hostel and had tapas and paella while basking in the sunshine on La Rambla, one of the most famous streets in Barcelona. After lunch, we hopped back on the metro for a three hour journey to ANDORRA LA VELLA, which is the capital city of Andorra, the fifth smallest country in the world.
THE SCENERY WAS AMAZING. Seriously, mountains, rocks and trees, how I have missed you. In Andorra, we toured the old Parliament building (built in, what, the fourteenth century and only falling out of official use in 2011 - wow) and walked around the city centre for a while. The weather was freezing, but we persevered. In fact, we persevered so much that we CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN. Not all of it, obviously, but we followed a lovely, hilly path up the side of a mountain and spent a while walking around there - that was my favourite part of the Andorra trip. I picked up a rock for Dad from the mountainside.
There was also lots of duty-free shopping in Andorra, so we left that evening with our body weight in liquor and chocolate. Good times.
Unfortunately, the good times ceased when we got back to Barcelona at one am and found that the metro had closed for the night. Ok, fine, we thought, we'll just split cab fare and spend less money tomorrow. Things were going well until we got to our hostel and were told that they were now - surprise - full. The guy at the desk tried to give us directions to another hostel, but I don't know what he was smoking, cause when we got to *that* place... it was for sure not a hostel. Anyway, bascially, we spent the next two hours wandering the side streets around La Rambla, lost, cold and tired, searching for some place to spend the night. It was about three thirty by the time we found a place with a room - Hotel Paris, I think it was. We were dead on our feet by then, especially since we'd been carrying all our luggage, and we pretty much faceplanted for six hours.
The next morning, Sunday, April 15th, we checked out of Hotel Paris and embarked on a pilgrimage to our next hostel - AAE Hostel on a Boat (I think that may actually be the title). It was actually a lovely walk - or it would have been, if I hadn't been dying under the weight of my luggage and Jamie hadn't been nigh-homicidal thanks to trying to get to the hostel on time. We made it, though! IT WAS AWESOME :D Literally, the "hostel" was A BOAT (it fit two people comfortably). We gratefully crashed there, and whiled away the afternoon sunbathing on the deck of the boat, reading (LotR) and eating chocolate. Yes, it was actually a little piece of paradise. I can still smile at the memory of the sound of the creaking wood and the gentle rocking of the boat beneath me.
Later that afternoon, we headed back to central Barcelona and wandered around the city, following narrow, winding streets past hidden alcoves and concealed courtyards. We saw the Jewish Quarter, the Picasso Museum (his early work was simply captivating), a giant cathedral, and some Roman defense towers, among other things. We ate dinner at an overpriced restaurant - though they did a mean Nettle Soup - and I drank some lovely but overpriced sangria. After that, Jamie treated us to dessert - ice cream for him, a waffle for myself - from a stand near the cathedral, and it was good.
That night, we saw a flamenco show at Los Tarantos just off La Rambla. It was incredible! The venue was intimate - not too many people - and the performance was quite spectacular. The music was festive and contagious, and the dancers were full of sparking energy so that you couldn't help but be caught up in it. I really enjoyed it. <3
THEN WE SLEPT ON THE HOSTEL-BOAT AND IT WAS AWESOME. Freezing, but awesome.
On Monday morning, I woke up and went for a short run along the waterfront. It was nice to be able to run in a tank top again! (I think I even got a sunburn, which may have been the best souvenir of all). Then, I wrote postcards and when Jamie woke up, we ventured off to Park Güell to see some of Gaudi's architecture (we missed the Holy Family cathedral, alas!). It was incredible! Walking through that park, with its abundance of lush greenery - it felt like a scene from Abarat's Isle of Nonce. I could believe that the Garden of Eden looked similar to that park; it was unspeakably beautiful. Gaudi's architecture was also fabulous in ways I don't actually have words for - it seemed that no matter how deeply you looked at something, there was always another layer to it, waiting to be uncovered. The designs were so wonderful and strange - their beauty came from their strangeness. It was an unforgettable experience, and I wish we'd been able to stay longer.
Alas, time pressed onward, and we had to hustle to Barcelona Sants to catch our bus back to the Netherlands. (If I must confess, I was bad on the bus: my thoughts wouldn't shut up - I kept thinking and thinking - I had to stop it somehow - I disassembled my razor in the bus washroom and started cutting (I was clean for at least a year, fuck). Happy birthday to me, there are seven ugly scars on my wrists and blood on my sleeves - no one noticed.)
It feels so surreal knowing that tomorrow I have class and a to-do list and I'll be expected to function like a normal human being again. Traveling is always so freeing because it imposes no obligations and you're free to just be and appreciate moments as they come. I love it.
***
It was nice, though, (nice isn't ever going to be a strong enough word, but it will have to do) to come back to an inbox full of facebook messages saying happy birthday. ♥ I am so blessed for my family and friends; I can't put it into words.
Happy 560th Birthday, Leonardo da Vinci.
Jamie and I left early (5am) on Friday, April 13th (le gasp!) to catch the train to Amsterdam Amstel. From there, we hopped on a Eurolines bus. Twenty-six (yes, you read that right) hours later - Saturday, April 14 - we had passed through Belgium, Luxembourg and France and arrived at our destination: Barcelona Sants bus station. We took the metro to Dressanes station where we dropped our bags off at our hostel and had tapas and paella while basking in the sunshine on La Rambla, one of the most famous streets in Barcelona. After lunch, we hopped back on the metro for a three hour journey to ANDORRA LA VELLA, which is the capital city of Andorra, the fifth smallest country in the world.
THE SCENERY WAS AMAZING. Seriously, mountains, rocks and trees, how I have missed you. In Andorra, we toured the old Parliament building (built in, what, the fourteenth century and only falling out of official use in 2011 - wow) and walked around the city centre for a while. The weather was freezing, but we persevered. In fact, we persevered so much that we CLIMBED A MOUNTAIN. Not all of it, obviously, but we followed a lovely, hilly path up the side of a mountain and spent a while walking around there - that was my favourite part of the Andorra trip. I picked up a rock for Dad from the mountainside.
There was also lots of duty-free shopping in Andorra, so we left that evening with our body weight in liquor and chocolate. Good times.
Unfortunately, the good times ceased when we got back to Barcelona at one am and found that the metro had closed for the night. Ok, fine, we thought, we'll just split cab fare and spend less money tomorrow. Things were going well until we got to our hostel and were told that they were now - surprise - full. The guy at the desk tried to give us directions to another hostel, but I don't know what he was smoking, cause when we got to *that* place... it was for sure not a hostel. Anyway, bascially, we spent the next two hours wandering the side streets around La Rambla, lost, cold and tired, searching for some place to spend the night. It was about three thirty by the time we found a place with a room - Hotel Paris, I think it was. We were dead on our feet by then, especially since we'd been carrying all our luggage, and we pretty much faceplanted for six hours.
The next morning, Sunday, April 15th, we checked out of Hotel Paris and embarked on a pilgrimage to our next hostel - AAE Hostel on a Boat (I think that may actually be the title). It was actually a lovely walk - or it would have been, if I hadn't been dying under the weight of my luggage and Jamie hadn't been nigh-homicidal thanks to trying to get to the hostel on time. We made it, though! IT WAS AWESOME :D Literally, the "hostel" was A BOAT (it fit two people comfortably). We gratefully crashed there, and whiled away the afternoon sunbathing on the deck of the boat, reading (LotR) and eating chocolate. Yes, it was actually a little piece of paradise. I can still smile at the memory of the sound of the creaking wood and the gentle rocking of the boat beneath me.
Later that afternoon, we headed back to central Barcelona and wandered around the city, following narrow, winding streets past hidden alcoves and concealed courtyards. We saw the Jewish Quarter, the Picasso Museum (his early work was simply captivating), a giant cathedral, and some Roman defense towers, among other things. We ate dinner at an overpriced restaurant - though they did a mean Nettle Soup - and I drank some lovely but overpriced sangria. After that, Jamie treated us to dessert - ice cream for him, a waffle for myself - from a stand near the cathedral, and it was good.
That night, we saw a flamenco show at Los Tarantos just off La Rambla. It was incredible! The venue was intimate - not too many people - and the performance was quite spectacular. The music was festive and contagious, and the dancers were full of sparking energy so that you couldn't help but be caught up in it. I really enjoyed it. <3
THEN WE SLEPT ON THE HOSTEL-BOAT AND IT WAS AWESOME. Freezing, but awesome.
On Monday morning, I woke up and went for a short run along the waterfront. It was nice to be able to run in a tank top again! (I think I even got a sunburn, which may have been the best souvenir of all). Then, I wrote postcards and when Jamie woke up, we ventured off to Park Güell to see some of Gaudi's architecture (we missed the Holy Family cathedral, alas!). It was incredible! Walking through that park, with its abundance of lush greenery - it felt like a scene from Abarat's Isle of Nonce. I could believe that the Garden of Eden looked similar to that park; it was unspeakably beautiful. Gaudi's architecture was also fabulous in ways I don't actually have words for - it seemed that no matter how deeply you looked at something, there was always another layer to it, waiting to be uncovered. The designs were so wonderful and strange - their beauty came from their strangeness. It was an unforgettable experience, and I wish we'd been able to stay longer.
Alas, time pressed onward, and we had to hustle to Barcelona Sants to catch our bus back to the Netherlands. (If I must confess, I was bad on the bus: my thoughts wouldn't shut up - I kept thinking and thinking - I had to stop it somehow - I disassembled my razor in the bus washroom and started cutting (I was clean for at least a year, fuck). Happy birthday to me, there are seven ugly scars on my wrists and blood on my sleeves - no one noticed.)
It feels so surreal knowing that tomorrow I have class and a to-do list and I'll be expected to function like a normal human being again. Traveling is always so freeing because it imposes no obligations and you're free to just be and appreciate moments as they come. I love it.
***
It was nice, though, (nice isn't ever going to be a strong enough word, but it will have to do) to come back to an inbox full of facebook messages saying happy birthday. ♥ I am so blessed for my family and friends; I can't put it into words.
Happy 560th Birthday, Leonardo da Vinci.
