Barcelona Bound

Well the train ride from Paris to Barcelona was interesting to say the least. With 4 adults and more than double that in bags, our tiny cabin was packed full. Sitting in our seats there was no walking room or spare corner to speak of. When the guy came around to turn the beds down he took one look at the cabin, shook his head and said "I will have to come back". The other ladies were at dinner at this point so it was probably a good thing. Originally they were saying they weren't going to sleep or would just sleep in the chairs but I told them I would be sleeping in my bed. There is no way I could sleep in the little half chair provided, not to mention I paid for the bed so I should use it! When the beds were turned down the area to walk in became about a foot and a half by three feet...it was squishy especially since there was a ladder in the middle. After alk that talk, my three room mates fell asleep before I was even ready for bed! I slept fitfully.  Afraid of reaching my stop and being fast asleep in my pj's, I kept checking my clock. Didn't matter because they rang a buzzer about 40 minutes before anyways.

The first thing I saw in Barcelona....palm trees! Ah, where there are palm trees there is sun and heat! After heading outside and looking up and down the street I decided to get directions. I asked a security guard who spoke to me only in spanish while I spoke back only in english. I think we understood each other! I got to my hostel, dropped off my stuff and went out to find the free walking tour. I found Laura, born in Barcelona but lived in Scotland for 5 years, just in time. She took us around the Old City, also known as Barri Gotic. She was so informative and gave us history as well as fun facts. For example, Barcelona was founded in 15 BC by the Romans. There are remains of the Roman city underneath part of the Old quarter. Everytime an old building is torn down, they find some kind of archeological gem.  The people of Barcelona are Catalonian and don't think of themselves as Spanish. They even have their own dialect and traditions. Catalonia only lost their autonomy during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930's and then got it back in 1975. The Barri Gotic used to be the Jewish quarter until the plague hit the city. Many people thought the Jews brought it to the Christians even though they virtually lived in only this one part of the city. Sadly, the people who took over this quarter used old stones to build their homes and churches and this included Jewish grave stones and statues. As we walked along we came across Sta. Maria del Mar. From the outside it looked like a plain building, but when you looked through the doorway it was an oasis inside a church. It was absolutely beautiful. With trees and ponds, ducks, and little frogs.

A funny Catalonian tradition is at Christmas. They have Caganer who is a gnome figure that can be found squatting in nativity scenes. They have also branched out to include similar figurines of famous people. The idea is that you give back what you took from nature. They do literally have poo coming out of their bum, and are called sh*%#ers in English.  They also have Tio de Nadal or Caga Tió which is a log with a smiley face who is cared for by children in the days leading up to Christmas. On Christmas eve they cover him with a blanket and beat him with a stick and sing songs to him with the hope of getting him to poo presents. Just some interesting tidbits for you! Lol

After my tour I walked to the Estacio d'Autobusos Barcelona Nord to buy my bus ticket to Valencia. On the way there I found the Arc du Triomf on Pg Lluis Companys. I headed back towards the older part of town and walked along La Ramblas.  It is full of little shops and restaurants and it has a really neat atmosphere.  After wandering for most of the afternoon I decided to head back to the hostel and get checked into my room. I still wasn't feeling great. On the way back up Pg. De Garcia I saw the most beautiful building with masks on the balconies! I spent the evening talking to my dad and organizing my hostel for Valencia before taking a quick jaunt around the block in search of a light dinner. I decided afterwards to have a shower and this is what I found...dun dun dun! While the shower room is extremely clean, it is unisex, which isn't a big deal. I have dealt with that before. But most showers have a small "room" in front of the shower so you can change and have a dry place to leave your clothes. Not so. There were no hooks or room or anything. Just a row of shower stalls, which was tight enough for a shower let alone a spot to keep your clothes dry! Oh man....I managed to do it by balancing everything on the top of the door with as much hanging over as I could manage! Still, who thought that was a good set up! On a positive note, the doors were sturdy and solid and I was alone in the room!

I went to bed early to get a good sleep!