seven days in barcelona.

monday--first day back in the wonderful city. it was columbus day so C didn't have school. we wandered from his apt toward plaza catalunya and whatnot. we picnicked in ciutadella and mostly just wandered around the city. on our way back towards his apt (in the northwestern part of the city) we happened upon a columbus day celebration of sorts. it was interesting to watch. lots of posters, and drums and people in costume. after a mexican feast, we watched running with fire in the les corts neighborhood. this celebration is generally done in the city during a festival in september, which i missed my first go round. it was amazing to watch. specific people actually carry the fire, but anyone who wants to run with the fire is welcome to. unfortunately we were not wearing appropriate attire, but we watched from a small distance and took lots of video and pictures.

columbus day posters.

running with fire.

all the crazies.

tuesday--i wandered towards the mnac, plaza espanya, and the base of montjuic. i missed that on my quick barcelona tour before paris. i also got to visit C's school.

wednesday--i walked all of montjuic. i started from C's apartment. i ventured over to plaza espanya and the mnac and then conquered the mountain. i ended my journey at paral-lel then walked all the way back to C's apartment. (all in all about 4 hours of straight walking). that night C and i revisited the crazy see-saw swings several of us found in ohseven, between ciutadella and the beach. they were scarier than i remembered. we also found a cute little bar on passeig del born and watched the end of the fcb game. they won.

thursday--i walked from C's apt to the catedral. due to the weather, the blisters on my feet, and the fact that i actually had never been in the catedral, i spent a lot of time sitting in there. it was pretty. the interior somewhat reminds me of santa maria del mar. afterwards i met C and a friend for dinner at....oviso! although the names have changed, i ordered the fogosa, the massive feta salad. it was amazing. afterwards we walked over to the cccb who does free jazz concerts on thursday nights. we waited in line for a while, and entered. after getting into the concert, the heat was a little too much to bear. we opted to sit in some comfty chairs set up in their courtyard where the concert was projected onto the glass facade and the music was played through some speakers. all in all it was a good time.

friday--i toured the palau de musica. i missed this barcelona icon the first time around. the scaffolding is finally removed and you can actually see all the beautiful columns. the tour was really nice. i can't even remember the last time i took a guided tour. the building is absolutely beautiful. all the details are so exquisite. unfortunately, you can't take pictures on the tour. so you will have to google it to see the inverted glass skylight. fun fact: it weighs over 1000 kilos! i also did some shopping. oops. no major purchases. that night C and i headed towards sagrada where two of his friends (who are from the us) live and hung out.

front of the palau.

saturday--C and i walked from his apt through eixample and headed towards the water. we ate a massive meal from the conveyor belt sushi place. yes, we sat at a table and literally watched the dishes go by and grabbed whatever we deemed necessary. then we headed to the raval (our old hood) and spent a decent amount of time drinking coffee and watching the raval characters pass by the ambar window. we proceeded to walk down paral-lel to the mnac and watch the magic fountain. the sunset was amazing and the show was beautiful. i had never caught a full magic fountain show. it was definitely a great way to end the day.

sunday--C and i walked from his apt to montjuic. this time we were on a mission..to find the rope park near the montjuic castle. success! it was a rather warm day (it's been rather chilly lately, but nothing compared to the states from what i'm hearing). we picnicked in the park, played some on the ropes course, then hopped the metro back.

for those of you who don't know barcelona very well, i don't think you realize how much walking i am actually doing. to walk from C's apt to the beach takes about 1 1/2. (and i generally walk fast.) on the average day (when i do sightseeing in the older part of the city) and i don't take the metro, i am generally walking at least an hour one way to get to and from C's apartment. plus all the walking i do in-between. the past 6 weeks of wandering around europe are really getting to my feet. i have some mad blisters. and for good reason. despite the pain, i enjoy the walking. mostly because i love walking, but also because it's free. metro rides start to add up without even realizing it.

on another note, i realized how quickly my time is coming to an end in europe. i have about 3 1/2 weeks left. for the next 3 days i will be in barcelona. on thursday i am flying to london to visit T (a friend from camp). i will be there for a week. then i return to barcelona to soak up the wonderful city and all of its glory for just 6 short days before i hop on a plane. this time to dc.