Barcelona, Spain

I woke up on the bus at 7.45 am to arrive in Barcelona. Thankfully the sleeping tablets worked and I slept most of the night.

As we got off, we ran into Troy, Beck, Karla and Jenny, as well as Simon and Kirsty, who were all getting on the bus to Nice. We stopped and chatted to them.

Because we’d heard the drop off hostel wasn’t very nice, we tried a couple of other hostels, but these were full. Most of the places listed in the Lonely Planet were also taken, and those that weren’t had significantly raised their prices since being in the guide book. We ended up at Hostel Palermo, pretty much in the center of town. It’s more expensive and not as nice as we would like, but it will do for the next four nights.

We went and had lunch before we were able to get into our room. And once in a sleeping tablet hangover let us have an afternoon nap.

We woke up at 3 pm and went to Sagrada Familia. Construction on this church began in 1882 and is said to be only half complete, but the façade is magnificent. At one end the façade is covered in scenes depicting the birth of Christ, while the entrance end, the more recently built, and modernly designed façade depicts many scenes surrounding Christ’s death. The cathedral was designed by Gaudi, and his old workshop is now a museum within the church, displaying many designs of his models and photos for the grand church. It is hard to view the building all at once, and it is not until you see a view from far away that you realize how huge this cathedral is.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona, Spain

We caught the Metro back to Catalunya and found a restaurant to have a cheap dinner at.

We then walked down La Rambla, which is the main road, that contains a wide walkway down the middle. The walkway is filled with buskers, henna tattooists, artists and eateries, and is a very lively place. We followed this all the way to the end, where the harbor is, and the most prominent feature is a statue of Christopher Columbus.

On the harbor, at a place called Port Vella, is where we went next. It was a Darling Harbour-esque complex with cinemas, shops, an aquarium, etc. We walked around for a while and had an ice cream to eat. This place was very popular with all types of people, i.e., families, tourists, young nightclubbers, etc., as it seemed to be getting busier as we headed for home.