Backpacking Europe

DAY 5: July 5
We arrived in Barcelona and I was exhausted. To our surprise there were hundreds camped out on the floor at Stansted apparently this is common practice over here while catching an early flight. We took an hour shuttle from Girona to Barcelona and tracked down our hostel which was rather out of the way. Its a really nice place but at the very end of a metro route. After settling in we took off for food. We found a local place and encountered my very first HUGE culture shock. NO ONE spoke a word of english they actually had to show us what we could eat. I was so worried that we were going to get over charged but it was a very reasonable meal. From there we went to La Ramblas which is like a huge pedestrian street. We wandered around and around and finally made our way to the Ocean it was FAR but it was gorgeous. After walking around we came back to the hostel and I crashed it was a very long and hot day.

DAY 6: July 6
We got up decently early and ate our breakfast (bought from a local grocery for cheap). Then we had our beach day. It was so nice there is a very deceitful breeze wwhich hides how warm it really is. I swam in the Ocean for my first time and saw a little jellyfish. After I saw the jellyfish I was more apprehensive of swimming. We stayed on the shore line and let the waves toss us around and then layed on the beach. I got a lot more sun than intended but didn´t realize it til much later on. From the beach we had baguette lunch and headed to FC Barcelona, the soccer stadium. It was a neat stadium but a boring museum which Mike dragged out. It was so hot and I was so hungry so we went and found a patio on La Ramblas to eat. Out of impulse we sat and ordered Cokes big mistake, Cokes every where else are like 1 euro but here they were 7.50 the same price as our meals. I thought Mike was going to have a heart attack. they were very delicious Cokes in my opinion and a very essential learning experience for us. After supper we wandered to the Vila Olympic which is gorgeous. Possibly one of the most beautiful areas we´ve seen in BArcelona. Finally we headed home in search of a phone but it was very uneventful.

DAY 7: July 7
Today we looked at La Pedrera (Casa Mila) and Casa Battlo. We sprung for the tour of Battlo and it was incredible. There aren´t words to describe. From there we went to Sagrada Familia and wandered little shops. Tonight we plan on going swimming again, in hopes that its cooler in the later day. We also had our first McDonalds of the trip. Considering we´re a week in I think thats pretty impressive.

DAY 8: July 8
Today is our last day in Barcelona. We conquered Parc Guell which is a park filled with Gaudi's work. It was very impressive. He is a genius. After climbing the tall hill which even had exteriour escalators we decided to hit the beach for a final time before we leave. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed it very much. Barcelona was so relaxing and beautiful. I would definately go back and probably explore more of Spain. Last night our hostel roomates (from Texas) warned us against pickpockets in Rome and that the last few days while they were there it was more than 40°. We're off to our second overnight adventure and hopefully it goes better and I actually sleep.