Barcelona, more calm when you are sick...

We arrived into Barcelona after a quick flight from Belfast. We pulled into the city, right in the middle of the day, and quickly got our feet under us as we bypassed the metro to walk to the hostel. A good hour and a half later, the original decision to walk didnt seem like the best idea in the world. Checked into the hostel HELLO BCN, which is a great hostel just off of Parra-lel, a 5 min walk to Las Ramblas. Good atmosphere at the hostel, cheap drinks at night, COMFY beds, clean and free coffee all day! The rest of the day was just wandering around. This is the Place Real, where the Kabul (another great hostel) is located.

Place Real, The square with the Kabul Hostel

One of gaudis buildings in Barcelona

The first day we just wandered around the hostel, and got a feel for the area. We spent close to an hour and a half deciding where to eat. Barcelona has a huge amount of small tapa restaurants and bars that serve the most deliscious tapas. We settled on one and the food was amazing, we had smoked meat (Cappriccio) and bread with garlic and tomatoes, and a traditional Spanish potato omlette - yum!
The second day we were up early and headed out to see Gaudis casa Mila, Sagrada Familia, the Barceloneto beaches, and all around the Barri gothic area, el raval, and el ribera areas of the old town.

Gaudis famila

We did a bit of shopping to rearrange the wardrobe a little. That night, we booked ourselves in for a Flammenco show. First we were off to dinner at the ATTIC, a upscale(ish) restaurant off of Las Ramblas (Thank-you Kelly and Inga for the night out!) followed by our show! The Flammenco show was a little short (half hour), but quite amazing to see! The live band and the dancing were amazing! After the show, it was another quiet night for Chad trying to still recover, but Ewa managed to put together a decent outting, even if it was limited to the hostel! The vino was great.

The third day we were up early to tour the Castle de Montjuic and the parks of the area, which were all under construction and difficult to navigate. It actually took us a lot longer than it normally should have. The views from the top of the castle were great. The city is relatively flat, so on a clear day you get to see most of the town.
That night after a bit of a home cooked meal, we found fish that looked familiar although we cant really say what type of fish it was..it tasted good :) .
we were off to try to see the magic fountain, as it had been closed off for the past couple of days due to a car show. We were not dissappointed, as it there was a back door that was opened up on Sunday night. Ewa was very impressed with the light\music and water show. We liked it so much to have sat through two shows! As a reoccuring theme, we called it a relatively early night, as now Ewa is coming down with a bit of a cold too!

Magic Fountain

On the last day in Barcelona, we had a whole day to see things while we waited for our overnight train to Madrid. We spent the morning seeing the Park Guell. A great lunch at the Bombay Spicy (great Indian food just off of Las Ramblas on Sant Pau). We made a second stop into the market to pick up supplies for the train ride.

The market in Barcelona off of Las Ramblas

The market in Barcelona is rather amazing. They have food of all sorts: Fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, breads, olives, meat of all kinds, nuts, spices, ... just about anything you need for a meal.

marketplace, off of las ramblas

Fresh fishies! Las Ramblas

Some of them will also push a typical N american attitude of what is and what is not food! Then the rest of the afternoon chilling updating things on the internet, reading and surfing the net. Next... off for our first overnight train ride!

La playa

Barcelona, more calm when you are sick...

Barcelona, Spain