BARCELONA IN RETROSPECT

Finding the time to constantly update my weblog was more difficult than I expected. There was so much to see and even though the sun is out for longer period of time, one is always running out of time. It is a matter of living for the moment and enjoy things as they are. A couple of days have passed since I arrived in Europe, and now I´m going to make an attempt to share the highlights of Barcelona.

PORT VELL

Arriving in Barcelona on a weekend was not recommended by any guidebook I have read, hoever due to unforeseen circumstances, I arrived on Friday noon in Barcelona tired but extremely excited from 11 hours flight from Singapore to Amsterdam, a 4 hour wait in huge Schipol airport, and 1 1/2 hours of Amsterdam to Barcelona. The initial kick was to see the sign BARCELONA AIRPORT from the plane. There I was, at the beginning of a trip of my life.

One wrong bus stop and one starbucks coffee later, my friend Danny found me in the height of bustling La Rambla where I pleasantly got distracted with the Catalonians and tourists alike. Thank God for mobile phones! We quickly dropped my bagpack in the hostel (we were right at the 4th floor with no elevator!!) and headed to Port Vell - which was Dan´s newfound favourite spot to "hang out and do nothing". The weather was absolutely gorgeous, even if it´s on the windy side.

An observation towards the Catalonians is that they pay attention to what they wear. Maybe it is summer season. Colours are everywhere and they´re not afraid to show it. Guys and girls...

Day turned into night and like other Catalonians, we tried to adjust our stomach and had, appropriately enough, TAPAS. It´s at this streetside cafe called Tapa Tapas on Paegue de Gracia. One Belgian drink after that we went to La Luna Cafe to catch a bit of local jazz. My watch showed 1:00 when we walked out of La Luna, and I could barely keep my eyes open.

LA SAGRADA FAMILIA & MACBA

Our routine started with breakfast at Port Vell, whilst deciding on what to for the rest of the trip. We headed to Barcelona Sants, the main station to figure out how to get to Granada or Ibiza. As tempting as Ibiza was, it was going to be costly - so we decided to scrap that out of our itinerary. Shortly after, we discovered that there was no night train available for our desired date. Well, Dali´s Museum at Figueres is the alternative. We managed to secure a room in Hotel Pirineos for the next 2 nights.

It was 12.30 pm when we took the metro to the La Sagrada Familia temple. Gaudi´s unfinished masterpiece stood high above us. I must agree with one guidebook that says the structure is actually quite ugly and scarry. Don´t get me wrong, I admire his craftmanship and all, but it was really... ugly! I kinda like the nativity scene at the back gate though. The whole things was kinda watching a theatre in its own right.

We missed Monasteri de Pedralbes and made it just in time to the Museu de Contemporari Arts. For 3€, the museum was a dissapointment. Except for some works of Lucio Fontana, there wasn´t much to see.

MAYUMANA SHOW @ POLIORAMA THEATRE, JAMBOREE

An impulsive purchase brought us to Poliorama Theatre to watch a show called Mayumana. It was a show inspired by STOMP, with more dance in it. It is here that I notice that there were numerous guys amongst the audience. They all look straight, and enjoying the show.

We then went to another jazz band thingy and danced the night away at Jamboree.

more post after this - cynth writes again