Barcelona! Day Uno

Yay for mini-break! Mark and I have just returned from 3 days in Barcelona. Let's start from the beginning:

About a week and a half ago I got an email from Mark declaring that he had snagged a hotel room in Barcelona for £10 a night for two nights. Deciding this made it worthwhile to go on an impulse trip, we booked some EasyJet flights and on Sunday morning, away we went! That is to say, at least, that we got up at 4am on Sunday morning, took the first bus of the day from Fulham to Victoria, got a train at 5:47 with a few random people going to the airport and a bunch of really weird people clearly going home after a night out. After a very smooth EasyJet flight we landed in Barcelona and checked into our hotel around noon, freshened up a bit and then hit the ground running.

Our hotel was about half a mile from the Sagrada Familia, which was handily the first stop on my Day One tour in my Frommer's book. We first ate some gas station sandwiches in the park and then decided we would up the cash and go in. We got a little confused and ended up going into the service entrance (there was a church service starting in 15 minutes). This allowed us to go into a little corner of the cathedral for free, whilst going into th rest of us would cost us €8. We decided the little corner was enough! For a little background, the Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi and construction started in the late 1800s. Due to the intricacy of the design of the building (and the fact that Gaudi had the audacity to get hit by a tram and die before it was completed and didn't leave any plans), construction on the cathedral is still on-going. The inside is relatively sparse, but the walls are white-washed and there were some beautiful stained glass windows (interior shot shown above!). To put it lightly, the outside is insane. It's ridiculously complex. Anyways, moving on!

We did a bit more walking and enjoyed the fine exteriors of some additional 'moderniste' designs before heading into the medieval part of the city, where streets where extremely narrow. By this time it was mid-afternoon, and especially being a Sunday, many things were either shut for the day or shut for 'siesta'. We sat for a while outside the old cathedral, hit Starbucks and did a little neighbourhood walk. Finally the cathedral opened up again and we were able to walk through (free entry people! but I donated some change) both the cathedral itself and go into the courtyard area. The courtyard is and always has been home to a gaggle of geese. Apparently they make good guards (seriously). Anyways, it was a very peaceful setting.

Being by this time around 6 we decided it was a somewhat acceptable hour to go get some tapas and try some cava, which is the local sparking wine. We went to a place recommended in the guide book within the medieval quarter. The food (and rose cava) were very good. Our first bit of bad luck hit us when we were leaving through those winding streets (at 7:30 pm, mind you), when a couple of local teenager types started to talk at us in Spanish and were trying to hand us some little fliers. Not wanting anything or understanding what they were saying, I walked ahead of Mark to get through them single file and quickly turned the corner. They then blocked Mark's path and sort of pinned him against the wall (luckily it was a metal door cover thing so I heard it and turned back around the corner) and essentially tried to pick his pocket. Mark being a savvy city type immediately put his hand over his pocket to keep them away, sensing that was what they were after. They then walked away and Mark and I continued on our way. Although I must admit I was tempted to go after them and beat them with my purse. So a bit shaken but otherwise in tact, we walked around for a while longer before deciding it was best to venture into another establishment before heading back to our hotel (we didn't want to be too uncool!).

That wraps up the first day in Barcelona! I've got plenty of pictures but haven't had a chance to put them on Picasa quite yet!