About 10 minutes after the train arrived in Barcelona, a bunch of guys on the metro immediately initiated Susan into the not so exclusive club of people who’ve been pickpocketed before they even get to their accommodation (something like 75% of tourists get robbed on their first day in Barcelona). Luckily after about 3 minutes of shouting, one of the other 30 people on the train realised that we weren’t going to let the door close so the train could leave until something was done, and with their subtle retreat somewhat foiled by all the commotion, a helpful Samaritan managed to retrieve the camera from the a-holes (the rest of the people on the train who sat there and did nothing are free to get bent) and we made it to the hostel with all our belongings intact for a well earned sleep.
I got up for an early morning train station visit to book my seat to Madrid which took all of about 10 minutes (compared to the 2 ½ hours I spent at the same station last time) and then after breakfast, we headed out to explore. Headed to Park Guell, the park estate designed by Gaudi at the turn of last century but abandoned and now left as a city park full of mosaics, bizarre buildings that seem to have grown up out of the ground and beautiful ironwork fences and gates. Can’t imagine what it would have been like had it gone ahead as originally intended but was very nice to wander around up there enjoying the sunshine and the view of the city from the top of the park was amazing.
Did a little shopping and returned to the hostel where I was finally able to do my laundry (and there was great rejoicing) while we had a picnic lunch in Plaza Rieal and went for a bit of a wander through the gothic quarter. Enjoyed a little siesta while I repacked my bags with clean clothes for the first time since I was last in Spain :P
Just to compare notes with the one I visited in Amsterdam, checked out Barcelona’s Erotic Museum which houses a much smaller collection but generally along the same lines (Amsterdam's definitely the best one to go to just in case anyone was wondering). This one obviously draws a much smaller crowd as it advertised a free drink and wi-fi as part of the ticket to lure in more people. Enjoyed our free drinks in the lovely courtyard in the centre of the museum, and then carried on shopping and sightseeing through the gothic quarter until we found our way to a tapas restaurant for a tasty dinner and huge glass of sangria.
Has been so lovely having Susan to travel with over the last few days but sadly we split up tomorrow morning and I am heading for Madrid to meet Tim and spend a week at Pueblo Ingles. A whole week in the same place, gonna be sweeeeeeeeet J
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| exploring Park Guell |
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