After two weeks of pampering we are now on our own in Barcelona. We have to figure out how to take care of ourselves again only now we are in a foreign country where we don't speak the language. We fared pretty well on the first day not withstanding some of the obstacles we faced trying to find our way to our flat with big giant suitcases and without phones or money. (It turns out it's harder to withdraw cash here than in the states-at least for us-and AT&T is about as reliable as our credit card company.) When we got off the ship we weren't sure how we were going to travel but we eventually opted for taking a bus to the subway station since Taxi's don't accomodate more than 4 in this city. We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our place and were let in by the Portuguese owner's house help. Here are some photos of our flat and the street we are living on.
Our Balcony
Walking back from La Sagrada Familia
One thing we noticed about people here is that they all walk with pull carts for going shopping. We have one in our closet in our flat. We were sad that when we walked around the corner to the supermarket to buy groceries we didn't think to grab it. We are a bunch of amateurs. The grocery store wanted to charge us .50 euros for a shopping cart. We opted out and decide to settle on carrying the food (we have 12 hands between us) until Bryton found us the free version. We did end up paying for bags for the walk home because we didn't want to stuff food down our shirts and in our pockets, etc. like Frankie Heck did when she didn't want to be suckered into paying for a shopping bag. (In reference to The Middle which is a comedy based on our lives. Not sure how the writers know so much about us, but they do.) We ended up purchasing an extra large can of tuna the likes of which would put Sam's Club to shame. Not to worry. It has all been consumed.
After getting our fill of exotic sea food we headed over to La Sagrada Familia. On our way we were surprised to stumble upon this:
I'm glad that we saw it before La Sagrada Familia because were very impressed with it. However, La Sagrada Familia made it seem minuscule. I can say lots of things about La Sagrada Familia but if I had to choose one word to describe it, it would be "monstrosity". I don't think I've ever used that word before but am glad to have had the opportunity. Here are some pictures that couldn't possibly do it justice.
We have friends who have told us about the night life in Spain so I was surprised when John and Brooklyn went out to the street fair around 8:30 and came home to tell us that people were wrapping up and going home. However, when I decided to go to bed around 12:30 I heard quite a commotion outside. I stepped out onto our balcony and saw that the street that had been all but empty just a couple of hours earlier was now filled with people of all ages. John was feeling more adventurous than I so he actually went out to observe the happenings. The benches in the park were full of people. There were large groups of teenagers out socializing and little kids out playing tag. Apparently Spaniards live on a completely different schedule. Fortunately I am a deep sleeper and have no trouble falling/staying asleep in the middle of a fiesta. I say fortunately. It may be more of a misfortune because who knows what kind of fun I missed out on but at least I had a good night's sleep.
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