First Two Days in Barcelona!

Highest peak in Parc Guell...just a wee bit windy!

First two days in Barcelona have flown by.  Gina and I arrived Monday afternoon; we were met with sunny skies and a warmish breeze.  Barcelona weather in November is pleasantly cool, low-60s, which, (coming from Derry) is practically tropical.  We're staying in the most impressive hostel.  The Garden House Hostel is about a 20-25 min metro ride into the center of the city.  It's in a quiet suburb and is equipped with a modern furnishings, free Wifi, lots of outdoor patios, and a beautiful rooftop terrace! It's so cheap and so wonderful; we are truly lucky gals.  On Monday we did a bit of shopping and exploring along La Rambla (named for the Arabic word ramla which means dried up river).  We really enjoyed watching the street performers who get dressed up in the most amazing costumes and stand perfectly still...that is, unless you approach them, then they're suddenly animated!  We had a fabulous dinner at a small tapas restaurant near La Rambla, and I ended up drinking an entire bottle of a really nice tempranillo.  Whoops.  Ended the night on the Garden House's outdoor patio talking about American politics with two boys: one from Texas, one from Germany.

Tuesday: Today was fabulous.  Gina and I went to the huge food market (La Boqueria) on La Rambla to grab breakfast and lunch for later.  It's impossibly colorful and tantalizing in there.  Everything is fresh (some of the sea creatures were still alive) and relatively inexpensive.  It's no good being indecisive in that market; you could spend your whole day there!  We caught a bus to La Pedrera, one of Gaudi's last residential designs (and one of his most fabulous efforts).  I have to admit...I didn't know much about Gaudi before arriving.  But now I can tell you he was a serious genius.  His work is so whimsical and fanciful...I can't imagine what people thought in the early 20th century!  We learned all about inverted catenary arches (genius) and his impressive use of wrought iron (twisted).  The rooftop of La Pedrera was other-worldly.  The strange geometric-monolith chimneys were my favorite.  The pathways are undulating, the arches are abundant, the mosaic decorations were delicious.  This dude was great.

So naturally we headed to Parc Guell to see some more of Gaudi's work.  I was blown away by this park...it was so fabulous!

...uh oh roommate is giving me the evil-eye whammy...more later.

Gaudi's serpentine benches on the terrace of Parc Guell