Weekend In Barcelona

October 14 - 16, 2011: As I'm trying to get rid of my jet lag for three days I am ready for another adventure. After roaming Paris for three days we finally decided to leave Paris and have a bright sunny weekend in Barcelona.

My friend's friend Arno had arranged for this trip keeping in mind that my trip will be full of adventure and fun. Thanks Arno for this kind gesture. And your hospitality is over the top for a French guy like you. Hehehe. I greatly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. I will not forget this experience that you have shared with me and my friend Doreen. I would gladly like to return the favor if ever you wanted to visit United States.

On a rush-hour Paris traffic of a Thursday afternoon, Arno drove his blue Peugeot sedan to a nearby town of Beauvais where we will board a local airplane called RyanAir. Beauvais is about 80 miles from the busy highways of Paris. All I can remember is the long tunnel we passed by which took Arno to drive for about 12 minutes. The French countryside from Paris to Beauvais was also fascinating with rows of plowed farms and small brick houses.

We left Beauvais at 1930H and was been suspended on air for about one-and-a-half hours going to the city of Barcelona. When we left the weather in France was kind of nippy so I have to wear a jacket and a scarf but when we got to the city of Barcelona the warm and humid air of the city greeted us fiercely with eagerness.

It was already almost midnight when we arrived in Barcelona. Our hotel was still far from the airport so we have to do a lot of searching and walking until we located the Metro which was very convenient for us to use. We stayed at a very nice and contemporary hotel called Rafael Hoteles. It was a very plush hotel and it was very comfortable to stay at. We stayed overnight to rest preparing for another adventure the next day.

The next morning, which is a Friday, we're all charged up and we're all ready to browse the city of Barcelona. We decided to go to La Sagrada Familia Cathedral first. Right after we got out of the Metro a wonderful sight had greeted us peeping from the early morning sunshine of the clear blue skies.

The church was a very fascinating site from the Metro exit and awesomely wonderful to look at. The artistic impressions it presents to the tourists and the locals from afar was very unique from a different period of time. I can sense that the artist himself was weird in his style but left an indelible perspective on the eyes of the audience and passersby. It was quite impressive!

We lined up the long standing line until we got to the innards of the church trying to browse the different arts, paintings, sculptures, reliefs, and structures of the church. We get to know how Antoni Gaudi came up with the idea of putting Gothic and Baroque arts in the realm of artistic science. Unique and magnificent yet pleasing to the naked eye!

After we got tired of roaming the church we went to the Diagonal District to see "The Pedreras" which is another edifice put up by Antoni Gaudi. The building was very intricate yet another unique structure definitive of Gaudi's stylistic and artistic architectural prowess. Because we're in a hurry we didn't got the chance to go up the rooftop because the line was long.

From there we went around the Diagonal District and saw some more structural buildings famous around Barcelona. We then decided to just walk around and continued down the Catalunya Area and trekking the "The Ramblas". We kept trodding the "The Ramblas" towards the beach and we decided to eat from there first because our stomach was been growling already. We chewed on some tapas, which is famous in Barcelona, and drunk some good beer. It was quite a good and tasteful lunch for us.

After the chowdown we then continued walking towards the beach and I took more pictures along the way. We passed by the Barcelona Cathedral and I've took more pictures of the church. After that we decided to go to Playa Barceloneta and enjoyed the windy and salty breeze of the beach. Arno couldn't control and resist his excitement and he stripped and plunged himself into the inviting clear blue cold water.

We also strolled around the beach until we got tired. We didn't even realized it was already 2100H so we decided to look for a place to eat and drink. We finally found a good and affordable place so we helped ourselves settled in. We ordered the best seafood paella I ever tasted and the best sangria in town that could blow your mind away and forget ourself that we are on a wonderful vacation. The paella and the sangria were the bomb combination! We finished three pitchers of sangria which got us too tipsy to go home especially me.

The night ended when we went back to the hotel almost close to midnight still talking and laughing about our day while we rode on the Metro going to Badalona where our hotel was located. Another day had passed and another day in the morning awaits. We slept off our fatigue but keeping the memories of the day as we succumb to a very refreshing slumber not minding what will be waiting for us the next day.

Day two of our weekend escape in Barcelona, a Saturday, we started our day with a brunch at the hotel at 1100H. Then after that we took the Metro and headed to Park Gruel, another artistic creation of Gaudi. Upon exiting the Metro we trekked a long way going up the hill until we located the famous Barcelona park.

The park was huge and there were alot of sculptural structures found with intricate trimmings definitive of Gaudi styles alone. Barcelona was been saturated by Gaudi's artworks which even lured millions of tourist around the globe. Thanks to this very quiet but quite impressive artist which catapulted Barcelona in the realm of art and architecture around the world and was been a subject in various books of arts.

After we strolled the park Arno decided to go back to Playa Barceloneta to swim and plunge himself on the inviting beach because he feels this will be the last part of the year that he can enjoy the waters of Barcelona. I decided to separate with them and strolled the city on my own while they headed to the beach.

I decided to go back to "The Pedreras" to see the well-known sculptures on the rooftop that made the edifice famous and also was made as a UNESCO cultural and historic structure. I bought a ticket for the entrance and had browsed the building trying to quench my thirst and filling my eyes to a brim of satisfaction. It was a very intimate and magical moment for me trying to commune with my impressions about the different kinds of arts I found at that rooftop. It made me a freeman and a connoiseur of arts. Can't really complain.

When I got out of the building the streets of Diagonal District until the Catalunya Area were packed with demonstrators for a labor union rally. I then continued to walk around and located the building of Battlo and Armentia and took several pictures then I headed to the University of Barcelona in the Universitat District. From there I strolled down to Catalunya Area and went to get the Metro because the streets were packed of the rallyists.

I exited the Arc de Triumph outlet and continued walking around taking pictures and trek the road heading to the Playa Barceloneta to meet Doreen and Arno where they went swimming at the beach.

It was already close to 2000H when we met and we decided to go back to the "The Ramblas" and look for a restaurant to gobble and terminate our hunger. We found this authentic tapas restaurant and ordered tapas and drinks. After the dinner we decided to look for a tavern and listen for a live jazz show. We ordered more drinks and satisfactorily listened to a blues band playing inside the pub.

When we got out there we were very tired, drunk, and sore. We still managed to walk a little more farther to take the Metro going to Badalona District and walked few more blocks towards the hotel.

The day ended very good despite of my sore feet, shin, calf, and thighs. I really think I need a good massage. I then decided to fill up my tub with warm water and soaked myself until I fell asleep. When I woke up at 0200H I felt very relieved of extreme muscle pain and soreness and fell asleep trying to savor what had happened today whether a bad or good situation happened.

All in all, I am all satisfied with the results of our roaming around Barcelona. Tomorrow will be another promising day I think. Can't wait to see what will happen but meanwhile I just wanted to retire and nurse myself with a very gratifying and satisfying sleep. Buenas noches mi amigos!