Landing in Barcelona at 230pm was a quiet landing. My friend I had made from Ireland (the good planner) told me to follow him as we were taking the same bus and both had luggage to collect (I check my bag due to liquids over 100ml). We caught the second bus (the first bus was full and stopped admitting people as we were about to get on) and met a third amigo from Ibiza as we were traveling into the ciudad (city). The lady from Ibiza had gone to school in Barcelona many years ago as she put it, and she explained how the city has changed and where we were as we were going in. She was like a tour guide and she was just happy to practice her english. In the distant background I saw something like the jesus statue in Brazil towering over the city, and on an equally high point next to it, I saw something that resembled a castle... quite formidable. I liked this city already.
I got dropped off at plaza catalonia which was the last stop on the air bus from the airport, and had to search for wifi due to my poor planning and not having my maps up. I had a meeting in 10 minutes with the person I was renting a room from. A taxi driver pointed me in the right direction but I really dislike taking random advice without any way of verifying it... Several times my verifications have saved me from incorrect advice, a lot of times people will answer out of feeling bad and wanting to help, but not knowing they are completely wrong and sending me off to waste my time.
It was surprisingly easy to find wifi and I was on course. I passed the apartment complex and didn´t even know it, I was staying in the centre of the city! I probably booked it for a reason but I forgot how great of a location it was, and it´s way cheaper than a hotel. I had no idea how to get in and had to get help from local people. I was buzzed in but didn´t even know how to open the door and just waited ten minutes for my host to come downstairs. The door was somewhat hidden and you just had to know what you were doing to open it.
I got an introduction to the apartment and was really happy with my renting, it had a private balcony on the top floor and I got my first ¨rooftop¨view of the city, not a grand view but a view none the less, I just saw a few other rooftops, and some taller buildings.
I charged my phone in a Wall outlet for the first time in 2 countries, London and ireland use different adapters and I just used my rental car to charge my phone (they both had usb slots). I had to leave my phone while I left for shopping-food (i felt so naked!! this is the first time I haven't had my phone on me the entire trip! the great location of the apartment made me not fear being lost, it was soooo central). I had seen a number of stores on my walk from the bus stop and wanted to check them out ... I have not bought clothes the entire time Ive been in Europe, and I have been wearing the same crappy work clothes the entire time, not caring what I look like, but now I wanted to wear something that resembled proper clothing.
I wandered the streets off las ramblas (the main Street in Barcelona and right next to my apartment) looking for food - shopping, finding a main square with a very official looking store but all stores only displayed womens clothing. I guessed this place had mens clothing and wandered up flight after flight of escalators, finding literally everything but food and mens clothing. At the top floor (maybe 7 floors up) I found a mall restaurant, I was so hungry due to only eating cereal at the hostel that I found the first waiter that spoke english and ordered his recommendation (anything with beef in it as I was craving some beef for some reason). He brought out some potatoe and tuna salad ´´on the house´´ and I kind of cringed, I told him I really don´t eat this type of food but ate it anyway - I´ve eaten dirt before, I can eat anything, but I just don´t see a reason to eat potatoe salad, it looks like pure mayonaise... Why get addicted to things like mayonaise and salad dressing that serve no function on the food table? That's for another discussion I suppose, back to Barcelona - the view was interesting to me, I love rooftop views at restaurants, but this one only showed all the rooftops of Barcelona - they seemed to be simliar heights, maybe there is some kind of height restriction on buildings? I enjoyed viewing this second level of Barcelona, a really jam packed city. My food arrived pretty quickly (a thin type of beef steak, an egg, with some french fries) and I had a glass of red wine - delicious. The kétchup was really weird it tasted like fresh tomatoes, which I immediately thought was nasty but, after further review thought maybe it's the best kétchup I ever had? I'm not sure, I'm not a kétchup expert and I just ate all the kétchup analyzing whether it was good or not.
I found out the mens clothing was on floor "Minus one." It was a funny translation, and I headed down to the negative one floor. I couldn't figure out my size in local numbers, it was too confusing, so I bought some clothes from London, a Brand called pepe. I really wanted to buy some cheap clothes but I ended up buying rather expensive clothes at full Price for pure quality sake. I really missed nordstrom rack / express sales and quality, and had to pay a Little more for the lack of knowledge of the área and lack of time. On the way home I bought my first bottle of cologne since I've been in europe, I guess it completed the outfit for the night and now I am fully back to civilization as I am used to it. I even bought some socks, really weird socks, but socks none the less.
Walking back I noticed I had passed the cathedral, several times, without even realizing it. This is a huge attraction and was made somewhere around 800 years ago. I didn't have time to stop as I had big plans for my first night in Barcelona. I kind of understand that your first night really sets the pace for the rest of your 4 days, and I want to do A LOT! So I contacted a referred hostel about what they were doing tonight - a pub crawl as well as a random club each night. I wanted to respect my apartment owner and not come in at late hours so I booked a 20$ room at the hostel, well worth the Price simply for the knowledge I gain. I will catch a free walking tour they recommend in the morning and possibly make some friends on the way. I do not feel like drinking but do want to catch the nightlife of Barcelona and I have no idea where to go. Last time I wandered by myself I got ripped off in Hungary, not a great experience and easily avoided by sticking with hostel groups.
Time to hop in the shower, throw in some laundry, and head out, I wanted to get this posted because arriving in Barcelona was quite impressive and I like to update my friends and family as much as possible about the evolution of this trip. Hopefully this gives you a good idea of my first day in Barcelona and what I'm learning about traveling.
No comments:
Post a Comment