Barcelona Day 2

I feel like I've walked miles and miles and miles; my feet definitely hurt. BUT, it's worth it.

Yesterday (Day 2) started off with a wonderful little breakfast at a cafe just up the street from my hostel called Buenas Migas; I had a pastry of some kind--it had raisins, and oatmeal, and I think every drop of sugar in Spain. It was very rich, but absolutely delicious. Then I walked (a long, long way) over to Plaça de Espanya. It's a huge square with a fountain in the middle and the grand entrance to Montjuic--a big hill/mountain with the olympic stadium, several gardens, a few museums and an old castle. It would take too long to describe all of those here--I'll put up pictures in a couple of weeks when I get home--but suffice to say it was all very grand and impresive; and I got a nice hill workout. The views from the cable car up to the castle, looking out over all of Barcelona, were amazing.

The weather continued to be gorgeous, so after walking around Montjuic all day I returned to the hostel to change shoes (so different parts of my feet could get a chance to blister) and then walked all around the port and Batti Gottic. I was looking for some good guitar music, but there was none to be found, so I just kept walking. There was a choir doing some singing outside of the Catedral--oddly enough, they weren't doing much gospel; more show-tunes. Have you ever heard ¨Summer Lovin'¨in Spanish (possibly Catalan)? I have...So I strolled a little longer, back throught the Born district with all it's fabulous little shops that I very industriously resisted going into (you should appreciate that that is like an alcoholic walking down a street full of bars and resisting going in them, even when all the drinks are 50% off...). Then I strolled back to the metro (lazy, I know, but I just couldn't walk anymore) and went back to the hostel.

It looks from this post like I didn't do much, but really I did a lot--too much to write about in fact. You'll see pictures soon. Today, my final day in Barcelona, I'm going to figure out how to get up to Tibidabo for some more great views of the city, then finish everything off by exploring Gaudi at Guell Park and the Sagrada Familia. I leave in the morning for Madrid!