Sooo, as you probably already know, we lost a day in Barcelona due to a swollen ankle and rain. When we did get out, we took the free tour of the Gothic quarter (no, not a lot of teenagers in black with spikes and painted faces, Gothic architecture) which was really interesting. We saw some of the ruins from when the Romans founded the city, stood on the highest hill in old Barcelona (16.9 meters high... easiest hill we've climbed yet!) and had some... interesting... food at a hole-in-the-wall diner. I ended up having rice with a shrimp who was all there, head, feelers, legs, exoskeleton, as well as squid, an oyster and pork. For the main dish it was fish in some kind of great sauce and fries. Good food, but you shoulda seen me ripping that shrimp up! We then took a walk down by the beach and saw the Mediterranean Sea for the first time - it was so pretty. We tried getting pics of the surfers, but no luck. On the way back to the hostel, we went past some guys who were break dancing in a square, so we stopped and I got a video of them... pretty amazing what those guys could do!
Day 2 of touring we had to go back to the train station to figure out how we were getting to Marsielles and then we were going to take another tour, but got caught up in shopping (I got people stuffs... he he he) and looking for protein for Ana. We decided that we would go to Park Guell (the park that was designed by Gaudi). Well, we found the metro station just fine, then tried to follow the signs and ended up on the wrong hill (we found that out by asking the guy at the pharmacy for directions) ended up going down the hill we were on and up the next hill, finally found a sign and started into the park... about halfway up we were both wondering what the hell was so special about that park because it seemed just like any other park. Come to find out, we went up the back way. A lot of climbing and nothing really special on that side because it was the side that faced the hill we were on. As we worked our way to the front of the park, the view became extraordinary - all of Barcelona spread out in front of you with the Mediterranean in the distance. We found the hill with the 3 crosses on it that I'm calling Calvary, as well as the front of the park. The front of the park is a LOT more awesome than the back of the park.... just so's you know. So my best advice... google maps the directions, don't trust your map!
So Barcelona was fun, we walked a lot as usual and after my ankle got back to it's normal size and my boots dried, life was again happy. We had to leave mega-early to get on the train to come to Marseilles .. and the train stopped in the middle of nowhere station and we were told (in Spanish) that there would be a 1-4 hour delay because of some problem with the tracks up ahead. One of the ladies that was sitting there said something along the lines of "It's Spain, what do you expect?" So Ana and I pulled out our cards and played a few games until we left. We were a little behind in getting to Marseilles, but we got here and that's the important thing.
So my advice for any of you who decide to quit your jobs and come backpacking through Europe... bring at least 3 pairs of shoes... one pair of hiking boots, one pair of shower shoes and one pair of sneakers. Also make sure your hiking boots are 100% waterproof and if it's raining, try not to be out in it ALL day. If you have to leave somewhere and your stuff is still wet, feel free to dry it on the train when the train has an over-active heater. You will thank me when your clothes don't smell like mildew. Use the hostel's laundry services if they have them and bring things that can be dried in the dryer. Waiting for my comfy pants to dry kinda sucks a bit... but I wouldn't give them up, either. They've been a life-saver on some of these trains, believe me. Also, the Eurail pass is totally worth it. We would have been screwed without it.
Random thought - as we experience so many different showers in the hostels, I find myself designing the dream shower of my someday-house. He he he - cuz water pressure and good water heaters are MUY IMPORTANTE!
Much love from the beautiful Mediterranean Sea, Mandi
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