Barcelona 2

So, after dinner Colin and I met up with some of the girls from the hostel and went out to a bar a few blocks away. The beer in Barcelona is cheap, and it was really fun getting to hear about everyone's travel experiences. We were super exhausted from all the walking so we went back to the hostel to relax. Our roommates made it back an hour after us and we all preceded to talk in the bedroom, and by talk I mean laugh because every one was pretty "tipsy." When we woke up the next day, all the rain was gone and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. After Colin FINALLY got out of bed (teasing!) we made it out to an even more impressing day!

Sculpture we walked by! I tried to figure out what it was for, but had no luck! If you know, let me know!

Damn. View from the top of Parc Guell.

Buddies!

Ahhh! The mysterious egg! More about this later.

Sangrada de Famillia by Gaudí. I'm upset that this is the only picture I took of it!!

Cathedral on top of the one hill we didn't climb. Hopefully Colin and Kyra did it this weekend and can tell me what on earth that building is!

Colin in the Gaudí cave. Giddy!

Close-up of the walls of the cave. What was so interesting was how it seemed like all of this could've been created by natural forces. I think Gaudí's genius lies in how he could manipulate nature and make it seem familiar, but also alien. Very strange!

Another one of Gaudí's trademarks is using broken ceramics. In some places he used a mix of traditional tiles broken into pieces and mosiaced onto benches. Very beautiful and, at about 100 years old, very avant garde.

Entrance to Parc Guell

Close-up of the waterfall

Feelin' like royalty! After we finished at Parc Guell, we walked back down the hill, caught the metro, and took it to what we thought was the beach. We ending up getting lost/finding a bunch of cool, empty places! I realized from this vacation that the best thing to do in a new city is just get lost. There's no way I could understand the culture in such a short amount of time, so I might as well just see what it's created, eh?

Barcelona has some strange/freakie playgrounds. This was a ladder to a slide that was made of ropes! Clearly, Colin and I had to have a pHoToSh0oT!!!1

YAYUH.

Colin meditating...

YAYUH (part deux)

Crazy pavillion! It was right by the public harbor and we couldn't tell what it was until we got next to it and realized that it was solar panels! Looks like something from Star Wars, eh?

Down by the water.

There were kids skate boarding on this weird wall thing, but I was too geeked out to take a picture. Instead, Colin and I ran up and down it 5 times and then I took a picture of him brooding.

Colin always says that I'm a lush, but this is photographic evidence of what Europe has done to mon petite nugget. Chicagoans, be afraid. You never know whose going to kick the windows of a Rob and Stucky now!

Barcelona was made for skateboarding. No guard rails and crazy architecture/parks. Sheriff, this one's for you.

I thought these boots had sentimental value before Europe. I don't know how I'll ever part with them now!

SO COOL! I think watching Spanish surfers made Colin and I want to quit life and move to Brazil. It was getting kinda dark out, so we decided to head back. On our way, we saw the aforemention egg and decided that we needed to figure out what it was...

...closer...

tah dah! The Torre Agbar, one of the most magnificent modern buildings in Barcelona and the home to the Barcelona water company (and the Barcelona water company only). Stunning, strange building. I hope the future of American architecture looks more like this marvel!

Back to the hostel! These were some of our roommates who were studying in Sweden. They were all reall nice and funny. Colin and I sat in on their cheese and wine party while we chugged Judas beer. Classy, huh?

Chelsea! One of my favorite people from Loyola is studying in Barcelona this semester. She was sweet enough to meet Colin and I for Paella and drinks! She speaks perfect Spanish and took us to an amazing bar called Soda- you must go if you're ever in Barcelona!

Ah! At last, the Paella from the restaurant. It was so delicious, though I may have liked the Tapas a bit more!

Barcelona souvenir! Wacky canvas shoes! BYE-CELONA