This hostel is awesome and breakfast was chocolate rice krispies, a piece of toast with apricot jam and tasty orange juice. I also made a nutella sandwich for the road.
I took the metro to Sangrada Familia, but didn't go in because it was 12 Euro. So I took pictures of the outside and walked over to Pasada Gracia by way of Diagon Avenue. I saw a lot of cool buildings and stopped in some interesting stores. I like wandering because I always stop in the random stores that have everything from cookware to sleepware and anything random you can think of. There was also an interesting grocery store or two, and I got some chocolate because it was so cheap. Oh, and I got a giant kinder egg and two chirimoya fruits. Ate one fruit so far; it was delicious. Spain has so far been the cheapest place, and the tastiest.
I feel like I skipped some things earlier, so I'll mention that on Friday I had a very interesting lunch of what seemed to be fettuccine alfredo with ham that was ok. The restaurant where we ate brought us bread and butter without us asking and then charged horrendously for it. But the water was free.
So after Diagon Ave, I walked down Pasada Gracia and saw the two houses by Gaudi. They were awesome but also very expensive to go in, so I took pictures from the street. Pasada Gracia is very much like 5th Avenue, I feel. All the pricey brands are there, with the same set up as every other store I've seen; Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Lacoste, Diesel (who I am officially boycotting even though I don't shop there anyways) all of them. Every store front in every store is the same for each company. Louis Vuitton has the same birdcages and same mannequins, everything.
After Pasada Gracia, I turned down Las Ramblas, which was basically the shopping district with street vendors and everything. The most incredible thing (not necessarily good) was the pet shop places. Name a bird, they had it. Bunnies, ferrets, turtles, everything except cats and dogs. It was really sad. But I rushed through because I was meeting everyone at the chocolate museum at 11:30.
What I didn't know was that they all came back around 5AM from going out. Apparently the metro stopped when they tried to come back and they walked for nearly two hours to get back. I'm glad I didn't go. They all slept until 2 or so today. Instead, I met Jackie about 12:30 or so because it was troublesome to get there and we both got lost. While waiting for her is when I ate my chirimoya. We talked for a long time then went in. Our tickets were really cheap (comparatively, at least - 3 euro) and was a chocolate bar - 73% cocoa. I haven't eaten mine yet, but they say it's pretty good. The chocolate museum was interesting because it was so different from the one I saw in Germany. While the one in Cologne outlined the process and the plant and the creation of chocolate with chocolate being made, the one here in Barcelona had mostly a history and had sculptures that were gorgeous but definitely inedible.
Then Jackie and I went and had the most awesome hamburgers (mine was mini) at Taverna Born before walking down the beach in Barceloneta (a little barrio - or neighborhood). We walked up the beach and then over to Las Ramblas, where we took our time and saw some fun places and got souvenirs. Then we stopped at a big market where they were selling fresh fruits and vegetables, candy, meat, and some other food items. It was called Boqueria de Sant Josep and Jackie and I got awesome juices. She got coconut strawberry and I got pineapple raspberry. They were definitely amazing. I'm getting one before I leave tomorrow.
After Las Ramblas, we headed back to the hostel to wait for the others to come back. I think they went to the chocolate museum, but only once we had left (we were at the beach when they woke). We hung out for a while and then went out to dinner. It was cool. I had salchipap, which wasn't as good as it was in Chile, but was still pretty good. We also shared two pitchers of sangria - one wine and one champagne. I had one glass of the latter and felt a little tipsy. It was strong.
We came back just about a half hour ago, which is how long it took to write this post, and I think they're going to go watch the Olympics and play cards. I hope to go to the market tomorrow to get more juice, so I think I'm going to bed soon.
All in all, exploring Barcelona today was a lot of fun and I think I prefer fewer people to travel with. Tomorrow Kristen and I are going back to Madrid and meeting Sam and Kristin to fly back. Then I have a management test Wednesday and a weekend at home. I think it's time to explore Brussels because I haven't really done that yet.
The standing right now is:
Venice > Charleston > Barcelona > Madrid > Zurich > New Orleans/Baton Rouge > Toledo > Brussels > Rockland > New York City > Dusseldorf > Cologne
And it's time for bed.
Goodnight, world.
Wait until you go to St. Michaels. That will move Venice it number 2.
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