So Day 2 in Barcelona, I wake up early (10am is very early here) and head out onto La Ramblas. It's this huge street that goes down the center of Barcelona. They have these live statues, which are crazy. They're people posing as statues and every now and then they'll start moving and freak you out.
Anyhow, went to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona...whatever it's called. It was one of the tickets Miguel gave me. So I went over there and...it wasn't great. It was ok, but sometimes, contemporary art makes me wonder...where does art end and bullshit begin?
How is this good art? It looks like sqwiggles to me.
There were a couple exhibits I found interesting, but the funniest thing I found in the museum was this little French girl who's father is trying to take a picture of her with her Mum, but every time, she'd like run off. She was SO funny and her parents getting so frustrated in French. So I joined in and started taking pictures of her as well...
Look I got one! Isn't she adorable?!
Here's a funny picture from the museum as well:
Asian men ARE too small.
So anyhow, I left the museum and was walking down an alley street when I hear these guys speaking English. I ask them "Are you from the UK?" Turns out they are, and they're really funny, so I decide to follow them to wherever they're going. They're going to breakfast (at noon) at some restaurant they swear exists at the end of Piss Alley.
So my new English gent friends take me to Piss Alley...
My new friends, Andy Twat, Gaymie and Spam, in "Piss Alley"
So here's the story. Awhile back Gaymie (real name: Jamie) and Spam (real name: Sam) rented a flat for a week in Barcelona. The street/alley on which it was always smelled like piss, so they renamed it Piss Alley. HOWEVER, when Gaymie actually went and took a piss on the street the night before we met, the Spanish police tried to arrest him and kept telling him "You are PIG!"
Anyhow, after much wandering around Piss Alley, we finally find the restaurant, which happened to be called La Concha (which may be translated to "The Cunt")...lovely...
ANDY: I don't want dairy! It's cow's milk, humans shouldn't drink it.
GAYMIE: You're a twat!
SPAM: It's only 10 euros!
That was the gyst of the conversation for the next hour. These guys are real English blokes like the ones on the telly. They are so fucking hilarious I just decided to keep following them around.
We walked to Sangrada Familia, which is the #1 tourist attraction in Barcelona these days. It's this cathedral that is still being built. The story is (and this is what Sam told me he read while sitting on the shitter so if it's wrong, it's Sam's fault) that Gaudi, this super-famous Spanish architect was building this cathedral and became more or less obsessed with it. He eventually moved into the cathedral and spent day and night on the building. One day, he was outside looking up at the building when a tram came and ran him over. He died and it took them a couple days to realize it was Gaudi, not just some homeless guy. Anyhow, in the 1930s, anarchists burned the original designs, so since then, they've been trying to complete the building by guessing how Gaudi would have done it. So for the past 75 years, this cathedral has been in construction. I don't know when it'll be finished because as the Spanish saying goes "Manana (tomorrow)"...
But first, before we arrived at Sangrada Familia, we went to a pub (they're English...) and passed the Arc de Triomf...
Learned to skip...
And found out how much the Spanish loved us!
But now for pictures of the Sangrada Familia:
Yeah...my pictures aren't very good, but hey Andy...I caught a pic of the scaffolding just for you.
After Sangrada Familia, I convinced the guys to come with me to Mount Tibidabo. Okay, so here is why I wanted to go to Mount Tibidabo. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a Friends fanatic. (What an understatement!) But anyhow, in the 4th episode of the 8th season entitled "The One With the Videotape" where the Friends are trying to find out who initiated the hook-up between Ross and Rachel, there is the following dialogue:
JOEY: Okay. Okay. Umm…Ooh! Oh-oh, I got something. It’s this story I came up with, very romantic. I swear any woman that hears it; they’re like putty.
ROSS: Really? Well then tell it to me.
JOEY: Okay. Now you’re gonna want to have sex with me when you hear it, but you have to remember it is just the story.
ROSS: (sarcastic) I’ll try to control myself.
JOEY: Okay. (Clears throat) Years ago, when I was backpacking across Western Europe…
ROSS: (laughs) You were backpacking across Western Europe?
JOEY: Have a nice six more months Ross! (Starts to leave.)
ROSS: (stopping him) Okay! Okay! Okay. I’m sorry. Please, please, you were in Western Europe and?
JOEY: I was just outside Barcelona hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo. I was at the end of this path and I came to a clearing and there was a lake, very secluded. And there were tall trees all around. (Whispering) It was dead silent. Gorgeous. (Softly) And across the lake I saw…a beautiful woman…bathing herself…but she was crying…
ROSS: (intently listening) Why?
Okay...so why did I HAVE to go to Tibidabo? They said it on Friends! Also...I like funny words. (I first went to Chipotle in Berkeley because I like the funny word, too.) So anyhow, to get to Tibidabo, you have to the take a Metro, switch to another Metro, then take a tram...or so we thought! Turns out, tram was closed we had to take a bus. (Huge debate over this, and yes, Spam, you won!)
So eventually we get up to Tibidabo, but everything was closing, so we ended up more or less coming right back down. Thank you boys for coming up with me, however! You guys are troopers, and now we have the following pictures:
The next day, I went up to another mountain called Montjuic with another new friend named Yaka, an American who was staying in the same hostel. Originally it was to go to a couple museums, but we were really hungry and finally we found the place and they had some great tapas, actually. Took some pictures here as well:
Yaka turned out to be quite a character as well. As is his friend Jeff. We ended up not having time to go to the museums and ended up MISSING THE PICASSO which I am still mad about, but we did some walking, shopping and eating. I don't have many pictures from the third day. I'll get them from Yaka and post them later.
SOOO...that was Barcelona! I plan to go back someday because I still want to go to the Picasso Museum. Also, it's just a great city! I met a lot of interesting people along my journey and had lots of fun. France has been pushed back because I got sick in Barcelona, but we'll see how that one goes. I talked to my friend John from Australia today, and I think we're planning Denmark for February. Lots of travels ahead of me.
But to all my new amigos from Barcelona, it was a pleasure.
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