barcelona

first off, i have to say i had no idea what spain was going to be like. i had never been to europe before a few weeks ago and i really didn't know what to expect. and i didn't do anything to prepare myself either- most people research things out before they go on vacation but i just packed up and went. like i mentioned before, luke did all the work to get us there. he knew what he wanted to do, where he wanted to visit, found the best priced and located hotels, and did a great job at all of this. he was so good with his little folder of maps, bus schedules (as if they run on them), and all other information one might need, it was impressive and he did an amazing job- our trip was awesome.
so, here is spain- or at least some of the highlights of barcelona- i think the best way to blog all this is to go by places we stayed/visited. i kept a really good travel journal and i thought about typing it all out, but it is really long and it's actually really entertaining. i seriously actually tried to be a good writer (i was channeling my inner stephanie robertson) but it's just too much to type out. sorry charlies. you get the sweet and short version, which is pretty typical around this here blog. let's start off with some of my favorite pics:

this is the market- i really enjoyed the market. it was one of the first places we stopped at and it was amazing to me. all the little spanish ladies pulling their carts of groceries around- i just imaginged them stoping at all their favorite vendors every day for thier bread, spices, and crustaceans. there was so much going on. so many colors, foods, smells (i totally gagged when i walked by a stall of all dried mushrooms, it smelled so bad), and people, it was so cool.

yum:

fruits, spices, candy

yuck:

snail shells, sea creatures that were still moving, large dried hams called jamon serrano
The market is right off the rambla, in the middle of the city. The rambla is a funny place, it's a really wide center divide of a road that has seating for restaurants, news stands, street performers and tons of crazy photo snapping tourists- think down town waikiki, only spanish and way more crazy. There are stands that sell all sorts of animals- birds, lizards, iguanas, small turtles (that i really wanted to bring home), chipmunks, hedgehogs... it's awesome. i got run over by an old lady in a wheelchair and she chewed me out so bad, i wish i knew what she had said, but her fist in the air and red face spewing forth spainsh insults were enough to scare me.

i love all the fountains all over the place. we didn't really drink the water, but it was so lovely to splash on our faces to cool off. everyone in spain is sweaty all the time. you just can't avoid that healthy sweaty shine on your face.

the entrance to the olympic area, not much was going on there, but this guy was cool:

and i got obsessed with doors. doors and graffiti. lots of pictures of those two things.

we stopped by the maritime museum, which was really cool, loved the old wooden submarine out front.

everyone asks about the food. but, i don't think spanish food is all that good. if you are really into sea food then you are in the right place though. the most "authentic" spanish food is paella, which is super yummy though, we had it a few times.

tortilla de patata- egg and potatoes made into a "tortilla" bland, but good.
super good tuna salad
here in the states, i don't usually eat mcdonald's, but we might have stopped there twice for a break from spanish food.
the best meal we had was in a irish pub. irish food in spain, so good.
there are cathedrals and churches every time you turn a corner it seems. we had to pay to get into the largest cathedral in barcelona, but it was really neat. the stonework and architecture in spain is amazing. it's so beautiful. i took tons of pics, but won't bore you with them. i had to make this picture huge cause it just had to be viewed large.

until next time... promise it won't take a whole week.