A stroll in the Parks: Catalonia! Arriving in Barcelona

Our plane landed in the early evening and we found our way easily from a beautiful airport which seemed very new, to the commuter rail station, which was essentially a heavy-rail subway car tied into Barcelona's transit hub.We had a little difficulty being certain we were getting on the right train, but eventually we found someone who spoke some broken English. Spain generally does not have as many English speaking people as other places I've been in Europe, but eventually you can always find someone who knows a little. Knowing a few words in Spanish, or Catalonian can also get you quite a bit, as it isn't so foreign from our own language that you feel helpless.

Barcelona is the largest city in the Catalonia region of Spain, which they speak a unique language, Catalonian, which has substantial differences from Spanish. During the fascist rule of Franco, the Catalonians were heavily oppressed. Prior to heading on this trip I read "Homage to Barcelona" by an Irish transplant Colm Toibin, who actually lived through a lot of the tumultuous changes that occurred in this city. He drew heavily upon his experiences, touched upon the seedy underworld, which still is present, talked about the how it is a city built upon revolutions, and intertwined the distant history to the more recent events such as the Olympics. I highly recommend it to anyone that visits, or just wants to learn more about this exotic city, and get a glimpse into another culture.

We stayed at a small hostel, which in Spain, it often means what Americans think of as a Bed & Breakfast. I paid extra to get a room with a private bathroom, despite this the room was still very affordable and the location could not be beat, as it is right on the edge of the old city. Hostal Residencia Australia was the name of our hotel. Kate rushed to check out the channels on the TV. Sadly there were no English channels (I didn't really care myself) although I think she did find this episode of the Simpsons with subtitles. I believe some of the channels were in Catalonian and others in Spanish. One night we did find some dry movie in English, I think it was "The Accidental Tourist". Good for putting you to sleep. The room was great other than thin walls. The owner Thomas lived in the back of the floor, and one evening we got a knock on the door asking us to turn the television down. We had actually been making a concerted effort to be quiet after reading reviews of this very scenario- ironically our version of quiet and Thomas's were not mutual. I think the problem was that we had the window open, and had turned the volume up a little to hear over the drone of the traffic.

Thomas, was a very friendly & interesting guy, just like all of the reviews said. I don't know if he found us dull, or if he was preoccupied and tired, but I felt his friendliness seemed a little fake and forced at times. Notably he'd start a conversation, only to end it abruptly. I guess that is to be expected, as I'm sure the job gets tiring at times.

The rooms as you can see were quite gorgeous. I really liked the furniture, and there was a great balcony that opened out to the street. I liked the tiny bathroom, and the elaborate, Mediterranean print on the tiles. We had a little issue with the toilet running, but it was a small problem in the grander scheme of things.

The balcony, I should have taken a picture during the daylight, as this first one is too dark, and the second is too blurry given that I suck at taking night photos, as you need quite a steady hand... and Shakes McGee here just doesn't have what it takes.

After settling in we went out and got some supper. We were tired from the travel so we just walked over to the nearby Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes, a very busy street and then connected to Passeig de Gracia which is home to several architectural gems, including one from one of Barcelona's most famous artists, Gaudi. This building is Casa Batllo (last two... less than wonderful night time pictures). I'll revisit this later in our journey, regretfully we didn't go inside. We got our grub on Passeig de Gracia, it was touristy, al fresco, tapas at a place called (drum roll) Tapas Tapas. It was easy, and we were both happy. I had some seafood, Kate, various potato and meat products. We shared several mutual dishes. I tried turning Kate on to paella, but was unsuccessful.