I have just a week and a half left at work before my 4 week holiday. There is a ton that I need to get done between tying down loose ends at work, packing my bags, getting every detail of the August travels planned out, and making sure there aren’t any sights left in London that I have yet to see. I did make it onto the London Eye one night last week. For those not familiar, the London Eye is a giant ferris wheel of glass pods that floats over the Thames, directly across the river from Big Ben. The wheel rotates very slowly, resulting in a 30 minute roundtrip, giving incredible views of all of London. The price is a bit steep, but that’s mainly due to the high level of popularity the London Eye has (the most popular paid tourist attraction in London, 30 million have ridden it since it opened in 2000). Some stats about the London Eye (directly from the pamphlet I got) include that the Eye reaches a top height of 135 meters, which is about 1/3rd the height of the Sears Tower. It’s definitely an incredible view and a cool feeling when you reach the top and are just in a little glass pod. Obviously, the Eye isn’t recommended for anyone without a stomach for the Eye.
This past weekend, I made my way to one of the most highly rated destinations in Europe, Barcelona. I have never heard anything but the highest praise for Barcelona, so I was a little worried the city didn’t have a chance to live up to the high expectations, however it exceeded them. My only complaint is that I wish I had one more day as there were a few things I didn’t get time for.
In college, I took more than the required amount of Spanish, as I really enjoyed it. I was aware that Barcelona spoke Catalonian, but I didn’t have a good feel for how different it was. So I was a little surprised when I showed up to find everything in two languages on signs and menus. My cousin, who studied there, gave me fair warning. So it was tough enough for me to dust off my Spanish, but I would be a bit behind too since I was attempting to speak the secondary language of the region.
One of the highlights of the trip was my first stay in a hostel. A couple of my friends requested a great one, Kabul, which is in a perfect location, right on La Rambla. The hostel had rooms with 4 beds, 6 beds, 12 beds, and 20 beds. The first night, I was in a 4 bed room with a couple of Aussies, and the second and third night, I shared a 6 bed room with some Canadians. On the first floor of the hostel (second floor in US terms) was a general area where most of the travellers hung out. It was much like a sports bar, with tv’s, music, and beer sold, along with some computers for catching up on email and whatnot. The best part is it’s a great way to meet a lot of people, as everyone has something in common, travelling.
The first night, I arrived at about 9:30pm, took the train from the airport and was able to have a Spanish conversation with the cabbie, at least enough of one to get me to the hostel. I got up pretty early the next morning to hike along the shore. Mano landed that morning, and after a nap met me down by the hostel. We were able to grab a quick lunch and then head down to the beach. It was pretty cool to take a dip in the Mediterranean, yet incredibly far from Crete. The swim was much different as the Cretan waters are very calm, with just the lightest of waves, whereas it was a bit more choppy in Barcelona. However, it was a great swim nonetheless. That evening we grabbed an outstanding dinner at a place Mano knew of.
Saturday and Sunday, I spent a lot of time doing the touristy stuff, yet still wasn’t able to see it all. Antoni Gaudi is an architect who had a huge influence on the city. While Sagrada Familia, a church started 120 years ago and is still being built to this day, is the highlight of his work, the city is full of his work. Unfortunately I didn’t get enough time to see Guell Park, one of his best works. Also, the queue to head up in one of the spires of Sagrada Familia was about 90 minutes long, which just felt like a waste given the limited amount of time I had and the many sights I could see during that 90 minutes. Although I knew a bit about Gaudi, I didn’t know about his tragic death. He was run over by a tram at the age of 74, but because Gaudi dressed pretty raggedly, he wasn’t recognized and was sent to a poor hospital. When his friends finally got there and tried to move him to a nicer hospital, he told them that he belongs with the poor people, stayed at the hospital and died a couple days later. During Franco’s invasion in the 40’s, his plans for the church were destroyed. At this point, 2026 is the anticipated date of completion of the church, a mere 144 years after it was started, surpassing the 70 years it took to build Kings College Chapel in Cambridge.
Outside of the sights, there is the incredible food of Barcelona, of course highlighted by the paellas. There aren’t too many better meals than a seafood paella with a glass or two of sangria. The tapas is also very popular in Spain, and a favorite of mine since it affords the opportunity to try many different items.
While I’d love to write more about Barcelona, my free time is definitely very limited with all the other things I have to take care of in the next couple of days. I’m hoping to stay somewhat up to date with the blog during my travels since I have a couple of long train rides, but I don’t anticipate posting much between now and when I leave.
Phil
