Barcelona, Spain (AGAIN)

Day 50 & 51

I landed in Barcelona on a Friday and for the next two nights I didn't want to do anything crazy. It's hard to believe I would say this during a weekend. It is definitely hard work being a tourist.

This place already has memories everywhere for me. I wish someone would build a time machine and bring me back. It was only two days but it was enough to stay within my thoughts.

Day 52

My sleeping routine is all over the place. I now struggle to get up even with 8 hours of sleep. I would guess that I am so use to this no responsibility life. It was time to make myself useful after days of nothing. How convenient on a Sunday where shops would close early. I decided to make my way to one of Guadi's piece of work. Park Gueili.

I arrived at Valcarca station and tried to navigate my way to this park.  Luckily it was a tourist spot which made it easier to locate. All I had to do was follow the crowd. I didn't realise the park was set upon a hill which to no surprise there was a million steps to get up. The escalators was not working today, what a coincidence! Up the hill I go.

The steps weren't finish, The whole park was an incline which meant steps everywhere around. It's amazing this place. Up on top you can see the whole city centre of Barcelona with the sea at the very end. You can see the huge amount of effort he put in creating this kingdom. I think he was known for his murals. The whole park was tiled with small art works made out of tiny tiles. The colours he chose to use was vibrant enough to grab my attention. He must have took years to finish this place off. Every piece of art he created was carefully detailed and assembled.

This whole place was filled with people which made it hard for me to chill. It was loud. As I was about to end this trip short, I could hear cheers softly at the back of my ears. It was somewhere close but far. I decided to walk further up and there it was, a random soccer field up in the park. There was a local game on. I already love watching soccer and I noticed I get so much more into it when it's a field full of Spaniards. Here I stationed myself till the game finished. It was actually an exciting game with close goals but no goals. 

I decided to finally participate in a free walking tour. I have been staying away from it as I preferred seeing things at my own speed. I ended up in an usual tour, not your landmarks and normal history one but an unofficial tour which took you around the streets of Barcelona searching for street arts. I definitely am looking forward to this now. Alex our tour guide had many stories to share about each artwork and artist. It's quite astonishing in how one artist credits himself world widely.

Grafting is illegal in Barcelona but  there is this wall that was left behind from a demolished factory which is now a skate park ground. Alex told us that you can apply to have your spray art on it however it will only have a life of a few days. Your artwork would get painted over within a couple of days. It's like a new story for Alex everytime he takes a new tour group because he never know what he will see. He also pointed out the oldest sex shop still running in Barcelona, Bagdad. The stories he had to share was not kind to the ears. This tour definitely was worth it,I learnt the history behind the Raval (Xino) vs Gotic area, The Catalunya community and the word, Squats (Squats, Squatters & Squating). All these words and buildings I have been seeing has finally made sense to me. 

We finished the tour off at a bar and with a complimentary free dinner (nothing fancy).

Day 53

It has been hit & misses with the weather in Barcelona. It can be sunny and warm enough for the beach but out of no where it can go cold and rain. It kind of reminds me of weather at home. I headed out to hire a bicycle. I wanted to explore Barcelona in wider stretches but secretly I needed to get some exercise in me. I just rode and rode for hours. I passed through all these different beaches and the further I got the quieter the beaches were. Barcelona beach was heavily packed with people and it was way more commercial. I found myself in a deserted beach with a packet of Spanish ham and piece of baguette. Just the way I like it.

I continued riding heading to the different ports of Barcelona. It's amazing where a bicycle could take you. I wouldn't have walked this far if I was walking. I don't think there was any metro close by either. Before I knew it I have been roaming around for 4 hours. The rain started to come softly. I saw a local shopping mall and decided to take a break. Tossing and turning whether I should reward myself with a glass of rosé. In the end I satisfied my other craving, coke zero on a can. The shopping centre had free wifi. When you put Calafati & Wifi together, we wouldn't know how to superstate. The dark clouds faded and the sun was out. I had to pull myself out of this wifi zone and head down to a beach for the normal routine, beach nap. 

Time really flies when you are enjoying life. it was 6:45pm when i woke and I was surely running late for dinner. I was meeting Kerry, my roomie. Negro Paella was on my 'must-try-before-i-leave-Spain-list). Tonight I was determined to have it. Kerry was somewhat frustrating. She really liked to complain about things. I am at a point of my life where I dislike hearing people complain. It is what it is, we can only learn to deal with it and move on. I have surely learnt that I no longer want to be the person who stresses about things. I am now wanting to be the person that doesn't let anything get to her. This will save so much energy of mine.

She did managed to pull out a very interesting topic. One she had me so curious about and that I had to go back and google more information on it. The topic was regarding the human brain. There have been proven facts that our brain is constantly forming and is not until you reach about 25 years old the brain finalises the form. Here in the new few years, you will start to understand alot of the present and past events that has happen. Here you will begin to become the person who you really should be. Here you would finally link all your unsolved thoughts. I actually said something to her that I have never said to anyone before. It was a reason why such event happened on my life. It was weird because I only figured that out 3 minutes before she spoke on this topic. She caught my attention bad. 

The paella was delicious. I definitely could not finish it but forced it down my throat. Kerry left me to end my night on my own as she wanted to attend a tango class. I walked through the streets of Barcelona to digest my full belly. I landed myself at the waffle place we were last time and had to buy something to be reminded of the happy times. I scream, you scream, we scream, ICE CREAM please. I even found myself at that McDonalds. My feet obviously didn't want to stop by bringing me to all these places. All happy places. 

Day 54

Churros & croissant dipped in Spanish chocolate for breakfast! Yummmmmmmmm! What a wonderful  way to start my day however it was lunch time tho. I spent most of the day walking and looking. There is so much to see. I ended up finding a new area in Barcelona that I will come back ad explore properly during the day. I ended the night in with my favourite wine, cheese and olive. PERFECT! 

Day 55

It was Catalan National Day. I had plans to so a few things but was shut down as soon as I stepped outside. All the shops were closed which I wasn't prepared for. Catalan is an area in Spain that wishes to be it's own country. Apparently years ago they were their own country. People in the Catalan region would all come out and form a human chain which stretched over 400km. They just stand there all day. I think that's so amazing showing support for what you believe in. It was hard to get through town as the chained blocked most of the road. It even twisted into little alley ways. 

All the shops were closed so I has no option but to kill time by feeding myself. I found myself at a tapas joint. Travelling solo has made it hard to have tapas. I would be so greedy if I was to go have tapas because I would definitely over order. I walked a bit and found a place that did small plate full which means I could try more things. It was so delicious!!!! I love Spanish food or should I say I LOVE FOOD!!! 

Day 56

It was my last day in Barcelona and I definitely had a mission to accomplish. Today's mission, one last feed at the market, paella cooking class and magic fountain.
With a late rise I head to the market for a quick bite. I wanted to walk te streets again to leave a clear memory of Barca in my mind. No, actually I preferred to hang out at one of those many plaza. The surroundings are just so amazing and beautiful. Of course with a glass of champagne!

Why does time fly so quick when you don't want it to end? I made my way to the class I had booked in. Fernando from Argentina was our teacher aka the cook. He took us to my favourite market to purchase the ingredients. The market was closing but I would assume there was pre plans with the stall to stay open just for this short 10 minutes. We ended up at a seafood stall. Everything was laid out picture perfect. Here he purchased the seafood for the Paella. He then took us to a cured meat stand explaining the different class of jamon (cured ham). Cured meat is totally my weakness.

We made our way to a local bar where we had a reserved area at the back. As soon as we all sat down we had jugs of Sangria placed for us. Fernando brought out plates of different kind of meats, cheese, bread and the ever so popular patatas bravita (potatoes). He then thought us the correct way of eating these. You need to firstly grab a slice of bread and rub a tomato on it. Followed by a slice of cheese and then your preferred topping. There was jamon (cured ham), salami, chorizo, egg omelette, fried jalapeño & patatas (potatoes). Thete was so much food going on here. After these were all demolished we moved into the main course, the Paella. He gave a very informative session on it. I think I may have mastered this. LOL. Who am I kidding? As if Calafati can cool. It would be a miracle. While the rice was cooking we were taught how to make sangria. He taught us the correct quantity of substances. We all even got a chance to make a jug ourselves. The Paella was finished cooking and our main was served. I felt like rolling out of the door once everything was in my tummy. Overall there was so much food and sangria going on tonight.

After class I made my way to the magic fountain, where most nights they a light & water show every 30minutes. I wish I discovered this place earlier because the whole place was full of amazing buildings. Typical  Calafati never wanting the night to end (in denial) decided to walk back to the hostel to savour my last hours in Barcelona. I didn't care that it was gonna be a long walk because I have all the time in the world but being a Calafati means you will surely get lost. I spent half an hour walking the opposite direction to the hostel. I only realised when I decided to pull out the map to see where the hell I am. Fortunately I was able to read the map this time. The night is now over which means Barcelona is finally coming to an end.

I already miss Spain and I haven't even left.

See you in Germany.

xo

Calafati