Barcelona [Day 1]

Sunday, 12th August '12

Alright, so, my first day in Barcelona wasn't overly fantastic. I didn't arrive at the hostel till quite late, and talking to any taxi driver here is impossible. They don't know the streets and don't have GPS so they drive whilst checking falling-apart map books.

Anyway, so next day. I look at a map of Barcelona and then decide to visit this massive park in the western part of the city. It looks like it houses most of the museums. I arrive and see this really awesome, huge, palace that is actually the national Gallery. I wasn't so much concerned with seeing the museums, but looking at all the converted, older styled buildings. They were just beautiful. The entire feel of this park reminds me so much of Sun city. 

As I'm walking around, my thong/flip flop/shoe/etc breaks. I think, that's ok, I not a big deal. I can just shove it, it'll be ok. As all probably know... it totally wasn't okay. I end up walking needlessly for so long with a broken shoe, blisters all over every possible surface of my foot, and I give up and walk with one foot barefoot. Of course the ground is essentially on fire, so it was challenging to say the least. As it's a Sunday, no shops are open so I have to go all the way back to the hostel to change shoes.

(Me unsuccessfully trying to show how high up it is)

As I had to travel quite far to get back to the hostel, I decide to go to Park Gaudi, which is closer to the hostel. Here I am, naiively thinking I'm heading off to a relaxing wonderful stroll though the park. WRONG. SO WRONG. Turns out I have to climb up a fucking mountain to get to this park, then whilst in the club, the entire park is either incline or decline, no between, stairs everywhere. So, there were escalators most of the way up the mountain, but there a really steep section that didn't have any. So exhausting, I was not emotionally or physically prepared for the amount of exercise was there. I was also totally not prepared for the litres of sweat the poured from my body, ugh. Summer, why do I do this to myself.

Saying all that, it was awesome. It was just so unique, and all Gaudi architecture reminds me of some fantasy, fun fair land. It's incredible. Afterwards I visited the Gaudi Cathedral, La Sagrada Família, which was also really crazy to see. But there was so much scaffolding everywhere, so the entire experience was a bit dampened.

Later on, I met a whole bunch of people at the hostel and quite late, we decided to go clubbing on a Sunday night. We just ended up walking around for hours. There's no exaggeration there, literally, hours. The club we wanted to go to rejected us because people weren't formally dressed enough, so from there. The wanderings began...

I actually ended up super grumpy by the end of the night. I'd mostly hung out with two American girls and two Canadian guys... and the math didn't end in my favour. So I was like, woo, I love being the fifth wheel. Awesome. There were quite a few other guys as well, but I literally felt like a fish in a tank full of sharks. Maybe it wasn't that at all, but the whole time I just felt like the interaction was awkward and predatory or insincere somehow. Anyway, after that massive fail of a night, I came back and slept off some residual, hormonal, irrational anger.