Spain Part 3: Something Seems Familia

Time for the finale of Spain!  Enjoy.

Day 5 found us pulling into Barcelona Sants after a rather long and quite early train journey that was filled with chess, weak coffee and chocolate croissants (so not too bad).  After a confusing period of trying to work out where we were going and after standing in the wrong queue for a while, we were soon heading to the first stop: Cosmocaixa, the national science museum. After paying the 4 euros entrance fee (bargain) and  after a quick bite to eat, we headed off into a world filled with interactive activities, fossils and my personal favourite: a sunken forest complete with artificial rain. The forest even had a variety of animals, insects and fish living in it, making it really interesting to walk around.  Except for the cockroach farm.  Did not need that bit.  The ant farm did make up for it, as did the giant fish.  Whether you have kids or not, this is a really interesting and slightly different way to spend the morning in Barcelona, whilst learning something!

After checking into our hotel next to the Sagrada Familia (the Ayre Hotel Rossellon - Booking Ed), we jumped onto the Metro again (great for getting around - pick up the 10 trip ticket if you're there for a couple of days) and headed off to Casa Batllo, one of the houses that Gaudi built. After a short queue, you're given your audioguide and let loose into this somewhat unhinged building. Gaudi, to say the least, is weird. Brilliant but weird. 

Despite his oddity, I would really recommend that you visit this house and take the tour as it is stunning to walk around and the guide highlights the history and influence of the various designs, and points out certain things that you might have missed. At the very least, you need to stop by the street and look at the building's facade.  It is stunning.  I'll admit that it's not my usual choice of tour but I loved every second of it.

We then rounded off the day by checking out the food market in the Ramblas and then spending waaaaaaaaayyy too long trying to find a place for dinner. However, this was my fault as we had found one place but I then got a bad feeling about it and we left. This then caused us to get somewhat lost and spend ages looking for a new place to eat, deciding on some tapas at a restaurant called QuQu which was in the same street as Casa Batllo (sorry...)! Having refueled and rested, we headed back to the hotel for a few beers on the roof of the hotel, overlooking the lit-up church.

Day 6 arrived and it was time for the star of the show: La Sagrada Familia! First of all, I would highly recommend that you get up early or you pre-book tickets, especially as they now time your visits. For example, we arrived about 9:15am (it opens at 9am), and were told that our 'visit' would be at 12:15, so it is taking the extra time to do this. 

As we had some spare time, we headed up a couple of streets to check out the building 'Sant Pau', which was an exquisite looking hospital, followed by a couple of pastries and a Spanish drink called Horchuta. Now, I actually thought this would be hot chocolate but it turns out to be made from water, sugar, and ground nuts e.g. almonds, and whilst I was pleased to try it, I don't think it was for me.

After a while, it was time for La Sagrada Familia and what can I say? It was probably the grandest and most beautiful building I've been it. It really takes your breath away as you enter the church and see the soaring pillars illuminated by the stained glass windows. Anything I do say won't do it justice (I'll have some pictures below) but I will say that it is worth paying extra for the audio guide, as it helps ensure you don't miss any of the smaller details in the church. Don't forget to check out the temporary school that Gaudi designed either, for the workers' children.  It really is worth paying to enter, as I don't think anything will be built like this ever again.

After the splendour of Sagrada, we headed up the funicular to Mont Juic, and walked up the hill (instead of going on the cable cars) towards the Castella. Since it was so cheap to enter the Castella (5 euros), we decided to go in and explore this old fortress and subsequently learned that the massive wall had been in just 30 days.  Now that's a quick build.  I've seen Ikea furniture that has took longer to build. 

Although there isn't masses to see within the fortress (though it is great wandering around and learning a little about the history of the place), the views alone of the port, the ocean and the city itself make this worth a visit as it towers over the city and the sea. We spent some time wandering around and then, just like that that, it was time for us to climb back on-board the train and return to whence we came.

Finally, it was the last day of the trip and whilst Derek and my dad decided to go fishing, I stayed around the flat with my mum to get some blogging (see, I even blog when on holiday!  No rest for the wicked, as they say) and some packing done, before heading to the local cooperative for a couple more bottles of wine. A nice lazy day to finish off the trip, though we did take a short trip to the pottery shop nearby, so I could get Alison something and Derek could get Jenny something. One final meal at another local restaurant (along with some local wine, of course) was a great way to wrap up the week. All in all, I really enjoyed being able to return to the flat and I'm pleased that we were able to do so many different things!

Pick of the Week

Anichart - Now, if you're not a fan of anime, then you may as well skip this.  This website gives you a round-up and countdown of each seasons' series that are being released, as well as future series as well.  Great for keeping an eye on what you want to watch or looking for seasons!

Music of the Week

Time for another Epic Rap Battle!  This time, it's the turn of Superman vs Goku.  Why?  It amuses me.

Whoops, that's it from Spain!  And next time?  Either New York or Edinburgh!  Find out which next week.

Spain Part 2: Walks, weather and Wine

You read the first part and now, it's time for part 2!!  Day 3 came and after some frantic, last-minute work, we headed off for a walk up one of the national park's mountains called Roques de Benet, which give a rather breathtaking 360 degree panorama of the surrounding area.

However, before we arrived it was time for a quick detour to a small town called Bot. Why? It was time to sample some of the local delicacy: wine! Indeed, we pulled into the town's local cooperative which makes and sells wine and other items. It's quite a sight when you walk into these shops and they just have massive vats where you can bring an empty jug (or other container but probably not cupped hands - Ed) and just get wine from a tap in the wall. Thankfully, they had regular bottles as well which makes it slightly easier to get the wine home. 

As we had took the time to get there, we decided to sample a local red called 'Clot' (Disclaimer: I do not recommend ever drinking before a hike, even though it was a fairly small amount) which was a good, everyday wine.  Even better when you realise that it costs 3 euros a bottle. Even better still, you can get some decent cava from the place as well, ranging from 3 to 10 euros a bottle.

Leaving the shop with bulging bags and not much lighter pockets, we headed off for the park to begin the walk. The walk itself isn't too bad, even if it does look a little daunting to begin with.

To begin with, you actually just follow a dirt road for a while, before turning off onto a fairly over-grown and hidden path that leads toward the peak and provides some respite from the glaring sun and heat. Now, I've been up this walk before but this time, we discovered something interesting. It appears that someone had begun to build a shelter by walling off a cave (A fairly robust wall, complete with a door - Architecture ed).

After exploring the cave a bit and speculating why it was being built (The prevailing theory was that some people used it as a base-camp for climbing/walking the area. However, it could well be someone who was just tired of everyday live and had decided to become a hermit in the mountains), we headed on-wards and upwards for the final push and an end-stage scramble up a dry riverbed. After 10 minutes or so of scrambling, it suddenly loomed ahead of us: the view.

As I said before, I've done the walk before but I still think the view from this mountain is spectacular as you can, on a good day, see for miles around the surrounding park and land. Additionally, if you look one way, you can see the extremely mountainous terrain and right beside it, is an area of flat-land: a great example of a rift.

After enjoying the view and our lunch (a sandwich always tastes better with a view), we began the trek back down to the car (with a slight detour down another track). However, as we were heading back, some ominous clouds appeared which then sped up our descent somewhat as it turned into rather icy rain. Finally, day 3 was rounded off with some cheap beers at the local bar (1.50 euros a bottle) whilst chatting under the stars.

Day 4 suddenly appeared and it was time for an earlier start and another walk! Somewhat less uphill (though not completely), this one followed the river Ebro along an 1100 km trail (we did not, obviously, do the entire trail...we did around 1% of it - Ed). The walk was enjoyably, not just for the walk, but because it allowed you to see a lot of the farmland that surrounds the river and gives you an up-close look at the crops they grow in the region.  Mainly olives, oranges and grapes, you can also try and find some of the lesser grown crops as you go along including marrows, apples, hazelnuts and various other plants.  This means, and if you can find some wild trees (don't take them from the farmers trees), that you can get quite the feast if you go in the correct season but alas, we got nothing this time.

After following the river for 12 km or so, and crossing over various dirt paths, we arrived at the town of Miravet, which has an absolutely beautiful Templar castle looming over it, along with some rather medieval houses hanging off the cliff.

As we were getting picked up here, we met my mum at the car, who then suggested we take a short walk to see the river ferry that still operates here, allowing cars to take a shortcut across the river for a small fee. Basically, the ferry is attached to a chain which stretches across the river and this allows the ship to be drawn across by the current.

After our fill of cars crossing, it was time for round two at the beach! Yes, after the rather unsuccessful attempt at the beach on day 2, we headed back to Hospitalet to retry lazing around the beach and as we arrived over the mountain? Dark clouds. Yup.  Instead of turning back though, we checked the area out and despite the clouds and some winds, we decided to give it a chance and have some lunch at the same place we had previously sheltered from the rain. 

After ordering some tapas, I then ended up with the biggest cold meat platter that I have ever seen, that also came with a bowl of tomato bread with it as well. Stuffed to say the least! After the rather filling lunch, we agreed that it was warm and dry enough for us to actually spend some time at the beach, so we wandered across and set up the chairs for the afternoon. I even managed to get a little bit of blogging done. After swimming in the sea, that is.

Ok, I appreciate that the picture isn't me but it would have been silly to try and take photographs of myself in the sea. You'll just have to trust me. After a couple of hours, we then headed back to the flat to prepare for day 5 and 6: Barcelona! But you'll just have to wait until next week for that!

Pick of the Week

John Oliver Last Week Tonight - If you like your news satirical and humourous, then check out Last Week Tonight.  Hosted by ex-Daily Show regular, John Oliver, the show takes a look at some of the key events from the last week as well as hosting interviews.  Funny and often with a finger on the pulse, this is a decent way to spend half an hour or so whilst allowing you to chuckle and think.


Music of the Week

Time for one that I don't listen to much but always enjoy when I hear it: The Pretty Reckless - Heaven Knows.  Enjoy!

Tune in next week for the finale of Spain!!  See you then.