Barceloneta- on the beach

Forget the museums-today we spent almost the whole day at the beach. But first I have to tell you about last night.

I have decided that I really don't like our "bed and breakfast." Our bed is actually a pull out couch- and it feels like it. It is very hard and uncomfortable. Our pillows are tiny and there is not very much stuffing in them. We have one window, that sounds like it is always open. Though we are 4 floors up, we can here everything on the street below. There are only sheer white curtains covering it, so we have little privacy at night, and lots of light in the morning. I didn't sleep at all last night because of the noise mostly. Finally I put my iPod headphones in as earplugs and I was able to fall asleep. I was very grumpy when I got up this morning, but as soon as Daniel got breakfast I felt much better!




Daniel went downstairs and right next door is a market. He got cheese and crackers and orange juice. Then we headed out to discover the "Gothic Quarter." It is the most densely populated medieval neighborhood in Europe. There are lots of really old Cathedrals and palaces and even some remains of the old Roman wall. It was fun to wander through the narrow alleys. We never knew what amazing Gothic cathedral we would see around the next corner. One thing about Barcelona is that there are people selling stuff everywhere! They sell jewelry, fans, scarves… anything. And lots of musicians and people just plain begging for money.






Daniel lit a candle for Abuela


The old Roman wall




In the afternoon we set out to look for the Chocolate Museum and we never found it. Instead, we found the Parc de la Cuitadella. It was pretty uninteresting, but we discovered we were very near the beach. So we walked over and found where all the tourists were. There was a long stretch of beach completely covered with people. Daniel soon discovered that it was a topless beach as well- and pointed out many examples. We laid out on the beach and enjoyed the cool breeze. We went to a little stand and got some drinks and a sandwich. While we laid on the beach, people came around selling "Cerveza, agua, beer, cola" and beach sarongs and even massages! As soon as the police (el poz) came near, they went scattering. Daniel and I both have serious sunburns to show for our afternoon, but we still enjoyed it.







Later we walked over to the Marina. There were lots of places to eat. We walked down the boardwalk once to scan our options. The restaurants were very expensive seafood, but we found one that offered a whole 4 course meal for about 16 euros each. When we sat down, they brought out enough food for 4 people! We had a "traditional Spanish soup" first, which looked like tomato soup in a wine glass, then mussels, boiled shrimp (with their heads still on), bread, olives, and fried calamari. Finally, our main dish came out followed by three desserts: almond cake, crème brulee, and lemon sorbet. They also came out with a bottle of yellow liquid. We assumed it was wine, so Daniel poured himself a glass and took a big drink. He realized it was not wine, but very strong liquor! They called it Aguafuerte. We couldn't believe how much food they gave us! And the price included wine so we had a glass of vino blanco as well.



our soup





We took the metro back to our room on La Rambla. As the night goes on, there are tons of street performers. Tonight we saw people dressed up in crazy costumes. There was some kind of monster, a flower, a butterfly, an angel, a gypsy belly dancer, and even a guy painted completely white with his pants down sitting on a toilet! There are also caricature artists, magicians, and clowns. It was fun to walk down the street and watch all of this going on.




We also managed to fit in a little laundry tonight as well. It's pretty difficult to do in the sink, but I'm running out of clothes so I didn't have a choice. I'm very glad this is our last night here and very excited to go to Paris tomorrow night!