Barcelona: Under Construction

The tower of the sagrada familia



The spray paint artist from our window



Barcelona's version of the arc de triomfe

July 22nd
We made the decision this morning to take the train to Barcelona so that we would be positive to make our overnight train from there on the 23rd. Plus, Barcelona is a big city and we want to give ourselves plenty of time to see the sights. We ate a last breakfast in our B&B and wrote in the guest book. We were sad to leave such warm hospitality, but excited to see the coastal city of Barcelona. So, we made our way back to the train station and caught a train. The train was so crowded that most of the people we boarded with had to stand for the whole hour and a half train ride. That was kind of crazy to me because there is a train every hour, and I’m willing to bet each one is that full.
Barcelona has one of the biggest train stations we’ve seen. That makes sense since it is the second largest city in Spain, but it still through us for a loop. We didn’t even know how to get out for a little while. We finally found a map and an exit and started making our way to a main street to try to find a hostel. On the way, we found a little gem: a bookstore with a selection of books in English! Before this, we had checked at least six book stores with no luck. You see, we couldn’t really lug around books before, but it has been about a month since we read something and train/plane rides are made much better with a good book. So, after the bookstore we continued on to a small hostel on the main street. From our window we could see many things including the spray paint artist who captivated audiences well into the night right below our window.
We took some time to recuperate in the hostel by watching the Tour. After the Tour we found some dinner and made a loop of the city to see the sites. Barcelona has some very unique buildings I never knew about. Most of the wonderful works of architecture that we saw, though, were under construction. After the long walk we got some groceries and went “home” for the night. Tomorrow we will probably stop by the beach and catch our train to Paris.
Mo