Our overnight train from Madrid arrived around 8 a.m. in Barcelona on Friday. Despite the fact none of us got sleep on the train, we couldn't check in to our hostel 'til after 1 p.m. so we sucked it up and hit the main sights of Barcelona. We started off at La Boquería, a big outdoor food market, for a pick-me-up breakfast before our long day. We met up with Ben who showed us the main attractions, dominated by Antoni Gaudí. We started by walking up La Rambla, the main strip filled with shops and street performers. From there we walked through La Plaza de Catalunya to a couple of Gaudí's buildings. This architect was brilliant and his works our absolutely incredible. His buildings are unique and look like they came out of a Dr. Seuss book. My favorite was La Sagrada Familia, a beautiful church characterized by its massive towers. The church was started in the 1880's and won't be complete until 2026. The twelve towers represent the 12 apostles and one side of the church is a tribute to Christ's birth and the other to Christ's death. Another of Gaudí's works is Guell Park, which we went to after the church. The Park offers incredible views of the city and also is home to the world's longest park bench (according to Ben). This park was another architectural phenomenon. (If you can't tell, I'm a new Gaudí fan)
After the park, we decided to hit up the beach. The water felt fantastic and I can now say I have swam in the Mediterranean. The beach was a little crowded, though, and had too many of the wrong women going topless. But I guess that's Europe for ya. Friday night, we watched a fireworks show from the beach while enjoying a little sangria. After fireworks, we caught some of a jazz concert, but we were too tired to stay up much longer. Sleep was necessary after being up for about 36 hours
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