Spain

We drove to Spain from Toulouse, as we crossed the mountains near the border, we kept wondering if we were there yet! Dillon pointed out that the road signs were still in French so we hadnt crossed over yet. We were hoping for a big sign that said Spain, but unfortunately there was not one to be found. Insted there was a small sign overhanging the motorway that said Espagne.

Our first stop was Blanes, we wanted to go for a swim. I had been there on holiday as a child so i remembere that there was a beach there, and as it was close to Barcelona it wasnt out of the way. We parked by the harbour, so had to walk a little way until we got to the beach. Hahahhaa was so funny. As we were walking along the beach, Josh and Dillon were  checking out the topless women, and were disappointed to see that they were all older women. So funny, but even funnier, was when we got to the place where we were going to sit. We were still standing deciding if this was where we wanted to sit, when i saw a man begin to drop his shorts. Seeing what was coming i turned my back to him. Nobody else had noticed, till he was starkers- hahahaha you should have heard josh dillon and dom, the boys were shocked and disgusted that it was a man, and dom was just like wowsers and turned away. I laughed and laughed because it was a man and not a woman.

Dom and i put on our togs, and headed into the sea. It wasnt warm warm but it wasnt cold either. It was crystal clear just like tap water. That was fine until i noticed the jellyfish swimming in there, that was it we were out. We moved along a bit further, and began to head in again. Ahhh there were more jelly fish, so we gave up on the idea of swimming.

We continued our drive to our couch surfer in Barcelona. They live just outside of Barcelona, we drove up over the mountains. Their street is lined with dry dirt/sand. There is no asphalt. It is so hot here. The house is lovely, children live upstairs and adults downstairs- its huge, and each level has its own lounge and bathroom. The only thing that upstairs does not have is a kitchen.

Anna, and George live with their Mum Suzannah and maternal grandmother. Our first night we chatted together, and talked about some of the things that we could do the next day in Barcelona. They were full of suggestions and even gave us a city map of Barcelona that showed where all of the key sites were, and had a map of the underground too. So helpful!

In the morning we attempted to get up nice and early (9ish). We walked into town in order to get the train. The part of town closest to the train station was old and derelict, most walls had tagging on. It looked like a scene from a mexican movie were a town had been abandoned - it looked ghetto.

When we arrived in Barcelona we headed up to LA Pedera first. It was one of Gaudis buildings that was now like a museum. We paid nearly $100 to get in only to get to the top floor (by lift at the begining of the tour) for security to notice that Josh didnt have shoes on. They told him he needed to put his shoes on. When he said he didnt have any, they didnt believe him, so then i dug a deeper hole, and said that we are from New Zealand, and dont wear shoes - duh! We were escorted out and given back our entrance fees! Hahahahha never had that happen before on this trip.

We caught the metro to Sagrada Familia. Wow its massive. As we came out of the metro subway, we were greeted by what first appearred a monstrosity of a building. It was massive, taking up most of the skyline. It is a true piece of art however as the longer that you look at it, the more things that you notice. When we went inside it was breath taking- spectacular, it was just incredible, i have never seen a cathedral as majestic! Gaudi was more than an architect, he was so creative.

We then took the metro over to Guell Park. Another one of Gaudis masterpeices! There were mosaics everywhere, on the seats the buildings, the features around the park. There were lots of cactus growing wild in the park, many of them were bearing fruit- i wondered if it was edible or not. As we neared the centre of the park, where all the mosaic benches were, we saw a flood of indian men race up the stairs. As we watched we saw them being followed by a lone police officer. They were illegal street vendors. The policeman knew that he couldnt catch them all. He would chase them up a few stairs and they would stand at the top. He laughed they laughed, it was so funny. They stood waiting for him to disappear, then they would return to sell their goods.

We next went to the Picasso museum. It was free after 3pm on sundays which meant huge queues. We queued for 45 minutes and in we went- it wasnt a museum it was an art gallery! we looked around and realised how ignorant we are when it comes to art - we found the nearest pub where we had sangria and paella! By then it was 9pm so we headed back to our couchsurfer. Walking back through the derelict buildings with no lighting was a little scarey but we made it ok.

When we arrived home the family were having a sing song, so we all sat around the table and joined them. George played guitar and the others sang. After a while Dillon hopped on the piano, next thing i knew the childrens grandma pulled me up to dance to Dillons music - was so funny. We had a lovely time hanging out with them.

Next day we went back into Barcelona with our host. We visited the market of La Rambla together, and a food market not far from there. At La Rambla Dillon and Dominique had their portraits drawn - Dillons was a cartoon one and doms a charcoal portrait. It was great. At the food market, the food looked incredible. We farewelled Anna and headed to the port to board our boat for Italy.

 At the gate the man told me to park in bay 8 on the right. I parked in bay 8, which was just one lane so had no idea how to park on the right. A whistle started blowing loudly, and some man started yelling in Spanish - none of which  i understood, he wanted me in bay 6 on the right! A little flustered at the whistling and yelling, i moved slowly. The same thing happenned to the car that came in after me - they got whistled and yelled at. Not long after the whistling we got to board the boat.

We unpacked and headed for our cabin. It was basic but impressive. Everyone was excited and a little disappointed that we were only going to be on the boat for 23 hours. They thought it would be great if we could be on for a week or more. Whilst i sorted our stuff, Josh Dom and Dillon went off to explore. I went up on deck to find them sitting at the bar drinking and eating pizza. The pool was empty which was a little disappointing. I bought a jug of sangria, which we drank out of one meter long straws! After a few sips i went to the bar, and explained that i couldnt drink alcohol through a straw. The barman laughed and gave me a cup. We checked out the rest of the boat and then went down to the cabin to sleep.