Barcelona

We love Barcelona. It is a great city. You must come here and visit. It has everything for everyone. The day we got here we went to our new hostel to check in and drop off our bags and then, since we didn't have anything planned, we headed off to the beach. Since it's close to the ocean, Barcelona feels a lot cooler than Madrid did. The beach was great and relaxing. The next day we went for a 'Ramblas Ramble' where we walked down the historic Ramblas Street.It is filled with flower vendors and animal vendors and people that dress up in crazy outfits and don't move all day or they'll put on a show if put some money in their bucket. When we had lunch, we sat at a square and watched an old man lure in some pidgeons with bread and whack them with his cane (yes, he was in the same spot the next day).

Since the beach is so relaxing, we went to lay out...and then headed out for a night on the town. We went for a walk through the gothic section of town and stopped at places full of sweets (suggested by Rick Steves). We had the best chocolate ever from the oldest chocolate shop in Barcelona. We also had churros that we dipped into a cup of hot chocolate that was really more like hot pudding!! We also tasted this sweet, refreshing drink that was made out of a 'chupa' nut. The drink was chupa nut, sugar and water...very good, though it may not sound appealing.

After the sweet walk, we had dinner and then headed to the beach with ALL OF BARCELONA!! It was the celebration of San Juan (?) and everyone -I mean perhaps a million or more people go to the beach and set off fireworks and celebrate. They are all out there until 6 a.m. or so...people camp out all night long. It was crazy fun!

Not knowing that it was going to be a national holiday, we had planned on going to a couple of musems today but they were all closed. So, we went on another historic walking tour of Barcelona (which was really interesting), did laundry, and went to Montjuic, which is where the Olympic stadium is. We got to go in and see where the games were held and just walk around the park and take it all in. We went up the hill a little farther and saw a castle that was built in the 18th century by the Spanish government to keep an eye on the city and watch out for revolts. The view from here was incredible, as it was atop a cliff.

Well, thats all so far from Barcelona. Tomorrow we leave for the Cinque Terre, and we couldn't be more excited!