Day 40: Bikes and Boats

Saturday - June 26, 2010:

Day 2 in Barcelona was one for the records. I don't even know how to describe how much fun we had -- I'll try and do my best for yall!

We knew there was so much to see in this city and we couldn't do it on our own, so we took the touristy route... Bike tour! It came highly recommended from girls who had come previous summers, so we figured that was a good sign. We started our morning with a free breakfast in the hostel and while we were eating, this lady came and sat at our table. Well we talked with her and made polite conversation and she was really sweet. She was from Austrailia, in her 40s and traveling alone -- that goes to show how random the crowds can be in hostels! Well, we told her we were going on a bike tour today and she said she was too -- so she joined us on our walk to the tour meeting spot and proceeded to get on the same tour group as us. We love making friends! So once we all got situated at the bike place and our guide gave us our rides for the day, we were ready to hit the streets! Let me tell you, I'm not gonna lie, it took me a few pedals to get my sea legs back on the cruiser bicycle! It wasn't your typical Trek I'm used to.

{Fat Tire Bike Tour = thebomb.com way to spend Saturday in Barcelona}

{In the shop getting our bikes....}

{Kasi and I ready to put the pedal to metal}

{And some of the others ready to do the same!}

Our guide, John, was from St. Louis and a very interesting character! He loved corny jokes and sarcasm, so we got along swimmingly. On our tour, which lasted 4 hours and was over the course of 7 miles, we saw everything Barcelona is known for.

{Our first stop was the home of Ferdinand and Isabella -- the famous couple who funded Christopher Columbus' voyage to America}

{Well hey there Kasi!}

One of our first stops was at the Cathedral of Barcelona -- a beautiful building of gothic architecture.

{Kate posing with the Cathedral}

{Some behind the head pictures I took in some alley - hence the angled picture!}

One of my favorite parts of the tour was when we went through the Arc de Triomf and into this park. As we were cruising down this wide open sidewalk, lined with palm trees, we turn onto a gravel road and into this park area. It was so beautiful!! I was in heavennnnn. I was in awe of this fountain in the middle of the area and then I look and notice this familiar looking gazebo... And I thought for a moment... And then it hits me.... This is where The Bachelorette Jillian and Wes had a date hahaha I know -- I'm a Bachelorette freak for remembering this, don't judge. So of course this offers up the perfect opportunity for Becca and I to stage the scene.

{About to go through the Arc de Triomf}

{Kasi and I with the Arc in the background!}

{The street was lined with palm trees and wide-open for cruising}

{Turning into the park}

{The beautiful fountain! I forgot the name of it... but it's pretty :) }

{The Barcelona Groupppp!}

{About to stage the "date"...}

{And it's staged!}

{Riding through the park -- loving every bit of the shade we get}

{Out of the park and onto some main roads. We showed those cars who's boss}

{The view in front of me}

{Me}

{And the jokers behind me}

{This is where bullfights are held}

{About to take on the traffic... we survived!}

Then we saw one of the more famous buildings -- La Sagrada Familia. This is Anotnio Gaudi's pride and joy. Now I am not an architecture buff nor do I know my famous buildings -- but I have to say that Gaudi has inspired me and been added to my list of favorite people. I suggest you Google him and read his story -- it is really interesting! I'd type it on here but it's too much for my little fingers to type on this iPhone. Also, side note, you know when you describe something as being gaudi, like jewelry or a house or something?Ok well it came from Antonio Gaudi because all of his buildings are so intense and massive and...well...Gaudi! Cool, huh?!

{Very Gaudi!}

{The Fruits of the Spirit on top of the spires}

{3 of the 5 Interior Design girls -- they're missing the other 2 at this major architectural moment!}

{La Sagrada Familia}

After being amazed by La Sagrada Familia, we trekked it to the beach (ahhhh!!) I was so excited to be near water and sand, I could barely stand it. It was so pretty!! I don't know what I was expecting with the Barcelona beaches, but they were great (minus the body to body crowds). The Mediterranean was so blue and the sand so perfect. So we looked around a bit and then biked on over to this area on the beach that the Fat Tire Bike Tours had staked out. We sat on some sand chairs and ordered lunch (Becca and I split a small thing of nachos and then we each got a small ceasar salad). We sat and enjoyed our relaxing time before John rounded us up to head back to the bike shop. We got on our cruisers and set out for the scenic 15 minute ride back to Palazzo del Jaume. It was sad turning in our bikes!! We had so much fun on our bike tour -- I couldn't think of a better way to see the city!! I would highly reccommend it to anyone visiting :)

{The Ride}

{A view of Port Olympic}

{A view of the beach! We shall see you tomorrow...}

{Cruising the boardwalk to the beach}

{John playing waiter}

{And the solo shots begin.. first is Lindsey pondering life}

{Then Emily}

{Then Kate gazing into the distance}

{That big building at the end of the beach is the W Hotel -- it's ginormous!}

{Nachos for everyone!}

After our bike tour, which ended around 3, we didn't realy have any plans so we decided to go walk around La Rambla a bit more. We may or may not have gotten a mid-afternoon snack at Dunkin Donuts...

We did this until we exhausted ourselves, so then we went back to the hostel, showered and leisurely got ready for dinner.

The different hostel rooms (I was in a room of 4 and then there were 2 other rooms of 2 girls) each did their own thing for dinner this night. My room went to this cute, outdoor restaurant along the street of Port Olympic. We each ordered a tapas and then all split a Paella (both dishes are what Barcelona is known for, so we had a very touristy day!). I wouldn't say that Paella is something I would crave, but it was definately worth trying!

Dinner took us about 2 and a half hours -- we just sat and didn't worry about time or anything, it was so nice!

{Becca's Sangria de Cava}

{Make that 2. One for Becca and one for Emily}

{Kasi and I}

{Kasi trying to decided whether she likes Seafood Paella or not... }

{And we may or may not have gone to a supermarket and bought out their supply of Hairbo Peaches...}

I'm thinking it's becase I didn't wear a watch that I didn't worry about time because wait till you hear about our night.... So I don't know if I've mentioned this, but Becca has a friend that lives here. She knew him in middle school, but then he moved here and she hasn't seen him in 7 years but they've kept in touch -- so she met up with him on Monday and he said he would take us out one night. Well Saturday night was the night! So after our leisurely dinner, we went to meet up with Victor (that's his name) and Lindsey and Katelyn. Wait till you hear this -- guess where we hung out all night? On one of Victor's friends boat. Yes, this guy had a wooden sailboat that was docked at the Port Olympic Marina and we hung out there all night -- it was too unbelivable! We kept having to pinch ourselves and ask "Are we really in Barcelona on the Mediterranean in a boat??" Unreal! But we had such a good time and it was fun being with locals. Remember how I said I didn't wear a watch so I wasn't worried about time? Ok well that's because I didn't ask about the time once throughout the night, so before I knew it it was 5:00 a.m. and we were on our way back to the hostel! Are you kidding me?! Do you know who you're talking to -- it's Sara Kate. I'm usually in my third REM cycle at 5:00, not on the Barcelona Metro just about to go to bed. This is the true example of "time flies when you're having fun!" So as you can interpret, we had the best night just hanging out and talking!

{What's going on in the galley?!}

{Becca and Victor -- long lost friends finally reunited!}

{Candid moment -- gotta love candids}

{I'm on a boat and...... (sing the song -- it was stuck in my head for days!)}

So for the first half of the day we had a total tourist experience of Barcelona and the second half we had a completely local experiene of Barcelona -- I'm glad I had the opportunity to see the city through both sets of eyes, both were so different but so much fun!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone