Metro

PREMISE: If you haven't read the previous post, you might want to, considering this is a continuation.

Hello, once again, amiable Reader! It's a beautiful day here in Barcelona, overcast, but still quite warm and sticky. I said beautful, not beautiful feeling.

Anyways, today I got to take a small taste of the nectar which is freedom. You see, today was my day to roam around the streets of Barcelona by myself, without my whiney younger brother and my museum-obsessed parents, and boy did I have an (mini) adventure! I started off the morning going to a park made by an architect named Gaudi with my parents. You might be quadrying, "You say an architect made a park? Architects make buildings, silly!". And to that I say, this architect was obsessed with nature and made this park to be a private one for the estate of one of his greatest benfactors. It's a pretty swell park with lots of green stuff, and it sprinkled a little, adding to the coolness.

While on the topic of this architect, I thought it would be nice to take this blog to a whole different dimension by adding some pictures. Mind you, these arent picture I have taken, but ones I have found on the internet. So, first a picture of a cathedral that Gaudi designed. It's so complex that it is still being built! They expect it to be finished in about 30 years. I went inside yesturday, and it was AWESOME. I'm going to have to come back when it's finished. So, here it is:



As you can see, it's quite magnificent. I liked it a lot. Ok, onwards and upwards!

Next, after seeing the park, I left my parental units and headed for the metro station. That was cool. Have you ever noticed that all subway/metro/underground stations smell exactly the same? It's quite curious. Anyways, I took the subway to a big street with shops and stuff, and just strolled about. I got some Starbucks, haha, because I was tired, not because I'm an American. I went to a Spanish mall, with walls of glass and little boutiques. The biggest Lacoste store I've ever seen was there, but they got mad when I took a picture, so I left. I then went to a tiny cafe with no one in it. The waitress didn't know any english, so I fumbled along and ended up getting a pasta salad (because it was the only thing I understood) and duck breast, which was delicious.

I then headed off the the Metro station again to go to the beach/port. That was interesting. I saw a woman with a white laborador go on the metro. I thought that was neat. The dog had a hard time on the escalator, which allowed me to understand the somewhat criptic message of the London underground stations; "Dogs must be carried on escalator". Anyways, I took a nice little stroll on the marina and saw some things and people, and then jumped on a tourist bus, because it was already paid for and I didnt want to get another Metro ticket. It was all quite exciting, and leads me to look foreward to Germany and the UK, where I'm alone.

LAST NIGHT: Hey, I almost forgot about last night! After the post, I went to dinner with my family to a bar called "El Reloj", which means "The Clock" for all you Gringos out there. It was packed becase Spain was playing the Ukrain in the World Cup! It was very smokey in there, but it was worth it to see the Spaniards' reaction when a goal was scored by Spain to tie the game, and two more to win it. They went CARAZAY when that happened. It was sweet. They have a lot of national anthems/songs....

EUROPEAN MOMENT OF THE WEEK: Okay, picture this, me and my family are walking on the streets of Barcelona, and suddenly we see this tall, long haired woman on a Vespa Scooter, in a matching pink skirt and shirt, with a helmet matching the Vespa, wearing Stelleto heels, and, to top it all off, a cigarrette dangling in her mouth. It was awesome, but I didnt have time to take a picture. She belonged in a advertisement.

I've decided that Barcelona might be as cool as Seville! It's a lot bigger, but there's so much to do, a lot of shops, the beach, a port, and culture up the wazoo! I don't know what's a good souvenier, though. I got a bullfight poster from Seville. Maybe I'll get one of those soccer scarf things...

I've realized that Europe is a place to explore with friends. I mean really explore, not be a tourist- you can do that with your family. So, I'm going to find come people who are willing, and I'm going to go to europe with them and stay in youth hostels. Because it would be awesome.

I think that it's safe to say that this blog idea was a success. It's a good way to record my thoughts, allow you, the reader, to see how I'm doing, as well as offer a way of communication. Thanks for making it work out! Well, I can't think of anything else to say, really, so I think I'll leave it up to you to comment and make your thoughts known. I miss all of you!

But before I leave, a SHOUTOUT TO COURNEY AND KIM DALTON, the peeps who are meeting up with me in London for dinner and a show, you guys are the coolest, and brighten my day whenever I see you. I can't wait for London, and I hope you have a great time in Italy!

¡Adios!