Picasso, Gaudi, and Me

---

We just returned from our little road trip to Barcelona. This was the largest tourist turnout we have seen in a European city since we have been here. It was also the most English speaking we had heard in awhile. We finally made it to the sea, even if it was too cold to enjoy it. We were not as brave as the crazy surfers we saw out there in the water.

I really enjoyed the Barri Gothic and the Picasso Museum. The Gaudi works truly make Barcelona a unique city, I can only imagine the contrast of his design with times in which they were constructed. I will definitely have to make a trip back to Barcelona in fifty years for the completion of the Sagrada Familia. That is one fine piece of modern architecture. Some of Gaudi's buildings vaguely remind me of candyland (as in the board game), especially the little cottage like buildings at Park Guell.

There are a few other highlights of our trip, which we found amusing. We indulged in our first Chicago deep dish pizza, all the way in Spain. After the Casa Mila, we were hungry and stumbled upon a Chicago themed pizza place. We also watched the Real Madrid vs Villareal soccer game at the Jules Verne pub on the Ramblas. This was fun, and everyone in the place was speaking English. I recommend this pub to anyone who goes there. It is close to the Placa Catalunya by the McDonalds and Burger King. We also had our official worst meal in Europe. We picked a restaurant called Gino's for some Italian food. After we were seated we noticed on the menu that it was owned by the same company as TGI Fridays, yuck! Dustin said his food tasted like it was a frozen meal, and the prawns were mini shrimps. The real kicker, however, was the ripoff breadsticks. When you sit down there are some packaged breadstick cracker like things on your plates. Well, we opened them and ate them only to find them on our bill later. What a scam! So don't ever eat at Gino's. Even though it was bad, it still gives us a good laugh. Sometimes those bad experiences become the funny memories in the end.

---

Photos

Inside Cathedral
This is the tomb of Barcelona's patron saint Eulalia.

Geese in Courtyard
They say the Geese were an ancient alarm system for the church. They would make noise when anyone came around, alerting the monk who was in charge.