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Published: February 13th 2013
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BarcelonaToday we had a full sightseeing tour in Barcelona! Unfortunately I didn't feel too much better when I woke up, but I determined to see all that I could. We had breakfast at 8:00 and it was onto the coach for the drive into the city at 8:30 am.
First we got a tour of the city from the coach, including a drive up Montjuic for some excellent views of the city and the water. The sun was out and it looked like the weather would be great today. We were also driven to the 1992 Summer Olympics complex. Finally we drove into the center of the city and stopped at the Sagrada Familia cathedral. This is an enormous church designed by architect Antoni Gaudi, and the design is extremely intricate and beautiful. They began building this church in 1882, and it is still incomplete. This really is an amazing site to see, and although I didn't go inside it this time, it is something I would love to do on a future trip. Gaudi's art is really unusual and interesting, and another site in Barcelona which I've heard is great but I've never visited, is Park Guell.
From
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Sagrada Familia! here Seb gave us a walking tour of the Gothic district of Barcelona. It was interesting but it was very hot and I was getting hungy, and we were quite eager to get off and do some exploring on our own. When the tour was over, Colleen, Emma, Verity, and I took a walk down Las Ramblas. This is a long street filled with street performers, great restaurants, shopping, and anything else you can think of. There were people dressed up as every character imaginable, and stalls selling everything, including pet rodents! We stopped at a restaurant (Amatxu) to try out some of Spain's famous tapas. Tapas are just lots of different types of small appetizers, and since we couldn't figure out what the menu said, we just ordered a bunch of random ones, as well as sangria. You can't eat out in Spain without sangria! Yummm. I didn't enjoy the tapas as much as I was hoping, mostly because I couldn't figure out what it was I was eating. But the sangria was delicious!
After lunch we headed to the end of Las Ramblas where there is a monument for Christopher Columbus, to honour his first voyage to
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Laura, Sharna, Emma, Debs, me, Colleen, Rosi, and Verity at the Sagrada Familia the Americas. You could go all the way to the top in an elevator for great views of the city. It cost four euro. The only downside was that the elevator and the top are so tiny you can't go up in a big group.
Our next stop was an enormous shopping mall to shop for our tight and bright theme party. We weren't going to be having this party until Hopfgarten, but we wanted to get outfits now in case we didn't have a chance to shop later. We went to Claire's and H&M and got bright tights, socks, hair extensions, fake eyelashes, and more. The theme parties Contiki has are great fun, but sometimes it's annoying that you have to buy outfits for them. I was on a pretty tight budget, but I tried to forget about that and just have fun!
By this time it was late afternoon, and we headed back down Las Ramblas and got some ice cream and did some souvenir shopping. I tried to find some new shoes since my flats were getting really worn out from all the walking around, but I was unsuccessful. At the end of Las Ramblas
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Walking tour of Barcelona there was a beautiful park, so me, Colleen, and Debs sat there for a while, chatted, and people watched.
At 5:45 pm we met back up with the group. Most of the group was going to a Flamenco dance optional activity, but me, Colleen, and Sharna (from Australia) had opted out.
Flamenco evening show (30 euro): Tonight, it's all about Spanish culture with live music and dance. Get caught up in the heart-stopping intensity of flamenco, kick back with a glass of Spain's famous sangria and get into the rhythms.
At this point I was starting to feel like death, my flu (or whatever it was) was really catching up with me and I was coming down with a fever. The three of us decided to go have dinner, and we eventually found a nice place and I had a huge bowl of pasta and more sangria! (not sure why since I felt so terrible). After dinner we did some more shopping, before taking the metro to Port Olympico to meet the rest of the group. We got a little lost on the way, but eventually we found it. Port Olympico is just the part of Barcelona
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Beaches right by the water and the beach, and there are lots of nice restaurants.
Most of the group stayed out to go clubbing in Barcelona tonight, but I was definitely going home. I'm sad I missed out on partying in Barcelona but next time I go back I'm determined to do it right! I think I was definitely one of the first people to come down with the Contiki sickness, inevitable when you are travelling with 50 other people in a tiny bus and you are all hungover every day! If you are going on Contiki make sure you are taking your vitamins and trying to eat healthy when possible. Travelling while sick is not enjoyable! I got to sleep around 11:30 pm.
What did I learn today? I love sangria!
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