Barcelona Baby!!!!

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Barcelona!!!! Sun, surf and sangria- need I say more?!
I'll admit I was excited to go to Spain, but it was only when I was there that I realised just how wonderful it was. When we first arrived in Barcelona, after a fair few hours of driving, it was 5:30pm. And we got dropped off at the church: Basilica De La Sagrada Familia. Fun fact: Basilica means Church, and obviously Familia means family. (I haven't worked out the rest yet)
The Basilica De La Sagrada Familia was built over 180 years ago, and is still under construction. The architect/ engineer who was designing it got ran over by a tram.... Anyway- his works are famous all throughout Spain, mainly Barcelona. Although his works (Ghaul?) are masterpieces, some of the column work looks like a dribble castle... Not sure how he'd take that- but the overall impression of the building is quite wonderful.
Then our tour manager (Toni) took us to our hotel bar and managed to get us all free sangria! The Sangria tasted amazing! Everyone should try the real Spanish Sangria! Life changing.

The next day was our free day in Barcelona. My three roommates (Laura, Ashley and Brittany) and I all decided to forgo the walking tour of the city and explore ourselves. So we ventured off passing many designer stores, and then we found the fruit, meat and veg Eat Street Markets! We had a blast! They had everything from fruit smoothies (which are amazing by the way, you should all get one- or maybe three or four; they were only €1) to baclava or churros (€2 for four pieces) to people trying animals tongue (that I didn't do- I drew a line- also being a vegetarian helps!)
We continued walking around the shops after the markets. One down side is- once you've hit a certain area there are literally no toilets. I recommend finding a hotel, asking if you can use their bathroom and paying them a 50 cent coin, also take your own toilet paper everywhere (or even just tissue paper) as quite often there is no paper or they have run out.
After a little retail therapy we hit the beach! It was a bit of a walk, but it was worth it. The water was blue and crystal clear, the sand was nice and hot, there were bathrooms (yay!) and of course a beach experience isn't complete until you have waiters handing out mojitos (be careful- they are €4). It wasn't actually until we got out of the refreshing water that we realise we were on a somewhat nudist beach. The Spanish embrace everything! However, there was no pressure to run around naked or half naked. A couple of other girls from another contiki tour were embracing it. Go them! After a while of Sun bathing and swimming we decided to try out some of the local cuisine. We found a cute little restaurant right near the beach and ordered tapas. According to custom, the Spanish have their main meal as dinner and they have it quite late so they invented little meals called tapas. They are everything and anything. From: potatoes bravos (potatoes with cream, salsa and cheese) to a Spanish omelette to fish dishes. The prices range from what you order and the size, so anything from €2-€8.
That evening we went to an all you can eat restaurant for an3 course meal coating all of €15. They bought out potatoes bravos, prawns, oysters, a huge salad, and mussels for each table. Then the second meal was your choice of a range of paella: vegetarian, prawn, tuna, lamb, beef or chicken. And dessert was a creme caramel or a chocolate lava cake- both extremely good.
The nightlife in Barcelona is off the hook! At least that's the people of Barcelona say. We went to a bar that was called Jaggerbomb (yes- exactly like the drink; they are famous for the jagger shots) and then learned traditional Spanish flamingo dancing and the meringue. I'm not sure how much the boys retained- I think they were more interested in the jagger bombs. But it was fun anyway!
Top tips for Barcelona: embrace the culture, always carry tissue paper, have a fruit juice or smoothie at the markets (or both), try the baclava and forget about your diets!!!

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Photos

Barcelona
Our day sheet for Barcelona

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map of Barcelona

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Barcelona

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Sagrada Familia