Blogs from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe - page 223

'hello...so Barcelona has come and gone, Nick and I had a blast. Saw lots of the town using the Bus Turistica. The favorites were the Parc Guell, Sangrada Familia (Both Guadi works) Just crazy, the Spainards are amazing, still working like madmen on this project which should be completed by 2030. We have a whole memory stick of photos up in the hotel, so here are some from the last places we visited. We took the train down to Port Aventura this morning and are in a nice hotel at the moment with a swimming pool very close to the park. Tomorrow we will try to hit up as much of the park as we can, Nick wants to do all the crazy rides, I'll see which ones I try. Definitely not the vertical drop one ... read more

I greet you all from the brutal heat of a Barcelona Summer. Before I start talking about Barcelona, I will update you on the end of Rome and Madrid. We spent a day at the Vatican, visiting St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel. We also saw Pope John Paul's tomb in the Papal catacombs, and it was really inspiring watching all these pilgrims from all over the world break down in tears at the sight of his headstone. St Peter's Basilica is absolutely stunning, both in its scale and its ornate architecture and decorations. It is massive and gorgeous, with paintings and statues lining the walls of its massive Cathedral. I really don't have enough superlatives to describe it so I will say, as the sign outside did, that it is the Greatest Church in ... read more

Hi everyone! We're still in Barcelona and it's been really hot and muggy. On saturday night we all went out to another hostel and hung out with people there, which was a lot of fun. Then we went to a club but it wasn't exactly like the clubs in vancouver at all! It was really neat though, it looked like it used to be a huge theatre or opera house and there were these 3 older ladies dressed up in sequins and singing all of these american tunes. It felt a little like the entertainment you get when you go to an all-inclusive resort in mexico. A bit cheesy, but fun to watch! Our hostel here is not too shabby, it's very quiet though, unlike most of the hostels here. Yesterday we went around and looked ... read more

Buenos dias all, here I am in a somewhat overcast Barthelona, where the weather is a little humid but still bearable at 25 degrees. So begins the next postcard I guess, and it´s from Lisbon in Portugal, only I´m sending it from Barthelona. I´m developing a lisp whilst being here, all my C´s are quickly becoming TH´s. I imagine Catalans don´t have too much of an issue with theophilus the thistle sifter tongue twisters. Anyway, Lisbon was like thus: Scene: Me at a food outlet at the biggest shopping centre on the Iberian peninsula. Me (in my non-existent Portuguese): Hola. Sumo Naranja & Atum Tosta se faz favor (This translates roughly to orange juice and a tuna toasted sandwich please). Sandwich lady: Um, do you speak English? Me: uh, yeah. Sandwich lady: Speak to me in ... read more

Hi everyone! This blog is going to be short but we thought we should let you all know that we left Paris last night and took a 12 hour train ride to Barcelona, where we are now. We slept most of the trip except for when we were woken up by police entering our cabin and wrestling with some guy because he didn't have a passport! They caused quite a commotion at 5am!We're staying at the Gothic Point Hostel which seems pretty cool, but we can't check in for another hour so we're just hanging out in the lobby until then. It's really hot out already and it's still morning! We're really tired from the trip and very hot and sticky, i can't wait to use the shower! Ok, talk to you all later, bye! ~jen ... read more