Aquamarina Pineda de Mar

... about barcelona, the food, the drink, the parties, the culture, the people and the weather. Everywhere you go there is a bar, somewhere to eat, tapas restaurants everywhere. Before barcelona i was never really a cultural person, I was never really interested in sightseeing and art and culture but you cant escape it in barcelona and you wouldnt want to!! There are Gaudi buildings all over the city which are just ...

... waves like Len does.

For our groceries we walk about 10 minutes down a side street to a Carrefour Express, it is small, great little shopping carts when you need only a few items. Again you pay for bags if you need them so we always take a back-pack.

We needed 2 potatoes as the plan was to boil lots today and fry half of them for tomorrow’s meal ...

... everywhere. We could watch craftsmen working on parts of the church and see the care that was being given the work. With the intricate detail it is amazing just to look at a small piece of the building and consider the thought given to it by Gaudi and the other architects. Gaudi was very inspired by nature and incorpated nature into many of his designs. He used a fallen Magnolia leaf as inspiration for a future roofline. The large columns in the Sagrada Familia were designed to ...

Today we arrived at our base for exploring Barcelona, a campsite about 50 km away and an hour train ride in, in a small beach town called Pineda de Mar. We planned to camp closer, but when we discovered that the campground we had in mind was charging high-season prices this weekend because of a big motorcycle race in a nearby town, we opted for other accommodations. So, it boiled down to either 45 euro per night or 14 euro per night, and only an extra ...

... strolling the streets and sitting on the sidewalk trying desperately not to look like I was begging for money. Exhausted, we went back for the night with our bellies full to rest up for our trip to Sagrada Familia today. We got a little bit of an earlier start, and then made the 5 minute walk to the church, which has become one of Barcelona´s most famous landmarks (and most popular tourist destinations!). Gaudi was comissioned to build the ...

... to montreal. Bcn is in the region of spain called Catalonia. This region never fully assimiliated into the Castillian Spain (the popular Spain we all know) and as such, Catalonia has retained its own language and culture. As such, Catalonia thinks of itself as its own country within spain, all signs have catalan in REALLY big writing and spanish in MUCH smaller, secondary writing (if at all), much of the city's infrastructure and ...

... our hostel, wake up whoever was trying to be inconsiderate and sleep.. and then head out for a little stroll. Time in City, 30min, "hashish".. whats that? What did I say earlier about absorbing local traditions? Now what to do with this hardened piece of hamster ****? This is where our good friend Neslon comes into play.. Those americans know everything! ANyways, our first night was pretty uneventful, we kinda just walked around and got a feel for what ...

... Would have some great Barcelona views too if the weather didn't go so grey. What seems to be left is a giant columned pavilion that's surrounded by Gaudi gingerbread houses and mosiacally warped play and picnic areas. Dad would love some of the stonework here - gigantic waves of rock which must have been formed by an ...

As it was in the beginning............ Madame X and I met on a trip to Iraq right before the war. Yes, Bush 2 's insanity. We celebrated Ramadan in Beirut and decided to celebrate Eid el Fitr three years later in Barcelona. And if you want to know who Miss Toastwater is then check out Edward Gorey. Miss Emily Toastwater smothered her father after evening prayers, London S.W.7 (1616) .....................from ...

... rich people. We also lay on the beach in Cannes (about the only thing we could afford to do! A sun lounger at the Carlton Hotel beach cost 21 euros but the sandy public beach was nice enough for us!) We treated ourselves to an over-priced newspaper and gossip magazine from the beach-side vendors and spent a good few hours getting back in touch with the world - while I sneakily kept an eye out for any celebrities who might be passing ...