Barcelona and Back

Last Monday I woke up at 4:30am to catch the bus to the train station in Copenhagen which would take me to the K. Lufthavn. I get there with plenty of time to spare and the airline served us croissants and orange juice while we waited.

In about 2 and a half hours I was landing in Barcelona. After a bit of studying other people I learned how to get a train ticket to the city center. With only one pack, I was able to roam around all day without having carry much luggage.

I didnt have a map, so I just picked a direction. I started on the SW side, where I stumbled upon a nice art museum, gardens, a chairlift, and an old castle.. or fort. I took lots of pictures from this point, as it offered a panaramic views of the city and he sea. This also gave me an idea of which direction I wanted to head next.

I wondered down the hill on the East side and then turned North on the Ramba, the touristy street. I continued North looking for the Sangrada Familia. I had always seen this cathedral in pictures and always wanted to see it in person. I couldnt find it... but I managed to stumble upon a series of escalators leading up a mountain. I took them, which led to a park full of gardens overlooking the city. I spent some time exploring the park and then headed back down toward the Familia. Even after taking visual note of its location, I was still ahving a hard time finding it. I kept stopping at the bus stops to look at the maps posted. That was how I found my way.

At last, the Sangrada Familia. Not much to do there, and it was of course full of tourists. I moved on, heading East to where Roger lives. I could have taken the metro, but I chose to finish the day walking instead. It was 6 hours of walking total when I found Roger's flat. He was glad to see me when I showed up. I met the children and we had dinner together consisting of chicken strips and a mashed goulash.

The 3 days I spent there were relaxed. It was nice to be in warmer weather, even is the air was chilly. The second day I spent walking around Sant Andreu, the township where Roger lives. There werent any tourists, and I got a nice grasp of local life. On Wednesday I was to meet Star, the friend I had met in Amsterdam a little over a week ago. I waited around for 45min. and decided she could find Roger's place on her own. Roger took me swimming in the local pool center. It felt good to get some total body excercise for a change.

Whne I returned from the pool, Star was at the flat. I had barely missed her at the metro stop. Roger took us out to the old part of the city and gave us a tour. We had some Argentine pizza and took lots of pictures. The next day, Star and I went to the beach and compared yoga moves. She went for a swim, I opted against it.... i bit too cold.

I said my goodbyes to everyone and headed back to the airport on Thursday evening. Time to get back to the cold, wet, windy North.

Going home was all that I could have expected for Copenhagen. It was just above freezing, windy, and slushing rain.

Friday I took it easy until Michael returned from work. We went to his father's Italian supermarket and then he headed to his company's Christmas Lunch. I went back to the dorm to make dinner and then I headed out to the city.