Finalising Barcelona...

So the last full day I got to potter in Barcelona was another tour, but of a different kind. I decided to take a walking tour of the gothic quarter in the morning and it was well worth it. An older Spanish woman walked a group of mainly over 50s women around the centre of Barcelona pointing out some of the older stories. Barcelona is an amazingly old city - Roman built and there is still quite a bit of the ancient city there if you know where to look. The 25 or so of us weaved in and out of the cobbled laneways, the busier ones have a feel much like Melbourne's laneways and the small ones are like stepping back before the days of cities as we know it. The smell in some of the smaller laneways was like pure sewage, but once you get over that there were treasures to be seen. The archeologists have a uncovered some amazing things including the Forum of Barcelona - I think there are 4 full columns in this underground area we went to look at. I thought those things were only in Rome! It ws amazing - no reproduction, a full proper ruin! We also got to see some of the old Roman wall. In fact it was really interesting cause the guide was saying that when houses near where they thing the wall used to be get to be sold, they look at them and assess whether they will sell for a high price. If not, the state repossesses them, knocks them down and then the government hand the land over to the archeologists to dig up and find any artefacts, or ideally some more of the wall. (Barcelona, like all Roman cities was a walled city for protection against enemies. They built a wall around it, and then had gates into the city. Other interesting things we got to see was the church where Gaudi went before he was in an accident and was killed by a tram (oops, bad luck methinks!) and that same church has bullet holes from the Spanish Civil War. Actually Barcelona shows many signs of where the civil war was fought. On the side of the Barcelona Cathedral also there are big indents in the stone (which is a miracle in fact) and it is left over from when there was a market held there in medieval times and when the knive sellers would sharpen their knives!

The walking tour was really interesting. I also met another Australian there, who despite being a liitle obnoxious to the tourguide, was pleasant enough. At the end of the tour she joined me in the authentic cafeteria and we sat up at the bar having a hot chocolate and a chat. Although she looked no older than 40, it turned out she had a daughter aged 32! It's those kind of surprises I like when I'm travelling; the people stories that challenge your expectations or assumptions. We lamented that it would have been nice to have known her a day before because we had both thought about going to a Burlesque night that was being held in the city and looked really good, but were both a bit uncomfortable with the 'woman going alone' factor. Also, in Melbourne a burlesque crowd is largely young women, but I thought perhaps it could be old men in Spain? Or is that my silly notions again?

By the time I a writing this, it has been nearly a week since I have been in Spain and it really was a fabulous experience. The icing on the cake was that final afternoon though when I went along to the Sagrada Familia. In short this was a cathedral planned by Gaudi which he worked on for 40 years but has been going since the 1800s. He knew that if it was going to be following his plans then this church complex would take generations. He set it up so it could be funded entirely on public donation, and as work continues on it, this remains how it is funded. Of what exists so far each facade looks different and each is amazing - and inside, the work is still going strong but it's looking amazing with the highest ceilings and the poles which support the ceiling are designed to look like trees. The whole design concept of this enormous church is about bringing together nature. I just like the idea that each generation gets to put their mark on what is sure to become THE landmark of Barelona. It's amazing and I was so happy to wander around with the audio guide for a good couple of hours here.

After all that walking I was simply exhasuted and didn't have a late night at all. In fact I opted for a couple of my favourite things before a relatively early bed time. I got a fresh baguette, spanish ham (why hadnt I realised that this would be such a joy) and a hot chocolate from a UHT container like the one I had seen a guy make for me when I was at Montjuic. I sat happily in the hostel and ended up having a fabulous conversation with an American girl who had just spent the last 3 months living in Morocco.

All in all my time in Spain was good. A bit of a challenge at times because I think I was just pretty tired coming off the back of work, and remembering what it is like to be in a place that doesn't speak English. I'm glad it was just a manageable four night stint. The trip back to London was relatively painless although the flight was the roughest I have ever experienced and I really thought we might crash in the record winds. But safely we landed, and it felt good to get back to a little more of the known. I didn't go out as much as I had expected, but it definitely reaffirmed how much a hostel's character can change your experience of a city. I enjoyed the hostel but think I would have chosen differently if I were to go back again. I felt very old there. Still I was comfortable, the location was great and I had a great time in Barcelona all up.