We woke up at 6AM today ... good Lord. But we had to as we had an early morning flight from Granada to Barcelona. That's right. We took a plane from Granada to Barca. Honestly, it would've taken between 7-10 hours via bus / train and it was actually cheaper to fly, only €15. Couldn't have gotten a better deal. We landed in Barcelona (really bumpy landing by the way, there is a reason that pilot does the regional flights). We then took a bus into Barcelona near the Arc de Triomf (not the real one which is in Paris) and then took the metro to our hostel which is at the base of Montjuïc which is Catalan for 'Mount of the Jews'. Sandy and I laughed a little too hard at that. Barcelona is definitely different from the rest of Spain. First of all, it is in the fiercely independent region of Catalonía. They do not speak Spanish, they speak Catalan, so the language barrier was upped because it's not Spanish, but it's kind of similar. I'll be glad to return to a place where they speak English. After a lunch break we went back to the hostel and met none other than the one, the only, the infamous, His Royal Highness, Prince Ihar Pilipenka III. Okay, he's not really a prince, but it says so on his American Airlines air miles card, and they've never questioned him about it because he's from Belarus and they don't know anything about Belarus ... or that it used to be part of the Soviet bloc and therefore it would not make sense for there to be a royal family. Although if there were, I'm sure Igor would be part of it! Igor lived in the International Pavilion with me during my freshmen year and is now studying for his L.L.M. in Barcelona. We were always really close during my first year, and we went to Barcelona more with the intention to see Igor than anything else! Igor met us at our hostel and then we proceeded on what can only be dubbed as 'Igor's Bootcamp Walking Tour of Barcelona: Guaranteed to Lose 5 Lbs.' Boy is insane. I think we walked about 7 miles from the base of Montjuïc, to the Plaça de Espanya, down the length of Las Ramblas to Igor's school, throughout the Jewish quarter and shopping districts, down to the pier, and back to Las Ramblas. All at Igor speed too. So if you're looking to drop a few, see Igor!
But anyway, on our grand adventure, Igor showed us where all the Barcelona fashion shows are held, took us to the Plaça de Espanya and the 'Magic Fountain' (not so magical because it wasn't running). At the top of the Magic Fountain is the Barcelona Art Museum, we went inside only so that Igor could show us that you have to go through security to get into the Museum and it's completely absurd, and to also show us some of the ridiculous safety signs in the museum. Leave it to Igor to find the random! We also sat down in the café outside of the museum in what we all agreed were the most comfortable chairs we've ever sat in. We spent a few minutes trying to figure out if it was possible to steal them.
The Art Museum at Plaça de Espanya with the allegedly 'Magic Fountain'.
Me and Igor!
This was made abundantly clear.
View from the Art Museum of Barcelona. According to Igor, there is a theme park at the top of the middle mountain next to a giant statute of Jesus. So when you are on a roller coaster, calling out to the Lord, He is there. Oh Igor.
The most comfortable chair in Barcelona.
From the Museum, we then walked back to Plaça de Espanya down Gran Via de los Corts Catalanes to visit Igor's school, Universitat Central. The main campus is absolutely beautiful, except the law students don't get to use it. He also pointed out that the architecture students are stuck in what is widely regarded as the ugliest building in Barcelona, whereas everyone else has a much nicer building with ponds filled with koi fish and well-manicured gardens. He also took us for a giant Chinese buffet ... and now it's time to confess, dear Igor, we weren't really that hungry for 'dinner' yet at 4PM, but the Chinese was delicious!
Igor at his school!
We then continued on our journey down Las Ramblas which is the main 'high street' in Barcelona. Igor told us that in the summer time, you cannot walk down Las Ramblas because it is jammed with tourists - and it was already pretty crowded. Down Las Ramblas we went to the Monument a Colom, the Christopher Columbus Monument, which according to Igor is not pointing towards America as intended, but rather, Japan. Leave it to Igor to know all the absurd facts! He took us down the pier to Rambla del Mar and what can only be described as the mall, called Maremagnum. We then walked back to Las Ramblas, and Igor took us to one of his favorite churro and chocolate shops, except in Catalan, churros and chocolate are spelled 'xurros' and 'xocolate'. Weird. Igor continued to take us round to El Raval where there were some stores Sandy wanted to check out.
Christopher Columbus, pointing the wrong way. Classic.
The marina.
Our final stop on Igor's whirlwind, see everything in one day, tour of Barcelona, was the Mercat de San Joseph - La Boquería. Translation: the Saint Joseph Market - (don't remember that word ... or don't know it because it's catalan). Igor let us in on the best secret in Barcelona. In the Mercat, they have fresh fruit ... really fresh fruit. And during the day, the make fruit juices using the fresh fruit, one for €2. However, in the evening you can two for €1. And let me just say: nom. nom. nom. I got strawberry raspberry, and pineapple coconut. As I was sitting there, drinking one, then the other, I had a brilliant idea. Maybe my most brilliant yet. I realized, 'These would be amazing if I drank them together.' So what could I do? I reverted to my old two straw ways (I used to drink with two straws as a kid), and double fisted for a mouthful of deliciousness. It was the best idea I've ever had and my taste buds were reeling for my epic creation.
Igor's favorite part of the Mercat ... of course!
My best idea ever.
After this, we gave Igor the look of, 'We're exhausted and can't move another step / can't eat another thing.' So we got back on the Metro and headed back to our hostel. From there, we parted ways with Igor (at least until the next day) and crashed back in the hostel. I don't think we could've walked any further if we had wanted to, especially at Igor pace! But it was a wonderful day, and we had a blast!
A map of Igor's Bootcamp Walking Tour of Barcelona ... not fully accurate, but pretty close. Courtesy of mapmyride.com.
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