Barcelona: Day 2- Parc Güell and Adventuring Around the City

Today was another fun day in Spain!

We began with a small breakfast of fruit from yesterday's market that we stored in our room's fridge and then headed via tram and train to Parc Güell, in the northern part of the city. After making it to the base of the hill, we rode escalators up to the base of the Parc Güell. It was a magificent park, filled with Guadi-designed and -inspired architecture, beautiful mosaic works, and beautiful views. We climbed all around, and even made it to the peak of one of the hills, from which I got some beautiful shots of Barcelona as the sun streamed down from the clouds.

It was amazing to see the beautiful architecture and enjoy the fantastic views from our elevated perspectives. Barcelona is a truly gorgeous city, and I will definitely be returning someday. We continued downward through the park and found musicians, artists, and vendors. I particularly enjoyed one musician's music so much that I bought his CD. (A video will be posted once I return to London and have faster wifi…)

After the park, we walked for awhile until we found the Sagrada Familia cathedral. It was an amazing, imposing sight. The entire church was covered with intricate carvings of biblical scenes and people. The carving style was unusual but so interesting! It was another amazing sight.

We were tired and thirsty from all of that walking, so we caught the train to the beach. It was getting close to sundown, so we went to a little snack shop on the beach, got some juices, and just enjoyed the waves and a refreshing drink. The ocean was blue and beautiful, and exactly what I needed to relax.

Finally, we made our way back to the market for some dinner. I had some fresh coconut and pitahaya juice, a small potato and meat roll, and some stirfried noodles with tofu and vegetables. I also managed to buy some dried black beans. I have simply not been able to find black beans at all in London, so it was wonderful to finally get my fix of one of my favorite foods! After dinner, we made our way back to the hotel, watched some BBC News, and got ready to sleep!

Tomorrow is another day of the Spanish journey! We leave at around midday for Zaragoza, where we be seeing and staying with my old student advisor, Melanie Rockoff! It should be very exciting! Enjoy the pictures for today below and thank you for reading my blog!!!