Barcelona On Foot

So today, in light of the public transportation strike, I walked. A lot. Although,the frequency change must not make anhuge difference (at least at the times I was using it) because there was a train within a minute of my swiping my metro card both times.

Today's plan was originally to go to Montserrat, but I desperately needed to rest. So I decided to sleep in a little this morning. :) After eating a granola bar and buying an apple from a street vendor, I walked in a general direction of landmarks and got lucky when I checked one of the metro stops.

I figured that while I had a train already, I'd hit some stuff farther out. First stop was one of Barcelona's main landmarks: Sagrada Familia. It's another thing that falls under the category of "imposing structures." I forgot to take a picture with my phone, but here's one from google. I'll let you draw your own conclusions on which building I'm talking about.

Yeah, I know.

Next I walked a ways down to the Museu de la Musica. It holds over 300 instruments and documents the development of music in Spanish culture. Also a highlight of this museum was when I learned the difference between a regular exit symbol and an emergency exit symbol. B-t-dubs, they're both green. On the bright side, I got to wander around their concert hall where I wasn't supposed to be.

I kept going and found Barcelona's Arc de Triomf to add to my picture collection. A few parks and several narrow, antiquated European streets later, I found the cathedral. I can't get enough of all this gothic architecture. It blows my mind sometimes what man was able to accomplish before he accomplished technology. Seriously, look at the inside of this place:

Before leaving that area, I watched some guys breakdance in the plaza for about 10 minutes. Then I went to Las Ramblas, which is a reeally popular touristy place akin to Champs Elysees in Paris. I wandered into Placa Reial off of La Rambla, and ended up at a small restaurant in a courtyard-type area for dinner. I had a dish that was basically marinated chicken with rice and raisins (yes, raisins, and it was actually delicious), and, per the usual, the bread was super fresh. Dessert, pictured below, was "toffee and almond pie over coffee, cinnamon and hazlenut cream." With a name like that, I had no choice but to order it. Dinner, dessert, and a Coke Zero for just shy of 15€. I'm eating a lot cheaper than I anticipated. And I'm definitely not complaining.

Time for bed - visiting Montserrat early tomorrow morning! It's basically a monastery built into a jagged mountain (Montserrat literally translates to "serrated mountain"). Maybe I'll meet Liam Neeson and join the League of Shadows.