NOTE: Spaniards do not pronounce the "c" like we do. It's more a "th" softer sound.
We made it. Long flight. Realized immediately that placing our phones on airplane mode was just not going to cut it. We shuttled into Placa de Catalunya and made a beeline for Mobileworld and bought two nice burners with GPS, maps, and everything we needed. Phew...no getting lost in Spain. No unforseen data charges with att. Whenever we visit another country just buy a few weeks of data on a sim, that's it. First problem solved.
Barcelona airport...ok, so I'm an artist, but I was visually stunned by the glass and translucent seafoam green walls. Very monochromatic, serene, drop a pin stillness. Awesome. After a quick cafe con leche at the airport we found our shuttle into the center of town.
Walked the infamous Las Ramblas, traipsed thru a few alleyways to find our airbnb, met our host Marcello (Italian from Argentina) and settled in. Lucky us, sleep deprived to the max, our bodies not knowing what time it is, we walked out our front door in the El Raval district and had our first tapas. All good!
Found a supermarket, it is underground folks, how strange is that. Bought some essentials, Spanish wine, ice cream and other junk. Got back to our temporary casa and fell asleep at 4:30 in the afternoon. We both awoke at midnight, poured some wine and here we are trying to post our blog. Yes we are Spanish wine tipsy. Just forgive us that, ok?
Balconies on gorgeous old buildings....just wow!
+Joanie
Balconies everywhere.
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| Our first tapas |
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| Our cute little airbnb, cozy, perfect. |
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| Las Ramblas |
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Our tapas bar.
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This design is all over Las Ramblas.
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| Up and out my bedroom window, woke up to trumpet playing. Good notes. |
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| Our little alleyway closet. |
MY FIRST DAY'S SKETCHING
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| Art supplies out first thing. Yep. |
Hey all. It's 4 am in Barcelona and we're wide awake. Full disclosure, I just opened our third bottle of wine. (We gotta get to sleep somehow. Jetlag is evil).
Let me start with the flights: flight one - I was asleep before we even took off. Woke up as we were landing. Perfection. Layover in Newark, NJ. I had my last Lagunitas beer for a while, then onto the plane we went. Unfortunately I had to sit next to this very fidgety woman who wouldn't stop elbowing and nudging me. Thankfully for her she's my mom otherwise I would have requested a different seat. Oh, and did I mention that she ordered us vegan meals? Yes, vegan. Kill me now. When I was awoken for "breakfast" and opened the box I just about died, but instead fell back into a light, angry sleep, only to be awoken again with "Look! It's Barcelona!" when it was clearly not. It was Spain, yes, but not Barcelona. I went from tired and hungry to straight hangry. The airport was gorgeous! Like, seriously, all airports should take note: this is how it should be done!
We hopped on a bus to the center of town and I spotted a mobile phone shop where I promptly purchased an unlocked phone for cheap from the lovely and helpful Joseph, pronounced Josep. Now I have access to everything I need! We meandered down Las Ramblas and I navigated us to our Airbnb. (Anyone who knows mom knows she is missing the navigation chip. Lucky for me, I got it). Our host Marcello was wonderful. The home is quaint and cute, just perfect. After we each showered and put on fresh clothes we emerged onto El Raval and stuffed ourselves with tapas, but mom already told you that.
So here we are, now 4:20am, with nothing but wine, potato chips, and ice cream bars, wide awake. But hey, we're in Spain. I'm not complaining! In fact, I can't wait to see what later today holds for us.
Buen Camino!
+rhiannon
