Heartbreak in Barcelona

Another early morning and we were soon out of our hotel staking out some breakfast. Unfortunately the city remained asleep and even the neighboring McDonalds was closed. We took a short taxi to the train station and had a small breakfast there waiting for our upcoming train back to Madrid.

Once in the station, we had use the metro and change stations once more.

We had some confusion at the platform and struggled to identify the proper train due to several delays and cancellations.

We found ourselves hopping on a train and immediately hopping off before stowing away on another. We had guessed correctly and were soon speeding down the rails heading to Barcelona. The views during the ride were amazing and it was fascinating to watch the forever changing landscape.

Occasionally a small stone ruin would pop into view before disappearing, soon followed by a distant castle perched atop a hill. The landscape would constantly switch and mold from green lush vegetation to rocky sandy hillsides. I spent the time with my head pressed against the glass thinking about the generations that have had crossed this land before me. Knighted crusaders, Spanish revolutionaries, people from ages long passed.

The flat landscape would shift and be replaced with rising bluffs and hill. It was a surreal sight as the horizon was dotted with hills rising above the mist. A good while later, we found ourselves arriving in Barcelona’s main train station and we set off to see what the city had to offer. We quickly found ourselves staring up a large monument flanked by twin towers, a notable symbol in the city.

Cars whizzed past and we narrowly avoided collisions in the remarkably busy roundabout. We soon smelt a delicious aroma fill the air and Austin and Matt followed their nose to a small food cart set off on the sidewalk. Churros now in hand, we set off and began to rest on a small park bench nearby. Austin would come to regret his choice as he soon found an abundance of grease running down his pant leg and we spent the next few moments trying to clean up (a reminder to always have a Tide pen on hand!).

Tossing the grease soaked wrapper away, we strolled down the bustling streets of Barcelona in search for our next designated attraction. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves in front of the famed Guelle Place and we paid a rather pricey fare and slipped in.

We spent the next hour speeding through the strange and lavish mansion, ignoring the monotone audio guide barking in our ears.

The interior was famed for it’s almost wacky and whimsical construction yet Austin and I were hardly impressed. We lost Matt and found ourselves standing on the rooftop overlooking the city before us.

The sight before us was not the Barcelona we were expecting. Rough looking buildings with scattered trash and equipment dominated our eye line. This was not the beautiful Spanish city I was expecting.

We made our way back into the home’s interior and stumbled upon Matt along our way. Our party now reformed, we explored the rest of the structure before emerging back out onto the cobbled street. We set off in a search for more attractions and had to battle our way through the crowds of people present in every direction.

We could not grasp the amount of people milling about and we had to worm our way forward. Eventually we left the crowds behind and found ourselves alone in a silent room overlooking long forgotten ruined pillars, a distant remainder of the city’s Roman past.

Setting out once more, we ventured further and further into the city. Though the streets were lined with trash, graffiti, and endless hoards of tourists; the architecture was breathtaking.

Below long, we found ourselves overlooking a large red stone arch that rose above the crowds. Music filled the air and the space was alive with energy. We checked into our nearby hotel and dropped off our bags, relieved to be free of the weight.

We had a short journey in locating dinner and we were soon nestled in a small dark corner of a busy restaurant. Once our pricey and overpriced meal had concluded, we set off into the night and moved towards the city center.

We were fortunate enough to have planned this stop correlating with a Barcelona soccer game and we needed to make our way to the stadium. Taking the underground metro, we emerged back to the surface with a throng of people all heading in the same direction. Spurred by the stadium’s lights acting like a beacon, we all moved forward ecstatic for the game to come.

As we approached the stadium, we had some difficulty in finding our designated gate and ended up walking around the entire exterior before frustratingly finding our opening. Entering the stadium, I was filled with such high spirits and excitement as I was about to watch one of my favorite teams in the world. I had watched this team since I was a child and yet now I was here in the stadium, overlooking the pitch.

As we sat in our seats, we pulled our jackets closer to beat out the ever present piercing wind and huddled together for warmth. The minutes rolled by without any haste. Soon we began to hear whispered murmurs behind us. Then our worst fears were made official and declared over the loud speaker. The team’s doctor had died hours earlier and the game was now postponed. We could not believe our luck. It was an incredibly tragic and sad situation and we slipped out of the stadium back into the cold evening outside.

The mass exodus of people leaving the stadium resembled something like out of a zombie movie. Cloaked figures with their heads hung low all made the commute back to the metro and went on their way. It is safe to say that our spirits were extremely low at this point. We soon found ourselves in a nearby KFC and sat in for a rather quiet meal; unable to believe what we had just missed out on. Fortunately a beer came with my fried chicken to help lessen my mood.

Leaving Colonel Sanders behind, we again took the metro and made our way back to our lodgings.

In an effort to brighten our spirits, we slipped into several convenience stores along the way trying to locate some local beers. Unfortunately we came up empty handed as Barcelona prohibited alcohol being sold after 10 PM. We just could not catch a break in Barcelona and made our way back to our hotel, ranking this city firmly at the point of our list.

To see the previous day’s adventure, click here.

To move onwards with us along our journey, click here.