Day 99: Bario Gotico

This was the day I explored Bario Gotico.

It was the feast of the Immaculate Conception as well so the whole of Barcelona, I think, was off work. There were so many people around!

I went to mass at the Cathedral and ended up hearing mass from the Cardinal. I also had a 3 course meal lunch.

If there's something I remember in Barcelona, I remember spending about 10-12 euro for a 3 course meal lunch that fills me up until dinner time. No wonder tapas and bebidas are the usual fare during dinner.

I just spend this day wandering around Bario Gotico. I love gothic architecture which was why I remember just falling in love with Barcelona even more this day. I also remember visiting the Picasso Museum this day.

Day 98: The Tourist Bus (Barcelona Day 2)

Picture taken from Parc Guell

This was the day when I fell in love with Barcelona and Gaudi.

I saw so much this day since I rode the red tourist bus in order to get a feel of what I should see. I just remember being so happy and in awe. Barcelona was BEAUTIFUL. It was amazing and I really felt at home there. I remember being so in love with the place. Looking at the pictures just take me back to how I felt that moment. It sounds sappy, yes, but browsing through it just made me so nostalgic.

Day 97: Barcelona Day 1

My first day in Barcelona was spent in Placa Catalunya. I checked in my hotel (Hotel Catalonia Princesa located at the Bario Gotico near the Arc de Triomf).

As soon as my plane landed, I felt adrenaline rush through my system. This was my first time traveling by myself. Even though I am capable of using the Spanish language (namely Castellano), Barcelona speaks Catalan so I wasn't exactly confident. I hailed a cab and he took me to my hotel.

I checked in and then I crashed. When I woke up, I got my map and walked from the hotel to the Placa Catalunya.

Placa Cataluna became the center of my adventures in Barcelona. This was always my starting point. I remember I went to the tourist center and bought a 2 day tourist bus ticket. I decided that this was the best thing to do in order to see Barcelona. I was still deciding whether or not I was going to go to Granada as I planned even though I don't know how I was going to get there (my hotel reservation was even only for 3 days and I was planning to be in Spain for 6).

I walked around Placa Catalunya and some streets here and there and I realized that I wanted to stay in Barcelona all 6 days. When I got back to my hotel, I extended my stay and then rested.

Day 96: Oxford Castle Christmas Market and Last Minute Trips

I remember this day. The reason I remember it is because I got the winter gloves I have now from the market and I booked a flight to Barcelona 8 hours before I'm suppose to leave Oxford in order to make it.

I really wanted to go to Spain but I didn't think it was going to happen because 1. I'm the only one who really wanted to go and 2. This was around the time when the Madrid airport strike happened. However,when I sat at Greens Cafe that day after walking around the Christmas Market to book my flight to Barcelona.

When I came home, I told Debra and Joanne and they were all surprised that I was leaving. So I packed quickly for my trip and then slept.

Day 95: Almost to the End

The pictures I have on file depict my room and my luggage so I think I started packing and putting things away this day.

Day 94: Souvenir Shopping and Pizza Hut

This was the day when Suzanna, Jeff and I decided to go shopping for souvenirs. We were all getting ready for our final trips and so this was the last night that the three of us can have dinner together. Suzanna, I think was headed to Slovenia the next day and I was planning a trip to Barcelona while Jeff is meeting with his sister to go to Rome.

Suzanna left Jeff and I midway through shopping because she needed to finish up her laundry for Slovenia. He and I continued shopping and by dinner time, I decided that I was craving wings so I chose to go to Pizza Hut for dinner. Suzanna met up with us and both of them (including the waiter) was amazed by how much I ate that night. I ate a lot. It's still a running joke how much wings I can eat on top of pizza and spaghetti...

Day 93: The Sheldonian

One of the things I wanted to do before I left Oxford was to see a concert at the Sheldonian and I was able to do just that. I remember enjoying the show. However, I don't exactly remember what the concert was about. This is what I get for not writing the blog entry as soon as I experienced it.

I remember, thought, that there was a guy outside who was trying to get rid of a free ticket. He was dressed in his tux and he was saying he doesn't need it anymore. I remember wondering what his story was and discussing it with Suzanna and Joanne....