Jason's Daily Notes

Since we had such a late start yesterday, I wanted us to start earlier today. It sort of worked.

Our first stop: Park Güell, a fantastic display of Gaudi landscape architecture and design. We were a little early (it didn't open until 10), so we had breakfast at a cafe/bar near Joanic metro station. The deportes newspaper was dedicated entirely to Lionel Messi having just won the Bal d'Or for the 4th year in a row. We then took a bus (another small bus) up to the park. There was already a large group of Chinese tourists by the entrance. But we got to go in and see much of the park before it got too crowded.

We took plenty of pictures. My mom stayed in the open-air balcony/plaza area while my uncle and I explored uphill. There were lots of makeshift souvenir sellers pushing their goods in blankets on the pathway. I may have damaged my eyes by staring into the sun as I took pictures :X

After the park, we took the bus to Lessps station, and then we returned to the city center, where we explored the central market. The Mercat de la Boqeria was really nice; I was looking for a maracunya popsicle, which had been recommended by one of my friends, but no luck. Instead, we opted for fruit smoothies: I got the banana coconut, which was creamy and delicious. Next, we went to search for the Filipino restaurant. Although we had the directions written down, I had left it in the hotel room, so we relied upon my memory to figure out its location. I got us close, and my uncle found a group of Filipinos who pointed us to the right direction. And there we were: Manila something restaurant. We were the only ones eating there, and the emplyee was not very friendly. I had a chicken curry, which isn't too Filipino but was still decent to eat.

We then returned to the hotel. It was our last full day in Barcelona, and I wanted to spend time at the pool and the beach. So back at the hotel room, we called housekeeping to freshen up the room (ugh!) and hung out by the pool on the roof. It was chilly but sunny. No one else was up there. Then, my uncle and I set off on our own to see the beach and actually touch the Mediterranean :)

Dinner was in El Raval, which we hadn't explored yet. We went to a bar/tavern that didn't seem very touristy. Nice, hearty food for dinner with sangria de cava and cake for dessert. Yum.

And back to the hotel. Our flight to London was in the morning.