Barcelona, Spain

At the end of September I went through a major homesick/depression phase where I was lonely and not having fun and if I didn´t have this trip to Barcelona to look forward to I probably would have jumped on a plane back to Australia at the first opportunity! I was looking forward to Barcelona as a getaway from Germany (and the closed off Germans), as a chance for some better weather and to spend time with an old friend- Gelareh.

I spent all up 7 days in Barcelona - which was the perfect amount of time to see and do everything that I wanted to. Gelareh and I wandered the streets of Barcelona, we walked 10 km a day from one end of the city to the other - eating, drinking coffee and sangria, checking out the modernisme architecture (which I love - I don't know what drugs these guys were taking but I like the results and may look into taking some myself!). We explored the gothic area with it's winding streets and alleys with surprising little shops and restaurants...a highlight of the trip was a picnic in Park Güell with goodies purchased from the fresh food markets and yummy sangria...and a leisurely exploration of this amazing park.

Best things about Barcelona:

*Catching up with old friends and making new friends - we stayed with Azadeh and Francesc who were wonderful hosts who made sure that we sampled some authentic Catalan culture (we ate snails!).

*Picnicing in Park Güell.

*Gaudi and his compatriates whose imaginative architecture make walking the streets of Barcelona a feast for the senses!

*It picked me up out of the doldrums and set me back in the world of appreciating life and what this European adventure has to offer! Plus when I got back to Germany it was like the Germans must have missed having me around and they were super nice to me!

*Dali, Dali, Dali - my daytrip to Figueres to see the Dali museum was a great day!

The worst thing about Barcelona:

*The pickpockets - on day 3 I busted some little arsehole with his hand in my bag trying to steal my wallet - lets just say there was so much yelling and swearing that if there were any pirates present they would have been blushing. This incident unfortunately ruined my faith in humanity and I eyed everyone suspiciously from then on....