Apart from there being a distinct lack of jellyfish, I love Barcelona.
I only got in yesterday and already made a friend. yeah! A fun girl from Canada who gave me lots of advice and information on Central America, especially Guatemala. She only recently got back and loved it so much that she stayed there for quite a while. So my list of things to do and see in Central America is constantly growing. Recent additions include some hidden water filled caves in jungles and volunteering with rescuing monkeys in flores.
When I first got in I wandered up La Rambla just checking things out and en ded up at an exhibition of the best works of photojournalists in Catalan and completely got knocked off my feet by all of that. Maybe I was just lacking in sleep so emotions were amplified but the photos provoked such a variety of strong feelings that it all got pretty overwhelming. Feelings like admiration, disgust, shock, warm & fuzzy happy feelings, hope, hopelessness, anger etc etc. It actually had me giggling and crying at different parts. So I bought the book. The photos donīt have the same effect when theyīre squashed into a book and they make a bit less sense in the book because itīs written in Catalan so Iīll have to translate the captions.
Then up and down La Rambla I lost count of all the pet shops with so many different types of exotic animals crammed into tiny cages and put on display. Tanks with turtles so full that they form towers of turtles piled on top of each other. Wire cages full of baby chickens and ducks with big enough gaps in the wire for everyone on the street to come along and poke the poor little fluffy things in the head and beak constantly. Hedgehogs, iguanas, albino peacocks, bearded dragons, tortoises (sp?), turtles, hamsters, rabbits, nearly dead birds, pigeons etc etc etc and forever it was all pretty distressing. Some of them were cute but at the same time itīs just horrible. I got some photos before I got yelled at. And also a video of mice going crazy in such a small cage. It looks like the video has been fast forwarded becaus they are moving so erratically. Anyway, my list of things to do in Barcelona is about two pages long and I donīt know where to start.
That night we had our free dinner then saw a free flamenco show at the place downstairs. THAT was fun. Flamencos just such an intense show that you donīt realise until the end that youīve been holding your breath. Then we had dinner and I drank a cheap bottle of red wine of the balcony of our hostel room with my new Canadian friend with the cool hair and the name that Iīve forgotten. Sheīs heaps of fun and Iīm sooo jealous of her hair and all her exciting travel stories.
So yes, Iīm stoked that Iīve found someone fun to explore Barcelona with but I wanted to spend today alone listening to music just wandering around at my own pace and in my own direction because I havenīt had much alone time lately. So I went to the Aquarium and spent about 4-5 hours there, walking very very slowly through everything then doing it all again because it was still just as interesting the second time round. Listening to Bjorkīs Medulla, Spoonbill and Sigur Ros. It was perfect. I could ramble forever about how much I loved the Aquarium. Itīs apparently one of the best in the world. My camera died at the start so I donīt have many photos. I think I got a couple of sharks and rays swimming over my head. No jellyfish. Grr. Who setīs up any type of water display that doesnīt involve jellyfish? Thatīs just silly.
So then after such awesome overstimulation I balanced things out by going to the Catalan historical museum which was booooring. I would have been able to appreciate if I had been in the mood to read. But I wasnīt.. so I looked at the pretty pictures, stomped around to Rage Against the Machine and got out of there reeeeally fast. And now here I am blah blahing all over cyberspace and wanting food but itīs siesta! I keep forgetting about Siesta and so having to miss lunch. Which makes life even harder because dinner is not served until late. Most people donīt even eat until about 11pm!! Blah blah blah Iīm hungry. Blah. Iīm going in search of something cheap to eat because I have been overspending to the MAX!!!!! Feel free to send donations of moolah or pie to myself.. somewhere in Barcelona. Plz kthnx.
Lots of love :D
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