I slept an hour later than I had planned but considering I haven't had more than 4-5 hours a night since I got here I felt it was justified. I got ready in my itty bitty little room & headed downstairs for breakfast. They had the typical hot food, pastries & fruit including my new favorite melon but also meats & cheeses & fresh juice. There was this little thin pastry that had something in it that was similar to strawberry jelly & it was really good. I hope they have that & my melon tomorrow.
I crossed the street to take the Metro to Sagrada Familia. I found the end of the line & it was long but it moved pretty fast. I purchased a combo ticket for Sagrada Familia, the elevator in it & the Casa Museu Gaudi at Parc Guell. I noticed right away that my elevator ticket had a time on it of 1pm-110pm as that's when I was slotted to go so they don't have huge lines waiting & I get it BUT it was around 1130am. It is gorgeous in there but there is not enough for me to see to spend an hour & a half there so I looked around, took photos & left. I walked around the block & got some souvenir shopping done. I bought this kind of creepy looking tiled cat figurine that looks like Gloria & it was the two year anniversary of her adoption day so I thought it was fitting. Again, as I've said numerous times who would've ever thought that I'd have a cat. That just shows how sweet she is well to Ollie anyway not to me as the only time I feel like she likes me is when I'm trying to fall asleep & she attacks my feet & tries to bite off my toes & when I've been gone for a couple days but that's it...strangely I miss that. Anyway, talk about a tangent but it still wasn't 1pm yet so I knew I'd made the right decision in not waiting around.
I decided to explore the city on my way to Parc Guell instead of taking the Metro. Immediately I saw amazing buildings with a small park in the middle including a dog park so it'd be perfect for the 3 of us! There was a pointer playing in there & I really wanted to pet him but I figured his owner would probably think I was crazy so I decided against it. And then as I'm walking down the street what do I see but a shout out to the "Herz Herd" all the way from Barcelona...a restaurant called...Nebraska. Here's a photo of it for you. Then as I walked past a grocer I spotted that melon I love. Here's a photo of it. Mom, do you know what is? Anyway, then I found a pet store & I went in to see if they had anything that Ollie & Gloria don't already have or is not similar to something they already have & I've come to the conclusion that my kids are really spoiled as there wasn't anything new I could get them.
As I have been walking around the last day or so I've noticed that there aren't really alleys (in the Chicago sense) they're more like side streets. So the question then was where do they put their garbage & of course do they recycle? So some areas they kind of go New York style & put it on the curb but for the most part they have these bin type things where you step on a lever & that opens the lid so you don't have to touch it. Way to try & keep it hygienic Barcelona! See attached photo. These just sit out on the streets & there are bins for composting, recycling (sometimes with plastic, glass & paper separate but usually not) & then just regular trash. While we're on a smelly subject I LOVE the fact that Barcelona is so dog friendly but I do in some areas think that the smell of dog pee tends to be a bit extreme. I think it's due to the fact that in the center of the city there is no grass it's all just cement (yes Erin I did say it the Missouri way) so it's not absorbed. Hey you, random-picker-upper-of-stuff-you-find-on-the-street (you know who you are) this is another reason why you can't do that...just sayin'.
I have seen some fast food establishments from the states; those being Burger King (every time I see one of these I have to remind myself where I am & that it's not ok to go in there-I love a whopper with cheese no matter how messy or disgusting it is), Domino's, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway (just like in the States I have no problem avoiding this nasty place) & Dunkin Donuts.
It was quite a walk to Parc Guell but I did it & little did I know how big it was. Holy smokes! I walked & I walked & I walked. I was able to take a lot of cityscape photos thanks to my hike. The Casa Museu Gaudi was pretty cool & had some interesting old pieces. I went into the Casa del Guarda that's also in the park. Then I was off to see more of the city. The detail that has gone into the architecture when they were building this city is truly magnificent. I love all the big regal doors & the archways they stand in as evident in my photos.
I then made my way down Passeig de Gracia. Passeig de Gracia is kind of a combo of Michigan Avenue & Oak Street. La Pedrera (one of Gaudi's) is also located on this street. It was really neat to see. I'm not sure why but they sold this crazy purse in the gift shop. It's made out a sea sponge from the ocean. After I left there I crossed the street & started my leisurely stroll. In tourist fashion I had one hand on my camera (that's also wrapped around my neck) & my other hand touching the zippers on my crossbody traveler bag. I being aware of my surroundings (yes mom & dad that comment was for you) due to the large amount of pick-pocketing that goes on here looked over my right shoulder to see a questionable man coming closer than I wanted him to. I immediately started to turn so I wouldn't have my back to him when I thought I noticed him signal this other guy. I waited for them both to scatter & then I noticed two policemen quickly walking in the direction of the first guy. I started walking again & then I saw that the two policemen had stopped the guy & was "interviewing him." I then wandered over to the Catedral de Barcelona but it was already closed so I'll have to come back tomorrow.
It was definitely time to find a place for dinner & as I turned the corner I saw where I was going to have dinner. A restaurant called Gloria how's that for ironic? I had Gloria's salad to start & then shrimp with veggies. It was a lot of food & was good but the shrimp dish was definitely on the salty side. While I was sitting on the patio who should appear but the guy from earlier & no mom he wasn't following me. :) I did see him case the patrons of the separate patio opposite me. It was a long day but I got a lot knocked out including a lot of souvenir shopping. From there I went to the rooftop terrace of my hotel & finished the night off with a glass of wine while starting this post. It's time for bed now as tomorrow is the Museu de Ceramica, Museu Egipci de Barcelona and Las Ramblas.
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