Paellas, Sangrias and Siestas!
He's back! And with a smile it would seem. Ok this entry comes with a health hazard warning as im expecting it to be pretty darn long, though i'll try to slim it down as much as possible. As you probably know i just got back from Barcelona tonight (well it was last night now technically) and it was fantastic! I have HUNDREDS of photos, but i'll put a selection on bebo, and maybe facebook too. Probably forgotten alot of what happened but here's a relatively brief day-by-day guide of what i remember:
Wednesday 16th August - Day 1
Well tuesday night i didnt bother going to bed, just did an all-nighter as id have to get up at about midnight anyway. Left the house about 1.45am and headed to the "purple parking" car park near Heathrow airport. After leaving the car there we had to get on a minibus to terminal 2. Whilst waiting for the minibus there were quite a few people, and mum commented that Tarnia can travel on the roof of the minibus if theres not enough space, however my sis was quick-witted and replied that mum could travel underneath it. My first laugh of the holiday. Though there were long queues in the terminal, it was quick moving and despite all the terror stuff we were quickly on the plane and took off about 6.30am on Iberia (the name of the airline).
After the 2 hour flight we properly adjusted our watches and was met by relatively London-like weather, however the afternoon later came and it was truely scorching then. After dumping our stuff in the hotel we ventured out in search of food. We found a place, but spent a good while trying to decipher the menu, before the guy at the counter bailed us out with an english menu. Back at the hotel, we discovered that the tv only had two english channels: CNN and Sky News... both news channels... but anyway we didnt watch much tv so this was no problem. Had dinner in the hotel, found somewhere to see England win 4-0 and then went to bed about midnight (CET - Central European time).
Thursday 14th August - Day 2
Woke up about 8am, went to breakfast where theres a choice of just about anything you can think of. Heading back up to the room, mum nearly got squashed by the lift, as it doesnt stop due to pressure like other lifts, theres a sensor about 2 foot off the ground instead. Bought drinks on our way to Barcelona Sants station to get "Barcelona Cards" - known to us Londoners as a travelcard - and returned to the hotel. On the way to the station there are two walls which are designated for grafitti. The grafitti looked absolutely awesome, and those people are welcome to redecorate my room any day. Got the train at about 4pm to Universal Studios Port Aventura theme park just south of Barcelona. Took about an hour. They have weird-looking double-decker trains over there and you have to actually cross on the tracks to get across to other platforms.
It rained a little bit today, but thankfully this was the only time all holiday that the sky opened up. At Port Aventura, first things first. I went on Dragon Khan, the best rollercoaster in Europe. It was awesome, and inverts 8 times (2 loops, 3 corksrews, a snake roll and a double snake roll). And because of my express ticket i only had to queue about 60 seconds. Bought a keyring with a ride picture on it for 6euros, had food, went to shops and then pretty much returned to the station where we had to wait about an hour for the next train. By this time the platform was packed and when the train came there was a huge free-for-all for the seats. We were lucky as we were triumphant! Back to the hotel about midnight.
Friday 18th August - Day 3
Woke up about 6.15am, after virtually no sleep, to return to Universal Studios Port Aventura. Arrived at the park just in time for it to open. This meant i was able to go on Dragon Khan a further 3 times without any real queueing at all which satisfied me. Then went on Sea Odyssey which is an underwater simulater which was great and very realistic. Then went on Tami Tami (a rollercoaster), El Diablo (a rollercoaster), Hurukon Condor (a fantastic 100m drop ride, where you can see for miles before free-falling back to earth) & Stampeda (another rollercoaster). Tami Tami was terrible, is a babies rollercoaster really, and you queue for about 15mins for a ride which last EXACTLY 15 seconds (yes we counted, sad i know but hey), and had to sit through Stampeda with my sis screaming in my ear the whole time. Shes not a fan of particularly "scary" rides, but she massively underestimated this ride, lol! Lucky i went on Hurukon Condor when i did coz about 5 mins after i came off the ride's workability decided to go AWOL and stopped halfway up and they had to temporarily close the ride. We bought waffles and keyrings. Got train at 4.30pm, went supermarket, went gym, went swimming and just chilled for the rest of the day before checking out the nightclub "Space". Was a really great club. I can best compare it to Time & Envy for you Londoners, or for people in Reading i can best compare it to Fez club.
Saturday 19th August - Day 4
Woke up at 8am and by today i was so tired and seemingly sleep-deprived that i spent the day being lazy up until about 6pm. Took the metro (underground) to Barcelona Sants station to for a traditional gourmet English meal - McDonalds for dinner. Afterwards walked up to the Art Museum which is this fantastic building set up on a slope - meaning lots of steps, look at my pics on bebo or facebook once ive put them up and you'll see what i mean! Was really beautiful and also very busy. Going back down past the fountains there must have been a sudden gust of wind or something cause the water got blown over the path and me and my sis got soaked. We turned around to see mum legging it back up the stairs, thus remaining dry. The sight had me and my sis in fits of laughter, though you really had to be there to truely appreciate the moment. Lots of photos taken, went back to hotel, watched Austin Powers and then retired for the day.
Sunday 20th August - Day 5
Woke up 9am and had breakfast before taking the metro to the coast. There were gorgeous beaches and crystal clear Medditeranian water with a pier area for expensive looking yachts and boats. At one point the "yellow flag" was raised due to the presence of jellyfish in the area. We looked in some shops - one place we were looking at some stuff and turned around to see mum's head disappearing down the escalator. Bought ice lollies (naturally Calippo was the lolly of choice) before taking the bus back to the hotel. Got back about 3.20pm, went gym for about an hour, had a shower, went up to the outdoor swimming pool, did some diving which i hadnt done in ages, and also sunbathed for a while. Had dinner in the hotel restaurant, watched the Spanish super cup final on tv which yes was in Spanish which helped loads. Barcelona won 3-0 against Espanyol.
Monday 21st August- Day 6
Woke up and had breakfast. Took metro to L'estadi Camp Nou (Nou Camp stadium). This place is HUUUUUUUUUGE! Capacity of over 100,000, which makes White Hart Lane look like the local park. We had a tour of the stadium, during which i jumped the security barrier and touched the grass whilst the guards' backs were turned. Went right to the top of the stadium, visited the home teams changing rooms where i hung my top on Ronaldinho's kit peg, saw the team jacuzzi, showers and bathrooms, went into the press box, conference room and walked down the players tunnel. By this point my camera battery was dying and before i could burst into tears my dad saved my life by brandishing a fresh pair for me :D. The tour led us to the FC Barcelona museum, then the shop where i bought a top. Dad and i then bought tickets for a match the following day that we found out about that day. FC Barcelona vs FC Bayern Munich. Cost only 25euros each!Going back we took the bus in the wrong direction, and after getting the bus back the right way we went to a restaurant called "Ars" (no im not missing an "e" in there anywhere) where i had the best lasagne ive ever tasted. Climbed that hill leading up to the art museum again as we found out that behind here is where the olympic stadium from the 1992 olympics is situated. The olympic stadium too was HUUUUUGE. No wonder this was an olympic stadium up here. Because of how high up it was and the amount of stairs you have to climb to get there you almost have to be an olympic athlete to get there! Which contrary to popular belief i am not!
Tuesday 22nd August - Day 7
Today was the day of all days. Had breakfast, then went to Barcelonetta (a coastal beach area) where we sunbathed and went into some shops. Then took a bus to Catalunya Plaza to do some more souvenier shopping and also bought some doughnuts (white chocolate and cake flavours which were delicious if anyone was interested) and some Sangria to take back to London. Then returned to the hotel.
About 8pm my dad and i left the hotel to head for Camp Nou again, this time to watch the match. Arrived, picked up a programme (i dont think they were supposed to be free, but oh well) and went to the megastore. Then entered the stadium for the 2nd time in 2 days where we were frisked and had our bags checked upon entry. The guard took my bottlecap from my drink, meaning i couldnt put my drink back in my bag but instead had to drink it. Flipping annoying. We then took our seats, which were row 6 behind the goal! The most awesome seats possible. Events commenced with some Spanish woman singing, fireworks, a huge batch of balloons released into the air, a mexican wave, more fireworks, players being introduced, more fireworks and then Frank Rijkaard and Puyol giving speeches, rather conveniently in Spanish of course.
Kick-off was about 10.15pm. Ronaldinho scored the first goal from a free kick after about 30mins, and lady luck was obviously beaming down on me cause i filmed the freekick and managed to catch the goal right in front of us on camera. Two more goals from Samuel Eto'o meant Barcelona were 3-0 up at half time and these three goals were scored just about 6-7 metres away from us! Saviola scored in the second half meaning the final score was FC Barcelona 4 - 0 FC Bayern Munich. Ronaldinho was typiacally on fire, doing tricks throughout the first half of the match. There were mexican waves going at various points throughout the match and the atmosphere was immense, especially when a goal went in. Stadium wasnt at full capacity though, the attendence reached 76,644 people. After the match (about 12.30am) we walked back, as with 76,000 people leaving one place attempts to hitch a ride on public transport would be completely futile, stopping en-route for a shot of tequilla. For only 2euros (about £1.30) we both got a very large amount of tequilla in a glass - equivilent to about 3 shots in England.
Wednesday 23rd August - Day 8
This was going home day :( and after waking up, going for one last walk, doing our final packing and hitching a cab to the airport, we were later on our way back to London Heathrow, where having experienced sunshine and hot weather for the past week, we were greeted by dull clouds, rain and coldness. After picking up the car we were on our way home. Got back home about 7.30-8pm i think (GMT of course).
And that was it. Have lots of pics, smiles and memories. Loved every minute of it and would love to live in Barcelona. Im missing it already, but still also missed people back here in England. Wooo, ok, this has taken ages to type, and i did warn you it would be long. Hopefully you havnt died of old age or boredom yet. Bebo photos can be found ***here*** once ive found time to put them up. Its done wonders for my mood and hopefully this mood will last! Lol, im still virtually bouncing off the walls despite being toally shattered! Its now 2.39am so night night.
Well people, till the next, shorter, episode! - x -
Wednesday 16th August - Day 1
Well tuesday night i didnt bother going to bed, just did an all-nighter as id have to get up at about midnight anyway. Left the house about 1.45am and headed to the "purple parking" car park near Heathrow airport. After leaving the car there we had to get on a minibus to terminal 2. Whilst waiting for the minibus there were quite a few people, and mum commented that Tarnia can travel on the roof of the minibus if theres not enough space, however my sis was quick-witted and replied that mum could travel underneath it. My first laugh of the holiday. Though there were long queues in the terminal, it was quick moving and despite all the terror stuff we were quickly on the plane and took off about 6.30am on Iberia (the name of the airline).
After the 2 hour flight we properly adjusted our watches and was met by relatively London-like weather, however the afternoon later came and it was truely scorching then. After dumping our stuff in the hotel we ventured out in search of food. We found a place, but spent a good while trying to decipher the menu, before the guy at the counter bailed us out with an english menu. Back at the hotel, we discovered that the tv only had two english channels: CNN and Sky News... both news channels... but anyway we didnt watch much tv so this was no problem. Had dinner in the hotel, found somewhere to see England win 4-0 and then went to bed about midnight (CET - Central European time).
Thursday 14th August - Day 2
Woke up about 8am, went to breakfast where theres a choice of just about anything you can think of. Heading back up to the room, mum nearly got squashed by the lift, as it doesnt stop due to pressure like other lifts, theres a sensor about 2 foot off the ground instead. Bought drinks on our way to Barcelona Sants station to get "Barcelona Cards" - known to us Londoners as a travelcard - and returned to the hotel. On the way to the station there are two walls which are designated for grafitti. The grafitti looked absolutely awesome, and those people are welcome to redecorate my room any day. Got the train at about 4pm to Universal Studios Port Aventura theme park just south of Barcelona. Took about an hour. They have weird-looking double-decker trains over there and you have to actually cross on the tracks to get across to other platforms.
It rained a little bit today, but thankfully this was the only time all holiday that the sky opened up. At Port Aventura, first things first. I went on Dragon Khan, the best rollercoaster in Europe. It was awesome, and inverts 8 times (2 loops, 3 corksrews, a snake roll and a double snake roll). And because of my express ticket i only had to queue about 60 seconds. Bought a keyring with a ride picture on it for 6euros, had food, went to shops and then pretty much returned to the station where we had to wait about an hour for the next train. By this time the platform was packed and when the train came there was a huge free-for-all for the seats. We were lucky as we were triumphant! Back to the hotel about midnight.
Friday 18th August - Day 3
Woke up about 6.15am, after virtually no sleep, to return to Universal Studios Port Aventura. Arrived at the park just in time for it to open. This meant i was able to go on Dragon Khan a further 3 times without any real queueing at all which satisfied me. Then went on Sea Odyssey which is an underwater simulater which was great and very realistic. Then went on Tami Tami (a rollercoaster), El Diablo (a rollercoaster), Hurukon Condor (a fantastic 100m drop ride, where you can see for miles before free-falling back to earth) & Stampeda (another rollercoaster). Tami Tami was terrible, is a babies rollercoaster really, and you queue for about 15mins for a ride which last EXACTLY 15 seconds (yes we counted, sad i know but hey), and had to sit through Stampeda with my sis screaming in my ear the whole time. Shes not a fan of particularly "scary" rides, but she massively underestimated this ride, lol! Lucky i went on Hurukon Condor when i did coz about 5 mins after i came off the ride's workability decided to go AWOL and stopped halfway up and they had to temporarily close the ride. We bought waffles and keyrings. Got train at 4.30pm, went supermarket, went gym, went swimming and just chilled for the rest of the day before checking out the nightclub "Space". Was a really great club. I can best compare it to Time & Envy for you Londoners, or for people in Reading i can best compare it to Fez club.
Saturday 19th August - Day 4
Woke up at 8am and by today i was so tired and seemingly sleep-deprived that i spent the day being lazy up until about 6pm. Took the metro (underground) to Barcelona Sants station to for a traditional gourmet English meal - McDonalds for dinner. Afterwards walked up to the Art Museum which is this fantastic building set up on a slope - meaning lots of steps, look at my pics on bebo or facebook once ive put them up and you'll see what i mean! Was really beautiful and also very busy. Going back down past the fountains there must have been a sudden gust of wind or something cause the water got blown over the path and me and my sis got soaked. We turned around to see mum legging it back up the stairs, thus remaining dry. The sight had me and my sis in fits of laughter, though you really had to be there to truely appreciate the moment. Lots of photos taken, went back to hotel, watched Austin Powers and then retired for the day.
Sunday 20th August - Day 5
Woke up 9am and had breakfast before taking the metro to the coast. There were gorgeous beaches and crystal clear Medditeranian water with a pier area for expensive looking yachts and boats. At one point the "yellow flag" was raised due to the presence of jellyfish in the area. We looked in some shops - one place we were looking at some stuff and turned around to see mum's head disappearing down the escalator. Bought ice lollies (naturally Calippo was the lolly of choice) before taking the bus back to the hotel. Got back about 3.20pm, went gym for about an hour, had a shower, went up to the outdoor swimming pool, did some diving which i hadnt done in ages, and also sunbathed for a while. Had dinner in the hotel restaurant, watched the Spanish super cup final on tv which yes was in Spanish which helped loads. Barcelona won 3-0 against Espanyol.
Monday 21st August- Day 6
Woke up and had breakfast. Took metro to L'estadi Camp Nou (Nou Camp stadium). This place is HUUUUUUUUUGE! Capacity of over 100,000, which makes White Hart Lane look like the local park. We had a tour of the stadium, during which i jumped the security barrier and touched the grass whilst the guards' backs were turned. Went right to the top of the stadium, visited the home teams changing rooms where i hung my top on Ronaldinho's kit peg, saw the team jacuzzi, showers and bathrooms, went into the press box, conference room and walked down the players tunnel. By this point my camera battery was dying and before i could burst into tears my dad saved my life by brandishing a fresh pair for me :D. The tour led us to the FC Barcelona museum, then the shop where i bought a top. Dad and i then bought tickets for a match the following day that we found out about that day. FC Barcelona vs FC Bayern Munich. Cost only 25euros each!Going back we took the bus in the wrong direction, and after getting the bus back the right way we went to a restaurant called "Ars" (no im not missing an "e" in there anywhere) where i had the best lasagne ive ever tasted. Climbed that hill leading up to the art museum again as we found out that behind here is where the olympic stadium from the 1992 olympics is situated. The olympic stadium too was HUUUUUGE. No wonder this was an olympic stadium up here. Because of how high up it was and the amount of stairs you have to climb to get there you almost have to be an olympic athlete to get there! Which contrary to popular belief i am not!
Tuesday 22nd August - Day 7
Today was the day of all days. Had breakfast, then went to Barcelonetta (a coastal beach area) where we sunbathed and went into some shops. Then took a bus to Catalunya Plaza to do some more souvenier shopping and also bought some doughnuts (white chocolate and cake flavours which were delicious if anyone was interested) and some Sangria to take back to London. Then returned to the hotel.
About 8pm my dad and i left the hotel to head for Camp Nou again, this time to watch the match. Arrived, picked up a programme (i dont think they were supposed to be free, but oh well) and went to the megastore. Then entered the stadium for the 2nd time in 2 days where we were frisked and had our bags checked upon entry. The guard took my bottlecap from my drink, meaning i couldnt put my drink back in my bag but instead had to drink it. Flipping annoying. We then took our seats, which were row 6 behind the goal! The most awesome seats possible. Events commenced with some Spanish woman singing, fireworks, a huge batch of balloons released into the air, a mexican wave, more fireworks, players being introduced, more fireworks and then Frank Rijkaard and Puyol giving speeches, rather conveniently in Spanish of course.
Kick-off was about 10.15pm. Ronaldinho scored the first goal from a free kick after about 30mins, and lady luck was obviously beaming down on me cause i filmed the freekick and managed to catch the goal right in front of us on camera. Two more goals from Samuel Eto'o meant Barcelona were 3-0 up at half time and these three goals were scored just about 6-7 metres away from us! Saviola scored in the second half meaning the final score was FC Barcelona 4 - 0 FC Bayern Munich. Ronaldinho was typiacally on fire, doing tricks throughout the first half of the match. There were mexican waves going at various points throughout the match and the atmosphere was immense, especially when a goal went in. Stadium wasnt at full capacity though, the attendence reached 76,644 people. After the match (about 12.30am) we walked back, as with 76,000 people leaving one place attempts to hitch a ride on public transport would be completely futile, stopping en-route for a shot of tequilla. For only 2euros (about £1.30) we both got a very large amount of tequilla in a glass - equivilent to about 3 shots in England.
Wednesday 23rd August - Day 8
This was going home day :( and after waking up, going for one last walk, doing our final packing and hitching a cab to the airport, we were later on our way back to London Heathrow, where having experienced sunshine and hot weather for the past week, we were greeted by dull clouds, rain and coldness. After picking up the car we were on our way home. Got back home about 7.30-8pm i think (GMT of course).
And that was it. Have lots of pics, smiles and memories. Loved every minute of it and would love to live in Barcelona. Im missing it already, but still also missed people back here in England. Wooo, ok, this has taken ages to type, and i did warn you it would be long. Hopefully you havnt died of old age or boredom yet. Bebo photos can be found ***here*** once ive found time to put them up. Its done wonders for my mood and hopefully this mood will last! Lol, im still virtually bouncing off the walls despite being toally shattered! Its now 2.39am so night night.
Well people, till the next, shorter, episode! - x -
