Barcelona, Spain

And so there I was at 11pm sitting in a kebab house in Barcelona Spain, surrounded by a small crowd of people, eating durum rolls and watching soccer (Barcelona vs Malaga). And really, the amazement that I felt then pretty much sums up my entire time in Barcelona – it was like some incredible dream that I never woke up from!

I had a Spanish friend, Anna, who I met while I was an Au pair in Seattle, she brought my car off me when I left. She had said to me that if I was ever to visit Barcelona I could stay with her family. So I decided to take her up on her offer. However, at the time when I would be visiting, her parents were actually in Seattle visiting her! But she arranged instead for me to stay with her brother who also lives in Barcelona. He had recently visited Seattle, and although I had already left Seattle when he visited, he and Anna had gone travelling in my car, so there was a strange connection there!

I arrived in Barcelona just before 6am after taking the overnight bus from Marseille. Xavier was going to meet me at 8am. I killed some time sitting on a park bench then made my way to our meeting point. He was right on time and he told me that he had shown a few people around the city, and had developed a route for us to follow. I was taken aback and gladly followed!

The route he had developed led us all the way through the city, stopping by every single point of interest. We went to train stations, old bull fighting rings, and saw all the famous buildings that Gaudi designed. We saw the Sagrada Familia church – the most famous unfinished church in the world. We went down the shopping streets, to the parks, to the old city gates, to the olympic stadiums, to art galleries, down the funicular, up streets and into alleyways. We came across hidden squares where historical massacres had taken place. We walk, walk, walked all over that city! We stopped for pizza for lunch, and later for an Horchata drink – rice milk with vanilla and cinnamon.

Everything I had wanted to see in Barcelona I saw, in one day, on foot. It was incredible! In the evening I was exhausted. We met up with Xavier's girlfriend Sandra, and had a lovely meal of tapas sitting outside a small cafe. We then drove an hour out of the city to a town called El Vendrell, where Xavier and Anna's parents live.

Xavier and Sandra had to go to a family lunch there the next day, so we all stayed the night there to make it easier for them. By the time we arrived I was beyond exhaustion. I said thank you and goodnight to my wonderful hosts and went to bed. The next day, Xavier had a suggested itinerary all set out for me! He suggested that I visit the ancient Roman town of Tarragona – a city which had once been the largest Roman capital outside of Rome, which was nearby to El Vendrell. We looked up the train times and Xavier dropped me at the train station.

I arrived in Tarragona and made my way to the old city walls. There was a lot to visit. I bought a day pass that granted entry into all the historical places. I was able to visit so many things – an ampitheatre, a mini Colosseum, well preserved furnished mansions, the agora (marketplace), the circus maximus, and many other ruins. Besides all the history, the town was absolutely gorgeous. It was vibrant and colourful. A lively market sold fresh fruits and vegetables. I stocked up! Spain had the best fruit ever – especially nectarines – I could live happily forever simply eating their nectarines. I have never tasted anything sweeter or more juicy.

After my scrumptious healthy lunch, I was weary, hot and sweaty and desperate to go to the toilet. Finding no public toilet, I prayed for the Lord to help me! I walked up a little side street and noticed an art gallery. I figured they would have a toilet, but wondered if there would be an entrance fee. I went in and to my surprise there was no entrance fee. It was air conditioned and they even stowed my bag for free so I could walk around hands free. I found the toilet just in time, and then had a relaxing time strolling through each gallery room seeing the artwork. By the time I had got back to the street I was feeling refreshed and revived! Thank you Lord! Even in the little things He is great! I continued around the city until I had visited all the historic sites, then I made my way to the train station and headed back to El Vendrell. Xavier picked me up and we went back to his parent's house for a lovely dinner of melon and Spanish ham. Xavier and Sandra were incredible people and we all got along very well. Sandra didn't speak so much English, but we were able to communicate fine. She had adopted a young boy from Romania who was now 5 years old. It was really interesting to hear about the process she had gone through in order to formalise the adoption.

The next day we took a walk around El Vendrell. It is a cute and charming little town with a lovely church, cobbled streets and a real community vibe. We stopped at the local baker to get bread for our lunch. What a wonderful lifestyle! After a siesta we packed up all our stuff and drove to Xavier's apartment in Barcelona. On the way we detoured to the mountains of Montserrat.

Montserrat is a place of special significance to the Spanish people of Catalonia. It is a series of strange rock formations, they look like cucumbers! At the top of the mountain there is a monastery and a church. It is famous for the choirs of boys who are trained to sing in that angelic high pitch. We arrived in the early evening and luck would have it that the boys were going to start singing just then! It was really amazing. You walk into this huge, ornate church, decorated with gold and paintings and statues, and then suddenly the organ starts to play and the choir begins to sing and you are on top of a massive mountain covered in strange rocks in Spain. Wow, it was an incredible moment. We were then able to see up behind the alter where they keep a golden statue of the virgin of Catalonia, they believe that she looks after the region. The story goes that they found the image of this virgin in a small chapel further up the mountain around 1000AD and then later they brought it to the large church where it resides now.

After a lovely time looking around we headed to Xavier's apartment just out of Barcelona city. We walked down the road to his favourite local kebab restaurant and took seats in front of the television. And that is how I ended up eating durum rolls and watching the soccer. I left early the next morning, it was rainy and cold – the perfect time to leave!