Hola Barcelona!

I have finally arrived in sunny Spain!  Brandon has been teaching art classes in beautiful Barcelona for the past two weeks, but I just arrived, and plan to spend the next several weeks touring and vacationing.  We made no big plans for my first day, since we knew I would be jet lagged, but I managed to sleep enough on the flight that I was ready to see some of the city.  By now, Brandon could practically be a tour guide, so when he asked me what I wanted to do, and I said "go take some pictures!" he knew some great places.  

One our way back from the airport, we stopped to do some grocery shopping, and on our stroll through "our" neighborhood, we walked right past a Gaudi building.  Just on the street corner!  It's so amazing to see art and architecture by artists I've only seen in art classes in real life.  

Neither of us was familiar with this building, but it has a very cool dragon on the gate.  

Of course, I made Brandon pose with the dragon, while holding our groceries.  I love being a tourist!

 

We took an evening stroll on La Rambla.  The big one that goes right to the port and is filled with street artists, living statues, and amblers.  The sun was low in the sky and the breeze off the water, coupled with the shade from the trees, made it a perfect evening for a stroll.  When reading about Barcelona, the guide books highlight La Rambla, and Brandon told me it was super crowded, so I wasn't expecting it to be as enjoyable as it was.  I was imagining Times Square in New York or something, but this crowd was relaxed, and everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves.  It has a very nice vibe.  In the photo above you can see the Christopher Columbus monument near the water.  

We ducked into several great plazas, where folks were eating and drinking under umbrellas.  The ornate balconies and the palm trees made everything look so... well, Spanish, I guess.  Just like on TV!

I was great just to be a tourist and snap photos with my phone while we wondered through the streets.  

There are so many shops.  And so many people shopping.  We mostly just window shopped, but I couldn't resist taking photos through some shop windows because the displays were so beautiful and artistically arranged.  

 

Then in the midst of all this commerce, we walk past a portion of a Roman wall.  A wall that is sixteen hundred years old!  It just boggles my mind.  I get used to things in the states being considered old if they have had a few hundred birthdays, but European cities really put historical structures in perspective.   

We bought some tasty sandwiches from a little shop, and sat on the steps of an ancient building and watched people zip by on scooters and bicycles.  

The city has a nice mix of old and new, and the main roundabout has a sculpture who we are pretty sure was made by Lichtenstein, but I haven't looked it up yet.  

Christopher Columbus points toward the sea as he stands atop his tower, and I'm showing my ignorance of history here, but I thought Chris was Italian.  But it seems like I remember he was hired by the Spanish rulers to explore, and then found the "new world".  He's pointing east, but the new world is west, so I'm a little fuzzy on his route.  Maybe through the straight of Gibraltar, and then west?  Anyway, as we discussed this and tried to recall our history without the aid of international data rates on our phones, which these days is like turning off part of my brain, it really hit us that we were standing at the port where Chris sailed out to discover the Americas.  I love history epiphanies.  

We ended the day with a sugary dessert, while we sat on a bench and watched sail boats bob on the water.  

The gulls made me miss my chickens, just a little.  

It was the perfect way to end a day.  Unfortunately, Brandon is in bed, but I'm still on home time feeling like I just got off work, so I'm blogging instead of sleeping, which I will regret tomorrow.   Even though I don't have my luggage yet, I consider day one to be a great beginning.  Tomorrow I won't have a hair brush or clean cloths, so it may be another story!