Location: Barcelona, Spain

S: Today Meag and I decided to go grab breakfast just the two of us, and we wandered a few blocks away to get waffles and coffee. It was so nice to spend time in our own little bubble, but before long we were having a wonderful chat with two ladies at the table across from us. They were two younger grandmas who were travelling for two weeks together, and they were so sweet. They heard me coughing and pulled out cough drops and proceeded to give us the most motherly advice about our apparent sicknesses, it was so comforting! Meaghan and I both loved telling them about our trip, as well as hearing about their children and grandchildren.

After breakfast we went back to the hostel to grab Adam and Po, as the four of us had a date to a museum! We trained over to the Magic Fountain, which was unfortunately not running at the time and then walked up the hill towards Poble Espanyol Open Air Museum. Along the way we passed mosaic artwork running along the stairways and statues appearing to strain to hold up fountains and bowls of water. The trees lining the hill had mostly lost their leaves and the air was chilly but not cold, so it was a beautiful fall stroll.

M: This museum was different because it was set up like a small living city, with sections built as different areas from around Spain throughout the country’s history. It told stories on interpretive panels interspersed with little artisanal shops and old buildings or façades that had been relocated to the museum. It was all open air so we walked along the streets and read about the very different architecture and traditions around Spain, and how these all come together. I liked the Andalucia section, both because it was beautiful and because I got to learn a bit more about the area where Aunt Sally lives.

There was a school group at the museum while we were there. This one boy, who was probably nine or ten, kept running up to us and asking a question then running away with all his friends. As we wandered around the narrow streets of the museum, we ran in to him about a half dozen times. In his broken English he asked about where we were from and how we were doing. Towards the end, another young boy came up to me from the school group and excitedly tried asking me the time in English. Much to my surprise, I was able to answer in Spanish! I think the group of boys was as shocked as I was when Spanish came out of my mouth. Thanks Ms. Sarin, seems like a few of your Spanish lessons stuck!

We split up with Po for a bit so Adam, Sav and I went to check out the Arc de Triomf. It was cool, and we walked down the promenade to the Parc de Cuitadella.

S: The Arc de Triomf was all red brick, tall and artistic, and led onwards to the park where we went to check out the Cascada Monumental fountain. With bright green and turquoise water, large gold statues and swaths of dark green plants everywhere, this was definitely my favourite fountain so far. I ran around the steps excitedly shaking Meaghan and Adam and every corner, pointing out this and that. I was more than happy to stay here for awhile taking pictures and soaking in the view.

We leisurely strolled back to the hostel from there, taking in more of the Gothic Quarter that seems to be different every time we enter it. It covers a massive section of the city and though I’ve spent a lot of time exploring it, I feel like I haven’t seen the same thing twice. So much detail is put into each narrow street, and every square contains something special whether it’s detailed building fronts, shining statues, or intricate Gaudi style ground stones.

M: We tried for an early night tonight, but it is very hard to go to bed early at a hostel! We spent the evening hanging out and chatting with others at the hostel until we couldn’t keep our eyes open any longer.

S&M