This might be the worst thing I'll ever write, but I've got tired spilling out of my pores. We had another mildly successful day yesterday, made difficult again by our lack of planning or thinking ahead. Though I hassled them about sleeping later than we'd planned, we only made it out the door an hour behind schedule, and got to Casa Mila before the crowds. I don't know much about Algebra, but I do know that Gaudi was f---ing insane. I don't know how he thought to do the things he did, but I'm glad he did them. Was Casa Mila worth 12e? Not sure. I would have said yes until Liza/Isabella made us wait 4 minutes for a 7 minute movie that had no film and words; just pictures and music. Looking back on our day, I find myself wondering how things might have been different...not just in Barcelona, but in life...if I got those 11 minutes back.
From there we strolled a ways, had a mid-morning bocadillo to keep EOB from getting grumpy, and made our was to Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece. When we came upon it, it was completely breathtaking. What was also breathtaking was a line that wrapped all the way around the building -- about three blocks worth of people. Rick had suggested going at lunch, but again, our lunch was on the earlier side of the Spaniards, so it's quite possible we picked the worst time of day (and someone confirmed later that it was the worst they'd seen the line all summer. This is why we're up and at them this morning, trying again to beat the crowds.
We grabbed some lunch nearby, which in retrospect was a terrible idea because we were in tourist central. We found a hot little lunch spot serving pizzas, because Liza REALLY WANTED MORE ITALIAN FOOD LIKE WHOA. It was another meal that was fine, but not special or delicious. Our luck with food up to this point has been quite disappointing. So many people have given us recommendations, but it's been hard for us to plan our sightseeing around where those places are. So instead we just venture into restaurants, and none have really been to our liking.
The day took a fantastic turn when we made it to Park Guell. I had wanted to go there, but wasn't sure how the others would feel since it's a bit out of the way. It was amazeballs. We took loads of pictures amongst the hoards of people, and then eventually found a quiet spot where we could drink a bottle of cava and life plan. Liza and Enrique seem to have theirs planned out, but mine continues to be a challenge. But there's plenty of time for that.
We made our way back home to partake in the most celebrated Spanish tradition: the siesta. Two hours of bliss. It was blissfully blissful, and I'm hoping this blissfulness will be revisited today.
Last night we met some friends on the beach and had (finally) a fantastic (and super cheap) dinner of paella and seafood. It was exactly the kind of meal we needed to refuel our interest in Barcelona since we spent a lot of today discussing that although Barcelona is great, Rome is the best place in the world. After dinner we strolled along the beach for a long ways, buying 1e beers from creepy dudes, and telling jokes, and getting our first (well, my first) feel of the Mediterranean. The only downside was that since we weren't hitting a boomboomroom, we had a hard time finding a bar to go inside, so instead we found our way all the way to the cathedral, where we decided to just sit and buy more illicit beers. It was a lovely evening overall, but we're a tad disappointed that we've been here two nights and had 0 dance parties, something that we're planning to rectify tonight, though someone might need to string me up like a puppet.
Plan for today: Sagrada, Cathedral, Magic Fountains, La Xampaneria, and a bus bar tour.
Yesterday's wardrobe gimmicks: day dresses, evening white pants
Today's wardrobe gimmick: no bras (though from where I sit, apparently EOB is not participating)
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