Barcelona!!

well i´m in Kabul Hostel in barcelona. there is free internet, but i can´t get access to a usb port so no photos. (there are also no powerpoints in the rooms so you have to give your electronics to reception for charging! very odd)

i arrived in barcelona on wednesday afternoon - managed to make my way to the hostel from the airport without any hiccups, despite not thinking to check to see HOW i get there until actually on the plane - and not speaking spanish... lucky my europe on a shoestring had a tiny little map that i was able to work from!

had a wander around la rambla. many more people than there were last time i was here, and very warm!! unfortunately, unlike singapore, the air conditioning is really not up to scratch. in fact the hostel turns off the air conditioning when summer is over and it was SO hot in the room last nigth that the windows literally steamed up!

speaking of hostel rooms... Lara and I are in a dorm of eight... the two of us, one american guy and five noisey, obnoxious italian boys. think we got about 2 hrs sleep last night with their late night singing, yelling, opening and closing the door and getting out the fire extinguisher and spraying the room! or maybe i´m just getting grumpy in my old age. barcelona really is a party town. our room opens on to placa reiall and we could hear people partying last night (ie a school night!) til at least 6am.

La rambla still has the bird stalls with all the exotic pets. i took lots of photos of hamsters, iguanas, turtles, snakes, a giant millipede, and these furry rodents with bushy tails and stripes. don´t think they´re chinchillas but have no idea. i dont think Lara quite understands or appreciates my excitement over these pocket pets :)

What kind of animal is this??

Today we focused on Gaudi with Sagrada Familia and Park Guell and a couple of other buildings.

sorry about the sideways view - not sure how to change it

Lara didn´t really like the Sagrada Familia, preferring the stark death side to the busy life side. She liked the park though! I really like all of the Gaudi stuff. It´s so different to any other kind of architecture and design i´ve seen! They´re still working on the sangrada familia of course. will be interesting to see if they ever finish it! While wandering around the park we noticed that europeans seem to over dress for travelling. we were in shorts, tshirts and thongs and there were girls in heels, dresses, excessive jewellery and makeup, and wearing dressy jeans in this crazy heat!! not to mention the smoking...

Mosaic tiles at Parque Guell

Tomorrow we´re going to try to go to Costa Brava. Hopefully we´ll get more sleep tongiht than last, although i don´t like our chances!

Lara is a great travelling buddy! (haha if you´re reading this :P ) we both want to get out and see things during the day, and dont feel the need to stay out all night. and caffie, she brought her hair straightener too! and has been roughing it more than i have :)