Second day in Barcelona

Last night we went to bed early with hopes to wake up fully rested. We got a full nights rest but when the alarm went off to get up for our city tour we didn't feel like going, but we're really glad that we did. This hotel has the most impressive food offerings of any we have stayed to this point but we ate quickly in order to make it to our tour on time. Our tour consisted of 17 people, our quadrilingual tour guide and the bus driver. The tour began on the bus where we quickly learned that our tour guide was conducting the tour in three languages (English, Spanish, and French). He also speaks the native language of Barcelona of course, Catalan. Sarah and I were the only English speakers. The guide would speak anywhere from 1-3 sentences in one language and seamlessly transition into the next language and then the third language. He told us to stay right next to him so that he could speak directly to us when speaking English. The French and Spanish speakers were also instructed to stay close to their own. The tour was just over 3 hours. We made three stops and the rest of the tour was while on the bus as we drove through the streets. The three main areas we visited were the Gothic Quarter, the Olympic Village, and the Spanish Village.
The Gothic Quarter is essentially old town Barcelona. Picasso lived in this area and it is home to several of the most important government buildings in Barcelona. Christopher Columbus is known to have been in several of them. The Gothic Quarter also had the most jaw dropping cathedral we have been inside (we didn't get to go in St. Peter's Basilica while in Rome). We quickly drove through the Olympic Village where all the Olympians resided in 1992 and did not get to see much of the playing fields as the area was closed in preparation for the Euroleague (basketball) championship game that is in Barcelona tonight. Near the Olympic facilities is the best view of the city where we got out and had the opportunity to take pictures from the elevated viewpoint. Our final stop was at the Spanish Village which has a much older feel than it actually is. All 130 buildings were built in 1929 (yes, all in one year) for the world fair. The buildings in the village were designed to be representative of the various architecture styles throughout Spain.
We had only signed up for the morning portion of the tour (lucky for our tour guide). However, there was still one site we had to see before leaving Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia. It was designed by famous architect Antonio Gaudi and construction began in 1882, and it is still under construction. Not only is it still under construction, it's anticipated that there is still another 30-80 years of construction depending on city funding. I think it's the most remarkable building we've seen so far but we didn't go inside because of the ridiculous line and the fact that it has a €12.50 admission fee. There was some sort of a run in the area surrounding the Sagrada Familia. It was for kids, most looked between 11-14 years old. The streets were blocked off just like any big time marathon we have in the states. Sarah and I observed the race and cheered on the runners as they passed.
Our hotel (Hotel Casa Camper) has a great kitchen area that is fully stocked with sandwiches, salads, cheese, fruit, soup, bread, and drinks that are included for hotel guests 24 hours a day. So we made our way back to the hotel using the Metro and made ourselves a plate to take up to the 6th floor terrace. We were the only ones up there and enjoyed our lunch while taking in the fantastic view of the city.
Sarah took a siesta to rest her legs and feet which have taken a toll while I threw back a couple bottles of Cruzcampo. We then made our way over to the Pablo Picasso museum which is free on Sundays between 3pm-8pm, normally €10. The line to get in lasted 15 minutes which was no big deal considering what we were about to see. The museum contained hundreds of original Picasso's. There are 15 rooms and the art is arranged chronologically by room. It was interesting to see how his artistic style adapted over time. The art started quite normal as a young boy and then in his teenage years and early adulthood it showed his time spent with 'barbarians' and prostitutes. As a middle age man Picasso began completing the cubism and abstract works most of us associate him with. There were also a number of sculptures he completed later in life. We kept a brisk pace and made it all the way through in about 45 minutes. We read excerpts from the Rick Steves book which walks you through what to give attention to in each room. This made it seem like we were playing and winning a game as we found each piece of art.
From the museum we went to the city park where there are more 'free spirits' than likely anywhere you have ever been. There were people playing crazy music and dancing, walking on strange tight ropes between trees, doing other circus trapeze like acts, playing futbol, and dogs running everywhere. Among the chaos we noticed how happy everybody was. It was refreshing to see everybody outside and doing whatever it was that made them happy.
We had a dinner reservation for 8:30 at a restaurant recommended by our hotel for the best Paella in town. When we sat down at 8:30 we were only the second or third party seated on the terrace. People here eat very late. I think in part because of how late it is when it gets dark. Dusk doesn't arrive until 9:00 which is the same time the tables began filling up. We ordered fried baby squid, grilled razors clams, mixed seafood Paella and some white wine. This was my favorite meal to date. It was full of flavor and I wouldn't have changed anything about it. We stopped for gelato on our walk back to the hotel and also took a stroll along the harbor before getting onto the street that leads to our hotel and is also the main drag through town (Las Ramblas).
I'm not entirely sure what the drug laws are in Barcelona but they are a lot more lax than we are used to. On several occasions we have picked up a strong whiff of marijuana in the street or as we pass by a bar or even seen somebody smoking in public. I'm certain that it's not legal but it's also not policed the way it is in the states. The main activity of Las Ramblas lasts for about 1.5 miles. We noticed men carrying red aluminum soda cans (perhaps generic Coka-Cola) in the plastic six pack holders. There was typically just one can in the holder and each of these men were Indian. As we would walk by them on the street they would whisper: Hashish, Marijuana. This must have happened to us 5 times during just this single walk down Las Ramblas. I started spotting these guys out from a ways away and would walk by them and utter the words 'Hashish, Marijuana' to them before they could whisper it to me. They didn't know exactly what to do. This city is quite unique but definitely worth the visit.
On our walk to the Picasso museum earlier we saw some breakdancing street performers but only watched for a minute because their act was taking too long to develop. We came across a smaller group of the same type of act on Las Ramblas but they had Sarah captivated this time around, I too thought it was pretty cool. I've seen break dancers in U.S. cities before but these guys were remarkably talented. The stunts they were pulling off were athletic, fast, and precise. After we watched both act 1 and 2 we walked the final block to our hotel and crashed. Tomorrow it's another early morning and we're off to catch the train to Madrid.
Buenos Noches.