Tapas?

No, I said topless. That conversation usually goes the other way around. More on that later:-)

My heart is torn - in three pieces so far. Amsterdam, Paris and now Barcelona have me in a love triangle. I'll almost afraid to go to Italy in fear of adding to this tug of war.

After leaving Madrid, we had a very long bus ride on Monday. We stopped in a little town for lunch, but I forgot the name of it. We finally got to Barcelona around 5:30 pm and went to this the fort on the top of the south hill of the city. The view was great and it was a good way to see the whole city. - it was very, very dense. And it was my first time seeing the Mediterean. It was beautiful - the word that kept coming to mind is azure. It seems to describe more than the unique color of blue water, but something a little more majestic.

After a little tour of the city, checking into the hotel (with a new roommate - woo hoo!) We headed out into the city for a drink. We ended up at this great lounge where a good time was had by all - I'm really getting to like some of the people in my group. Special little shout out to the Texas siblings, Susan and Walter, Patrick, Christine and Melanie and lots others.

The bad news is I only had one full day in Barcelona and a list of about 30 things I wanted to see. I knew it was going to be tough, but I gave it a shot. Just like the night before where I gave myself a shot. Or two. Plus a few mojitos. - but I was up with dawn to get going. Fine, I'll tell the truth, I got up at the crack of 9.

Since I had such a good time on the Paris bike tour, I decided to do it again here. The thing I wanted to see the absolute the most was the Sagrada Familia - I think Spain was on my list almost solely to see this. I could try to explain it, but my words would never do it justice. The fact that it still won't be done for another 20ish years and that the final spire will be twice as tall as any of the already built is ones is beyond imagination. Also, I learned how the city is crazy (and justifiably so) about Gaudi. My regret in Barcelona is that I didn't get a chance to see his house.

I saw lots of other sites, but besides the Sagrada Familia, the highlight was the beach. We stopped and had a drink seaside and it another one of those moments you have to do a reality check. And yes, it was also a topless beach. I would go into further detail, but this is (mostly) a family friendly blog. Well, at least sometimes.

Side note, one of the guys on the bike tour looked so much like my cousin's cousin, Steve, that I kept calling him that. Thanks for putting up with it "Anthony."

After the bike tour, "Anthony" and I wandered around a stumbled on the famous Boqueria market. I'm a proud Washingtonian and Seattlite, but even I have to admit that Pike Place market had nothing on this one. I have never seen such large, brightly colored fruit - it looked (and tasted) delicious. It was almost out of Willy Wonka. If I lived here, I'd be there everyday and twice on Sundays.

After the market, we headed to the Gaudi park the north hill of the city - Parc Guell. Can someone do me a favor and send me list of synonyms for "amazing." I feel like I use to ofter and I don't water down some of the things I've seen. It was an aesthetic dream - everything was a little dreamy. Absolutely beautiful. Not even the steep climb up there could infect the experience.

Overall, a perfect, if not a bit rushed day that ended very late with tapas in Las Rambla with Audrey, a few overly friendly Scottish and two cute Canadians.

Like Paris, I definitely wish I had more time. But maybe its better this way. The more time I had, the more I would have loved it and the more my heart would break as I left it.