Journey to the West: The Big Fat Update

The day was spent mainly walking around and sight-seeing around the city. Barcelona is simply huge! And all the buildings are so blockish or rectangular from bird eye’s view. We started off by walking towards the Chistopher Columbus monument and then Port Vell where many yachts were parked (but not as impressive as those in French Riviera). We continued towards the city beaches, particularly the Barceloneta beach. I must admittedly say that the beach was nowhere near beautiful, apart from a few naked women here and there. Unfortunately, this did not make up for the beach’s lack of hustle and bustle.

L-R: The Columbus monument, Port Vell

L-R: Barceloneta Beach, a weird structure on the beach

The next destination was the cathedral of Sta. Maria del Mar; not much to comment as all churches look the same to me by now. We paused for lunch at a random bar near the church and decided to order something more exotic: Arroz Negro! This is basically Paella cooked in squid ink and it turned out to be extremely salty!! I will never eat this particular paella again, but it was quite fun trying something different in a foreign land.

L-R: interior of Sta Maria del Mar, squids in salsa sauce (first tapas that we ate)

L-R: Arroz Negro (Paella in squid ink), the gothic aftermath

We then walked around the Barri Gottic before heading towards the famous La Rambla. This is basically a 1.2 km long street bustling with street performers, souvenir shops, bird and weird animals shops, etc. Most importantly, it was also bustling with pickpockets; so all the time in Barcelona and Madrid, we have been carrying our bags in front of us. Anyway, Jeremy was very excited about the prospect of shopping in this area. I felt like I was traveling with 3 girls and “he” was the most excited about shopping. Haha.

L-R: Along La Lambla, lizards on sale

L-R: still along La Rambla, birds on sale & horse man street performer

So while Jeremy and Letch went off to (window)shop, Sinhui and I headed to the nearby Casa Batllo, one of the famous building by Spanish architect called Gaudi. All his works were famous for its peculiarity, its weird and unconventional approach to designing a building. We did not go in as the entrance cost an extravagant 16,50 euros!!

L-R: In front of Casa Batllo

We met up again at 4 plus for the highlight of the day: Camp Nou!! The match would be starting at 7 pm, but we had to collect our tickets beforehand. We paid 28 euros each for a 3rd tier ticket. Anyway, Camp Nou is the 3rd largest stadium in the world with a full capacity of 110,000 supporters. And it was almost full house that day even though it was a lousy match between Barcelona and Almeria. Barcelona did not play very well and Ronaldinho was booed off the pitch to a glorious entrance of Messi. The atmosphere in the stadium was just superb!! Damn I have to wait till January to go to Old Trafford, can’t wait!!