Took the fast train from Cordoba to Barcelona. Nothing much to report. It was a train rather than a bus so I could read. It went very fast (around 250km/h was its cruising speed) so it only took around 5 hours to go pretty much the entire length of Spain.
I meet up with Vanessa, Rachele and Generoso at the train station here in Barcelona. Vanessa had been expecting me to stay at her house and had cleaned and tidied up, as well as arranging to stay with a friend so I'd have the (tiny) place to myself. However, as her place is a little way out of the centre and up 5 flights of stairs, I insisted on staying at my central and spacious (pre-booked) hotel instead. It was a sweet thought though.
We dropped my bag off at the hotel then went in search of food for me as it was about 3:30pm by that stage and I hadn't had any lunch yet as I'd run out of cash. Vanessa had to go into her work (an Irish pub) for an hour so left me with Rachele and Generoso to eat. This was a little awkward as Rachele's English is limited and Generoso knows none at all. My Italian is even worse. After my lunch (a rocket, cheese and salami focaccia) the three of us set off in search of Vanessa's work. Given our lack of adequate maps and communication difficulties I was very impressed that we managed to find it at all. We only went a little off course.
After collecting Vanessa we just went for a wander around the main streets and looked at a number of Gaudi apartment buildings. These are simply incredible. Imagine Salvador Dali decided to be an architect instead of a painter and you have an idea of what they are like. Vanessa and I wanted to look inside one but the first we came across wasn't open to the public and the other wanted 16 euros per person to go inside. We decided our need for culture wasn't that great so we settled taking photos of just the outsides and having gelati instead.
After this we sauntered around some more and then ended up at a bar Vanessa recommended for an early dinner. We shared various tapas - olives, a bowl of hummus, another of that eggplant dip whose name I can't remember, toasted bread with tomato, olive oil, oregano & garlic topping, a dish of melted (goat's) cheese, a plate of whole goat's cheese pieces and another of jamon. The final dish was a plate of small sausages in a BBQ sauce (forgettable). For dessert Rachele, Vanessa and I shared a waffle with chocolate and condensed milk topping which had been sprinkled with cinnamon. Generoso doesn't approve of the food focus of my holiday.
Tomorrow I'm off to my cooking course in the morning before catching up with the others in the afternoon. I'm going to see Vanessa's place and meet her cat before heading out to Park Guell. This is not far from her place and has great views over the city and is full of Gaudi's works (and is free).
Not sure what we should do for the remaining two days. Vanessa and I want to visit the Chocolate Museum. It seems obligatory to see the Sagrada Familia so we'll 'do' that too. Vanessa also wants to take the cable car up to Montjuic park just outside the city. I hope they maintain it better than the Arthur's Seat chairlift people.
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