Our last week in Tenerife was both physically and mentally exhausting. At the time we managed to slip by on borrowed sleep - but of course we had to make up for this sleep debt sometime. Unfortunately it hit us our first two days in Barcelona and we spent more time lazily watching Discovery Channel movies and having our own "Shark Week," then going out and exploring this beautiful city.

Today was the first day we had managed to collect ourselves enough to meander around and see what Barcelona has to offer. Making use of the fairly priced subways or "Metro" (€9.95 T-10 card, 10 trip pass) we traveled from the nearest station Fontana to Liceu, dropping us right into the heart of La Rambla. We followed the street South to the Mediterranean Sea, Megan stopped at every artist both and souvenir stand, but eventually we made it to the marina. "No gracias" was our words of choice on the marina as every illegal street merchant tried to sell us on "designer" sunglasses, purses and jewelry. As we drifted past the boats, over the bridge and through the Aquarium we came to an awesome street festival that showcased Latin American cuisine, dancing and music.

We wandered back through the "Barrio Gotic," the historic part of Barcelona occupied by the Romans, but unfortunately to us it didn't look very "Gothic." After browsing more shops we settled on Greek food for lunch and met a nice guy from Chicago, Dave, who has been living in Barcelona for six years. He recommended a few really great restaurants and bars - but insisted on us visiting "Cat Bar," a vegan restaurant and microbrewery. After a quick bite we followed La Rambla up through Plaça de Catalunya and on to Casa Batlló, one of the many works of Gaudí. Catching the Metro from Passeig de Gracia Station, we headed back home for more shark movies, a long nap, and dinner.

Xo,
M&K