Another day, another bike ride. This time away from the beach entirely. Eugene was sick and we didn't end up seeing him again. I wanted to make sure to see all of the Gaudi stuff so again I rallied the troops to rent bikes and ride with me to Sagrada Familia and Parque Guell. But before we headed out, we had a fantastic paella lunch in La Boqueria, which is the market pictured in the last post.
La Sagrada Familia is under construction. It is not very far from La Rambla, but the line to get in was unbelievably long. While it would have been awesome to be able to climb the towers and inspect all of the intricate decorations up close, we decided that our time and money would be better spent going to see the Parque Guell. Also, it was so hot outside that getting back on the bikes was not a tough decision. At least on the bikes there's a bit of a breeze. Also, notice that my camera ran out of batteries here at La Sagrada Familia and I had to borrow other's cameras to get what few pictures I did.
On the bikes again, we realized we had taken on another tough ride. Turns out that the Parque Guell is all the way up the hill on the other side of Barcelona. But this time it was an urban climb. But we struggled our way through the streets, though their logic seems to fall apart as the hill gets steeper. Needless to say, we were quite tired when we arrived at the Parque Guell. That didn't dampen our adventurous spirit however. Let's say we were "off the beaten path" a bit in our exploration of Gaudi's work. It is quite a beautiful park and maybe this is the one time I really would have liked a tour guide to explain the significance behind each part of the park. There are bridges over gardens and a large ampitheater. I believe that most of Gaudi's work was religiously commisioned, and I would have liked to know what each part of the park was. The religion is obvious however, as there are vere "Gaudi" crosses at overlooking the best vantage points.
The rest of the trip was a downhill coast to the ocean, and I probably pedaled only 1/5 of the way. It was a very cool way to see the city, as we took as many turns as possible, weaving our way south (and downhill) towards the ocean. This last picture was taken right before we got to the beach. It is called the Arc of Triumph, but I don't remember which language it was in. It surprised me so either French or Spanish. And I'm not sure what triumph it celebrates. Finally arriving at the beach, and some much needed food, I was a bit disappointed. Despite all the hype I had heard about Barcelona beaches, it wasn't too much better than Santa Monica really. I did swim to a rocky island not far offshore with Sen though. And finally, exhausted, we pedaled home along the shoreline back to La Rambla.
I should mention that I moved hostels on this day. I moved from a location a bit farther away from La Rambla, to one right in the middle of it. The reason I say that I should mention it, is that I feel the need to pass on a little advice. Wherever possible, don't sacrafice hostel quality for hostel location. While Center Rambla was a great spot, the hostel was far inferior. It was without air-conditioning, overcrowded, and not very secure. I met a guy who not only had the misfortune of getting his pick pocketed, he returned home only to find that his stuff had been stolen from his room. Granted, he did not use the security lockers which makes it his own fault, but it really goes to show that you can't trust anyone when you aren't looking.
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