Day 5

As I sit here writing the beginning of Day 5, I’ve only had two hours of sleep. I force myself to get up and get my things together so we can catch a train at 5:15 am to Barcelona. The only song I can’t help hearing over and over again in my head is Ed Scheeran’s “Barcelona.” I know, I know, cheesy but what do you want me to sing, “All My Ex’s Live in Texas?”

At this point in our journey, life slows down a bit and we exit the party scene to enter a more relaxed tempo. This part of our vacation is really for sightseeing and relaxation.

We arrive at the train station and I was amazed at how efficient everything was; from arriving to boarding. The bell rang, and it was like Wall Street, everyone sprung into action. Waiting to board, one line forms and everyone makes their way through one by one. They scan our ticket, check our bags, and we proceed to the platform all in a matter of 10 minutes. How come we aren’t this efficient in the U.S.?

My husband and I always wanted to travel together and see the world so I’m excited to finally be on this trip with him. Looking out the window I see rain and lightning off in the distance. I use the next three hours to finish writing Day 4 of my blog as everyone else closes their eyes. 

Throughout the ride, there is a scenic theme combining old and new structures from town to town. I can tell we are heading to a different elevation since my ears are popping.
With one hour left of our train ride, I attempt to close my eyes.

We exit the extremely large train station, where I can’t believe they make you pay to use the restrooms, and make our way to the hotel via taxi. Today is the first day out of our trip I’ve considered taking a nap seeing as I can feel the previous late nights catching up with me.

When we arrive in Barcelona it’s 9:30 am and we aren’t allowed in the hotel until 3 so we look for a breakfast spot around the city. Since our hotel faces the beach we look for a little restaurant near there to admire our surroundings. There’s a wide and long boardwalk that runs down parallel to the beach. Bikers, rollerbladers, people walking their dogs, and motorize scooters populate the boardwalk while taxi’s and traffic zoom by us as we eat. 

The weather here in Barcelona is different than Madrid. In Madrid the temperature was a comfortably dry 80 degrees with a constant cool breeze. However, in Barcelona, I notice there’s a bit more humidity which makes for a sweaty afternoon. This weather feels more comparable to Virginia’s summers.

After days of partying and a minimum amount of sleep, we decided to save our legs and hop on a bus tour around the city hitting the major stops. I never been on one of these so I was very excited to try one for the first time. As we entered the bus, we were given headphones for listening to the audio tour and head upstairs to take in the sights.

Starting at the statue of Colon, we take the red line which is the longest around the city. As we ride, we see the World Trade Center, the Gothic Quarter, Casa Batllo and Passeig de Gracia containing two of the Gaudi structures, The Spain Square, National Museum of Catalan, Olympic Ring where they held the 1992 Olympics, Miramar and Sagrada Familia in the background. 

When we pass the National Museum of Catalan, my husband and I notice a Dali/Gala exhibit. Back when my husband lived in Tampa we went to the Dali museum and knew we had to go to see this one. 

Walking back to the hotel we pass a mercado and take a look at what the vendors have to offer. Many have a lot of the same items for sale, knock off Michael Kors bags and belts, decorative blankets, straw hats, and sunglasses.

I have no interested in any of these things so I head over to grab what I am interested in, olives! Beside the olives is a wine stand and I grab a glass of Cava to go as we head back to the hotel.

Unless I am going to a resort or beach, I don’t like to oversleep or take a lot of naps, especially if I’m on vacation. My philosophy is I can sleep when I get home. I’d rather use the time to explore and see what the city has to offer. 

However, with the limited amount of sleep this week, a small nap is in order as the hotel is ready for us and we are ready for it!

Having rested for a bit, we get ready, eat and grab a drink before the Cabaret show.

At 7pm the lines start to form and we head across the street to grab a great seat for our final entertainment of the night, Cabaret Maldito! 

Even though all of the show was in Spanish we were able to grasp most of the concepts as the actors and entertainers performed. Among the nights entertainment were contortionists, knife throwers, balancing acts, aerial silk acrobatics, and a ton of laughs!

After the show we head back over to the hotel bar to have a night cap before we turn in. 

Tomorrow is dinner at ABaC, a 3 star Michelin restaurant with a 15 course meal by chef Jordi Cruz.

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