BCN --> MAD

On Sunday, we spent the whole day at the beach in Barcelona. The sun was bright, the water was blue, and the people were out vacationing in droves. It's not quite the same experience as a Florida beach, but the Mediterranean provides enough sun and sand for an entire day of fun. We had dinner at a small street café for a good price, and we had our first of two large Sangria pitchers for the night. If Spain had a national drink, it would be Sangria. If Sangria had a standard size, it would be pitcher at smallest.


Later that night, Stephen and I returned to the Plaça de Espanya to catch the light and water shower at the Font Màgica. This brilliant display of color and lights took place at the base of the National Art Museum, and it was very difficult to capture its awe in photos. See the pictures below for my best efforts.


On Monday, we trekked up a large hill in Barcelona to see another work of famous architect Gaudi, Park Güell. Situated with a great view of the city, the interesting architecture and design was definitely worth the 200 meter hill climb. Plus the park entrance was free. Later in the day, we stopped for lunch at, where else but, McDonald's. I was really happy because I used French to order my food because the cashier spoke it a little, so I did not have struggle in Catalan. After some light shopping (mostly for the air conditioning in the stores), we made our way to the airport. Our flight to Madrid was over an hour late, the second time so far we've had late departures!


After landing in Madrid, we took the city's clean and efficient metro to our hotel from the airport for just 2 euros. Our hostel is centrally located at the Puerto del Sol in the center of the city. Before calling it a night after a long day, we had a quick bite to eat at a turkish restaurant and finished off a 3 litro tube of sangria. mmm. Off to see the sights in Madrid today, ADIOS!