Day 16- To take the lift or to not take the lift....

One of the things that has baffled me since I have been in this country is how the people stay so thin. I mean all this fabulous food, that is extremely fattening I might add, with very little or no vegetables and the unlimited amounts of expresso and wine of course.... Still even with all the walking around people do here, how is it possible to not be at least an American averaged size person (woman at least) which from the last survey done was an American size 14? Well today I answered the question, we are staying at the top level of what New Yorkers would call a fifth floor walk up. All the buildings here are old, even if they are somewhat modernized they still seem to stick to the same architectural make-up; dark mahogany wood with marble floors, all the lights are on timers and there seem to be antique handles on most doors which have antique keys to match. The most important thing to note here are the elevators or lifts as they are called in Europe. Every lift we have been in is the size of a very small closet, the max capacity is 4 (which I do not see possible nor would I stay inside if a third person entered) or 300 Kilos which is roughly 600 pounds for those who are not privy to the metric system. That would mean no more than four 150lb. people or three 200lb. people can ride the lift together at any given time. My point with all this is that this lift is not only small and made of wood and glass being held by a cable you can see but today it got stuck. Thankfully we were not inside but this made us realize that taking the stairs is probably the best idea from here on out, this also made me realize that locals probably do this everyday.

Day 15- Alone Day

Today Eric and I decided to have an alone day. Not that we are getting sick of each other but I wanted to shop and he wanted to venture off to check out the docks and take some day time pictures. Every couple needs their alone time, especially when you are traveling together for days on end. After a few days of getting to know the neighborhood we were ready. Our specific neighborhood is called L'Eixample it is known to have the city's most expensive shops, hotels and eateries. So naturally I need to look else where for my kind of shops. Mission accomplished, I discovered "Muy Mucho" which is the Spanish equivalent to if Pier One merged with the 99 cent store. Tiger, which has various gadgets and body products and Mango, which is very similar to H&M. There is also a place called Sabone, apparently it is a company out of Isreal that makes amazing bath products known for their body scrubs. The sales lady there spoke pretty good English and had me try a sample in their large tub located in the back of the store. I have to say it felt as if I just had a manicure, so even though it is a little pricey I am taking some home. She did say that it is quite potent so you only need to use it every other week, sold! So what did I end up with you ask? For a mere 20 euro total for the day I got eucalyptus body scrub, what I thought was aloe shower gel but ended up being just aloe vera gel and 2 fancy bars of soap, yes I have missed my bath products. I also stopped at an amazing candy store for a mixed bag of chocolates, some containers for the spices I plan to buy at the farmers market on my next trip and the best purchase of all our Barcelona Christmas tree.

Day 14- The Gaudi' Experience #1

Today we saw our first of many architectural masterpieces designed by Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi' was a Spanish Catalan architect and figurehead of Catalan Modernism. His designs and very distinctive style were very cutting edge for his time. That is about the extent of my knowledge on Catalan Modernism, for now at least..... The mansion is called "Palau Guell" it was built in the 1880's, one of his early designs, for Eusebi Guell(that is a whole other history lesson). It combines art nouveau, Gothic and Islamic materials. Even the stables were designed with very specific detail and no expense was spared throughout the entire house, including the chimneys. It even has it's very own chapel. In a word, it was gorgeous! A dream house, not even, I am pretty sure no person could even dream up a place like this. I look forward to the rest of my upcoming Gaudi' experiences. Side note, after the civil war, police took it over and tortured political prisoners in the basement.

Day 13- World's Best Market

The farmers market here in Barcelona, Mercat de la Boqueria is ranked on of the best farmers markets in the world (according to CNN at least). It is located off the very popular La Rambla which is basically the tourist/ party street. It is slightly hidden so if you are on La Rambla look for the Dunkin Donuts then go down that street. It is a bit overwhelming, you walk in and it is made up of vendors selling fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, cheeses and my favorite olives and olive oil. I think the people back home know what kind of souvie they are getting from Spain. We bought ginger flavored olive oil, so good! The market also has cafe's and bars mixed in of course..... We didn't even make it through the entire thing but something tells me I will be back.

Day 12- Hello Barcelona

We embarked on another early morning train ride from San Sebastian to Barcelona. We arrived at the city right at the metro station, just a hint of advice Spain if you have escalators going up you should have them going down, just saying.... We arose from the street to see one of the more famous architectural aspects of the city Casa Batllo', it looks as if Tim Burton modeled his claymations from Nightmare Before Christmas from this building. We will visit it another time but it was cool to know we were right in the heart of things. Our place was only about 2 blocks away. We arrived at the building and met Philippe, who I think is French but Eric thinks he is Belgian, he previously worked in the film industry (not sure doing what) and went to NYU in the early eighties. He said things like "bada bi bada bo" and used other sound effects while describing things, he told us where the "how you say kinky" part of the city was, "where the whores are". The place was great, nicely decorated and located on the top of the building, the penthouse complete with our own balcony over looking the city. A couple observations I have noticed in this country, people never have elevators that go all the way up and all the doors lock from the inside. We really need to make sure our keys are by the door in case of a fire since this will be home for the next month.

Day 11- Pilgrimage to Christ

If you have ever had the dying urge to walk up the side of a mountain to see a massive statue of Jesus then Mont Urgull is the answer to that long awaited yearning. But christ is not all you will find, along the way you will see the best panoramic views of San Sebastian and the Bay of Biscay, I felt like any minute Russell Crow was going to sail around the bend and a partial castle surrounding our lord and savior. Inside the castle after the breath-taking hike you will find a museum with no bathroom inside. I still am not totally sure what the purpose of the museum is but they have what I like to call the headless Masters and Commanders.

And of course Jesus.....

Day 10- Marine Life & More

The aquarium in San Sebastian is not like any aquarium experience I have ever had. Having said that, this was awesome! You walk in and the first thing you see is a film playing on a loop showing how a certain fish is prepared, yes you read that correct it shows you how best the marine life you are about to visit will taste later that day. The first level is the maritime section, there are various models of the ships that sailed through the Bay of Biscay a mini-history lesson if you will, although I couldn't help but giggle to myself every time I read something about the "prominent seaman". Next you embark on the history of crew in the area followed by a section dedicated to whales and whale hunting. The next level is the art of fishing and just art that is dedicated solely to the sea. We wrap this section up with my personal favorites a display of fish in formaldehyde. We finally make it to actual marine life in the aquarium of the Bay of Biscay. You walk through a tunnel that is full of fish including sharks, rays and turtles swimming together as if they were in the sea. What is amazing to me is how they keep a tank that big clean and all the fish well fed so they don't eat each other..... It is pretty cool, you really do feel like you are part of the sea. The final level is made up of tropical fish and reefs. With a special room dedicated to mollusks. The best part of this adventure was the calamari we had at the restaurant next to the aquarium. The definition of Irony......