the rain in spain
it has taken me ages but i've done it! a million photos have been sorted out! woohoo!!!
so...wendy and i ventured to spain for a week's vacation. our home for four nights was a tiny room in melon district residence that has the smallest toilet i've ever seen. but it was clean and the place is secure and there's even a pool and sun deck on the roof.
we couldn't check in until 2pm so had about five hours to roam around, still smelling of the aircraft. we found a little cafe (where we proceeded to have breakfast at every single morning we were there), had breakfast, then walked to la rambla. had a little look-see along that famous stretch before heading back to the hostel for a long-awaited shower and getting back out to start with the sightseeing. first up, casa batlló, where we had our first glimpse of gaudi's amazing work.
from there, we went to a more
ulu area where casa calvet stood, quiet and lonely...
on to the cathedral and wendy nearly got pick-pocketed by an evil old lady who wasn't at all discreet just as we were entering the place. once inside, it wasn't an all too pleasant experience as it was crowded and the staff there were really rude.
day two, we had a much better church-going experience when we went to la sagrada familia.
gaudi's unfinished church, with its spindle-shaped towers, grand façades and unique interior was a sight to behold.
on the way from la sagrada familia to our next destination, we attempted (and failed) to purchase some hats to block out the piercing spanish sun and had our first taste of paella.
the long walk to park güell was well worth it:
the area is a masterpiece.
dinner that evening was at a tapas bar:
walked down la rambla after that satisfying meal to port vell before calling it a day.
on day three, we wandered about and stumbled upon montjuïc where we were treated to a breathtaking view of the city and saw the palau nacional that houses the museu nacional de'art de catalunya.
travelled to camp nou after that just coz it's home to the famous football team and went on a tour of the stadium:
la pedrera was next. also known as casa milà, it was yet another display of gaudi's genius.
the last two places we visited on that super long and tiring day were port olympic and la barceloneta. there, we posed with gehry's peix, rested on the beach, and had dinner before going back to the hostel.
last day in barcelona and we decided to take it easy and took a train to tibidabo...
an imposing cathedral, the parc d'attraction and a bird's eye view of the city.
back to la rambla for one last time and we took a look at the fresh produce the mercat st josep la boqueria had to offer, stopped for a meal, and i had a cup of coffee with chocolate mousse at the cafe de l'opera.
bright and early the next day, we checked out and took a cab to the airport for our domestic flight to ibiza!
vueling got us there safe and sound and on time. from the airport, we took a bus to ibiza town where we were greeted by the walls of dalt vila and a lovely view from plaça d'espanya.
breakfast was yummy, buttery croissants at croissant-show:
after shopping for beach towels, we bused to playa de las salinas and parked ourselves under an umbrella at sa trinxa, where we soaked in some rays with gays, gorgeous people, and some naked individuals.
properly baked, we left the beach for san antoni and headed straight to cafe del mar. was there too early for the sunset but we sat on since we were too exhausted and chao-da to go anywhere else. the place eventually filled up as the sun slowly set.
watching the beautiful sunset accompanied by chill-out music was magical, as was the finale of getting mooned by a bunch of pirates on a passing ship.
took a much-needed shower at the yacht club before one last scrumptious dinner of home-made paella, then spent the night partying away to ferry corsten and above and beyond at amnesia. went straight to the airport from the club in time for our morning flight back to barcelona and took a short nap in the airport before hopping on to yet another flight back to singapore.
there we go. spain and the longest post in the world. phew.
*many thanks to wendy for plenty of lovely photos and for being such fantastic company, and to dave for the use of his dslr.
