HSCB decided to block my card because ´someone is withdrawing money from abroad´...whoever could that be? And the world´s local bank has a non-existent presence in Spain. Definition of helpful. Phil maxed his overdraft. Typical - our second day here was looking bleak especially as we could afford even the train to the next place. But it gave us the challenge of seeing Barcelona on 20 euro or less.
First vital payment was a 10 journey metro card we can share between us, well worth 9 Euros (4,50 each) to get us around. Another essential, and rightly so was the 12 euro to see the Sagrada Familia. And the final essential was the 3 euro to go up into the Mirador de Colom - Barcelona´s Nelson Column sized plinth of Christopher Columbus that actually has a viewing platform at the top on the inside!
So, that left us with 0.5 euro each pretty much. Bottle of water between the two of us saw off my budget and Phil found the odd Euro lining his pockets to get a Euro Drink and snack.
So, that left us with the option of doing what the tour guides suggested anyway - soaking up the atmosphere! Guess those 15 euro meg-clubs of Europe shall have to wait until a stag do.
I don´t like to write like a tour guide too much but Sagrada Familia cathedral is a wonder of the modern world. It is the last of Gaudi´s great plans with 8 towers over 100 metres high that is designed around the beauty and symmetry of nature and its connection with God. It is breathtaking, but also decidedly normal as its strewn with builder´s junk. Its still years from completion..20 or so.
Soaking up the atmosphere here was easy. We went through the bustling Las Ramblas, like London´s Southbank but with Spanish eccentricities - street artists from Matador´s to Gremlins, artists and street vendors (some trying to sell you canaries strangely) everywhere, and then onto
La Boqueria one of the largest markets of fruit and veg in Europe where people literally queue up for bananas the same way we´d queue for a film premiere.
We took a turn and in 30 seconds found ourselves back in the 13th century staring up at a medieval cathedral, walking streets you could touch both sides of if you stretched out your arms! And then we topped the day off with a trip to the beach, with our tops off among the locals dressed in jumpers, jeans and scarves and a quick snoring siesta on the sands before heading back to the hostel.
Getting back we´d managed to sort Phil´s overdraft problem so food was on him, but frugality was definitely on the menu for us both following that scare. Our 70 euro ticket to Milan tonight was a hard hit to take...So a trip to the cheapest Spanish supermarket saw us return with bread, cheese, and enough cheap meats for a small army, and a 12 pack of Spanish beer for 1.99 (ridiculous! and good beer!). Needless to say today is a leftover day...and if we keep eating like that we´ll get rickets.
Our ´massive mash up’ on the town actually involved 5 Americans and endless friendly discussion on our collective poverties, experiences, and GB-UK differences. Although we never expected to, we ended up playing tour guide as two of the girls are heading to Cardiff next week....I now have a ´blogging partner´ for my troubles, and look forward to my mention in her accounts of last night.
Barcelona has been an experience. Any country with no money is a horrible experience, its a weight on the shoulders and a pit in the stomach. But good company is everywhere, and for a massive city well deserved of the Spanish capital´s crown in my (only personal) opinion, it certainly feels homely...x
First vital payment was a 10 journey metro card we can share between us, well worth 9 Euros (4,50 each) to get us around. Another essential, and rightly so was the 12 euro to see the Sagrada Familia. And the final essential was the 3 euro to go up into the Mirador de Colom - Barcelona´s Nelson Column sized plinth of Christopher Columbus that actually has a viewing platform at the top on the inside!
So, that left us with 0.5 euro each pretty much. Bottle of water between the two of us saw off my budget and Phil found the odd Euro lining his pockets to get a Euro Drink and snack.
So, that left us with the option of doing what the tour guides suggested anyway - soaking up the atmosphere! Guess those 15 euro meg-clubs of Europe shall have to wait until a stag do.
I don´t like to write like a tour guide too much but Sagrada Familia cathedral is a wonder of the modern world. It is the last of Gaudi´s great plans with 8 towers over 100 metres high that is designed around the beauty and symmetry of nature and its connection with God. It is breathtaking, but also decidedly normal as its strewn with builder´s junk. Its still years from completion..20 or so.
Soaking up the atmosphere here was easy. We went through the bustling Las Ramblas, like London´s Southbank but with Spanish eccentricities - street artists from Matador´s to Gremlins, artists and street vendors (some trying to sell you canaries strangely) everywhere, and then onto
La Boqueria one of the largest markets of fruit and veg in Europe where people literally queue up for bananas the same way we´d queue for a film premiere.
We took a turn and in 30 seconds found ourselves back in the 13th century staring up at a medieval cathedral, walking streets you could touch both sides of if you stretched out your arms! And then we topped the day off with a trip to the beach, with our tops off among the locals dressed in jumpers, jeans and scarves and a quick snoring siesta on the sands before heading back to the hostel.
Getting back we´d managed to sort Phil´s overdraft problem so food was on him, but frugality was definitely on the menu for us both following that scare. Our 70 euro ticket to Milan tonight was a hard hit to take...So a trip to the cheapest Spanish supermarket saw us return with bread, cheese, and enough cheap meats for a small army, and a 12 pack of Spanish beer for 1.99 (ridiculous! and good beer!). Needless to say today is a leftover day...and if we keep eating like that we´ll get rickets.
Our ´massive mash up’ on the town actually involved 5 Americans and endless friendly discussion on our collective poverties, experiences, and GB-UK differences. Although we never expected to, we ended up playing tour guide as two of the girls are heading to Cardiff next week....I now have a ´blogging partner´ for my troubles, and look forward to my mention in her accounts of last night.
Barcelona has been an experience. Any country with no money is a horrible experience, its a weight on the shoulders and a pit in the stomach. But good company is everywhere, and for a massive city well deserved of the Spanish capital´s crown in my (only personal) opinion, it certainly feels homely...x
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