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The Spanish Armada

I would have loved that. You would too. But it turned to more of a Catalonia Armada. And dare I say, it was more than satisfying.

You know that saying, "when in Rome, do as the Romans do", try that, and then when in Barcelona, do as the Catalans do. It's like a city wide party, they surely must hold some kind of Guinness record for that. If not, they should get one. Fabulous.

We wanted to cover a few cities in Spain. The mistake that we made though was going to Barcelona first up. And once you are there, there is no going back, there is no visiting any other city and there, in almost all probability, is nothing more that you want more than spending your life around, atleast for a week ;)

Every city in Europe is different and yet similar. After the first round of travelling across Europe, it came down to visiting select things, things that are unique. No more of Castles, no more of churches, no more of museums. Its all the same, especially when an art and architecture amateur like me is trying to make sense of it all. The only part that I found truly detached from Europe was Germany, until I had seen Barcelona that is.

The beauty about Barcelona is it offers you everything, it offers something for everyone. You like Skydiving? Beaches? Watersports? Architecture? Art? Patying? Football? Picasso? Weird? Gaudi? Old Town? New Town? You name it, it has it. And it also offers you the most crazy bunch of people. Spanish put the 'party' in Party. They start at 2,3,4 in the night, when others are finishing up. You'd be surprised to walk off on La Ramblas, and probably find bars empty at 10, 11, you wait for a couple of hours though, BAM.

Then there is Gaudi. This guy is the genius. Weird, but genius. And it's almost impossible to describe his work in words, and equally impossible to capture them on camera. It is grandiose, immense and intense. It needs the full power of your wit and eyes to even try to make sense out of it. And it is mesmerizing, you'd be caught in a daze, hung over it for sometime, and ignore everything else around, even people, I did.

You do whatever you want, whenever you want, wherever you want. But when in Barcelona, you do not 'not party'. And you specifically, do not not party on the beach. This is where all the craziness happens, this is where you'll have the time of your life. It's fabulous to have your drink in your hand, to have the beats and grooves of Spanish music around, to have the party animals howling, to have friends by your side and to have the sound of the waves in the background, the sereneness of the night sky over you and the cool breeze to ever recharge you and set the mood for more partying. And a pub crawl before all this is a brilliant idea. Chupitos, Chupitos and more Chupitos, that's how you do it.

A few must's before I sign off:
  • Sagrada Familia (Gaudi)
  • Park Guell (Gaudi)
  • Montjuic
  • Gaudi's work across city
  • Magical Fountain
  • Walking tour & Pub Crawl (Link)
  • Beach & Water Sports
  • Tapas, Sangria & Paella (appetite)
  • Football
Tip #1: Museums are dozen a dime across Europe. You still can go to Picasso and the City museum. Sundays' free (verify)
Tip #2: Pub Crawl. You have a good whiff of night life at some of the best bars, finishing it off at one of the best disks, especially if you don't know many people, you make good friends on the crawl.
Tip #3: Do not miss anything attached with Gaudi. Worth every minute and every cent of yours.

P.S. I would have loved to upload pictures here, but they just wouldn't do justice, and I want it all to be left open to your imagination, until you visit the mystery that is Barcelona.

Graci,
Harry

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