Yesterday was our first full day in Barcelona and we packed it 16 hours full of adventure!  We woke up early,ate breakfast at the hostel, then took the train back into the city proper.  We walked down Las Ramblas, a mile long boulevard with shops, food and street performers.  We were so early, that the street performers who dress up as living statues were just putting on their make up!  We arrived at the statue of Columbus, then made a left onto the beaches of Barcelona.  Apparently, prior to the Olympìcs, these beaches were seedy and unusable, but as part of the clean up prior to the entire worldś arrival, they restored these beaches to multiple strips of white sand.  There are chairs for rent and numerous places to sit for free, including a set of stone chairs that Lindsay and I occupied for over an hour.  In front of us, was the Mediterranean Sea, but up on the beach was a work out area, kind of like a jungle gym for adults, where a set of men young and old were doing chin ups, leg lifts, sit ups, push ups and other types of stretches and exercises.  This is why America is obese: not enough exercise equipment set up between the sand and the ocean.

After walking through the sand and the cold water back towards the city, we stopped into a local market for lunch.  We bought a fresh baguette, olives, a hunk of gouda cheese, fresh peaches and a dessert that resembled a sting ray and was made up of a flaky fried piece of dough, candied sugar and pine nuts on top.  We ate lunch on a bench in a park, overlooking the sea.  Heaven.

After lunch, we took the train to the famous Gaudi basilica, still under construction, the Sagrata Famillia (The Holy Family).  When it is completed it will be the largest cathedral in the world. Construction started in 1886 and is scheduled to complete in 2026, on the centennial of Gaudiś death.  It has 18 towers, 12 for the disciples, 4 for the apostles, 1 for the Virgin Mary and the tallest for the JC himself.  We took the lift to the top of the tower and saw the amazing view from the top of it.  This was by far the most terrifying part of the day, as the tiny, narrow circular stairway back down to the bottom of the church cause a few fear of heights/claustrophobia issues between the two of us.

After that (see, long day), we took the train over to the Olympic Park area, where we got to walk into the stadium and tour around the square.  There were elements that reminded me strongly of the Olympic Park in Atlanta, though I suppose designers of each set of parks steal from each other in terms of symbolic images to represent the spirit of the games.  Then, we stumbled across the art museum, which was at the top of the hill facing the Magic Fountain, which at sunset begins a massive water and light show, accompanied by music.  We sat on the bench overlooking this fountain, drinking beers from the museum bar, and waited with the best seat in the house for the show to begin, while admiring the rest of Barcelona from our position as well.  Just as the show began, thousands of people arrived, as if from out of the stone walls themselves.  But we already had the best seats in the house!

We wandered back down Las Ramblas, then turned right down a small side street to find dinner. We wandered into a local bar on Nuo de la Rambla and were treated to a wonderful, chatty bar owner who spoke fluent English, Spanish and French.  He walked us through his tapas menu, suggested a wonderful wine and was generally a lovely host.  It was the perfect way to finish off the day.

Today is beach day, if we can ever get out of the hostel.  We seem to have been thwarted off of our early start, by various elements, but it is not really a big deal.  More chance to check my email and write this post!  We are headed to a suburb of Barcelona, where Lindsay read the beaches are better and the sights lest touristy.  I will let you know how it goes!