Going to Barcelona has been a dream of mine for a large
portion of my life. It was without a
doubt on the Bucket List. So when we
decided to make the trip there at the End of August for Ross birthday I was so
thrilled. This is what I was waiting
for! We planned to take the train to
Barcelona and spend a few nights there, then rent a car and drive into the
South of France and stay in Marseille before driving back to Barcelona for
another night. I think it cost us around
140 euros for both of us round trip on the train. It was a 7 hour journey each way but didn't
feel that long. We just watched movies and
enjoyed the views and of course took advantage of the snack car coffee.
I do not even know where to begin with my praise of
Barcelona. It is more than gorgeous, its
beauty is not something I can put into words. Everything just
feels exactly as you would imagine it would feel. I had an idea in my head of what it would be
and it was exactly that. The
Mediterranean, the palm trees, the buildings, the hustle and bustle, the
plazas, and the food, just everything was amazing. There were obviously a million tourists but
it didn't make it feel touristy it just felt like an amazing city with
international flair. You could lay on
the beach all day then roam the busy streets at night finding cool bars to grab
a drink, any kind of food you desired and of course the people watching was
spectacular.
Jazz bar we found in the Gothic Quarter our first night
Beautiful Plaza in the Gothic Quarter
We were in heaven with the food selection. If you remember from previous posts Spain is
not very vegetarian friendly so being in a city where we could get anything we
wanted to eat was pretty great for us.
We ate Chinese, Mexican, Italian, Indian and of course there was some
croissants and coffee in there as well.
There are also Starbucks. Oh how
I miss Starbucks! They are different
here than in Canada, the food is different and they did not understand all my
specifications but it was lovely being somewhere so familiar and having adult
sized coffees. We also enjoyed a couple
adult beverages while we were there and let me tell you nothing beats a pitcher
of sangria and a plate of nachos on a beach side patio overlooking the friggin
Mediterranean!
We walked all over that city. Hours spent just wandering through the Gothic
quarter, along the waterfront, through gorgeous parks and cathedrals and just
down any street that had an interesting looking building and believe me there
are many. Barcelona is different than
the rest of Spain, there is a great deal of Gaudi influence in the buildings
and they speak a different kind of Spanish which makes it even more confusing
for us. There are however many people
who speak English and the people are so friendly that you just make it work
even if you do not understand each other.
The vibe of the city is different.
It felt so welcoming and safe. We
did however leave our camera in the hotel safe when we went to the beach. I don’t care how safe it feels we are in a
huge tourist city full of pick pockets and beach thieves.
Poor Ross lost his hat and refused to go buy a new one on
the day we were going to the beach and like an idiot I forgot to pack the
sunscreen in our beach bag and so that resulted in some serious sunburn. We even rented an umbrella so we could have
some shade because it was 40+ degrees and humid so we didn’t want to get sick
(I am notorious for my heat stroke) but just the time spent in the water was
enough to fry us. Well worth it
though. I have never swum in water like
that, warm and a colour of blue green I have only seen in movies. Being in the water and looking at the palm
trees made me feel so at peace, so happy and so lucky. Not only am I experiencing something I have
dreamed of but I am doing it with my best friend and the man I will spend my
life with. I truly feel so grateful for
this experience.
We planned on visiting the Gaudi cathedral because that is
what you do when you go to Barcelona but the line just to get tickets was over
an hour and they were 15 euros each. We
just felt like there were so many other things we wanted to see and do that we
didn't go in. We did see the outside though
which was incredible. If we go back to
Barcelona we will for sure buy tickets online and go in. One thing we didn't like though was that half
the building was covered in scaffolds and cranes everywhere. I understand maintenance and building have to
happen but it really took away from the beauty and the wonder of it all.
After 3 nights we rented a car and drove up the coast and
into the south of France. The drive was
alright but not as picturesque as we were hoping. We couldn't see the water for most of it but
when we did it was nice. One thing we
found interesting were the hookers. Yes
I said hookers. We would be driving down
the highway (not the major highway but more like a country highway) and all of
a sudden there would be a “lady” in her panties and come fuck me heels just
standing on the side of the road. It was
a little shocking. Then about a mile
away you would see the Club.
Side note I have learned that when you want to go out
dancing here do not ask where the clubs are as people will think you want a
strip club. When you want to go dancing
you go to a discothèque.
So anyhow we saw many of these “ladies” as we drove up to
the boarder and for a little while after we crossed. I do not know if it is legal but there they
are. I felt sad for them. I mean not only is it a dangerous profession
to begin with but they are just left alone on the side of the road in basically
no clothes and a hard plastic lawn chair to sit on. Anything could happen. I am curious how many go missing or turn up
dead. They didn't look very good (I
guess most hookers don’t) but they looked so tired and much older than I am
sure they were.
We also learned while driving that pretty much every major
highway in Spain and France are toll roads.
After our drive to Marseille and back we had spent almost 100 euros just
on road fees, very unexpected and frustrating.
So just be aware this exists.
Marseille from Notre Dame Cathedral
Marseille is gorgeous, definitely one of my favourite places
we have been so far. It is the 5th
largest city in France and is home to some beautiful old buildings, war
barracks and a coast line that is to die for.
We unfortunately were only there for 2 nights so we did not have time to
explore the beaches but they sure looked amazing from what we could see. We spent our time roaming through the city,
visiting cathedrals and eating more delicious foods. There were a lot of activities happening in
the squares of the city. We saw many
outdoor dance classes like salsa and a lot of tango. It was great entertainment. There was also a great deal of street vendors
and buskers. One guy was playing Bob
Marley and he had these two homeless people dancing and it was actually
beautiful. We watched for a long
time. They really made you feel the
music.
The streets of Marseille
Notre Dame Cathedral
We sat on the pier in the middle of downtown and just
watched everyone wandering around at night and ate yummy treats. Of course I bought some lavender soap since
we are in the south of France and Provence is the capital of lavender! Also I
love artisan soap. Its something Ross has
pointed out on many occasions although I do not buy half the soap I want. He doesn't know how strong I am fighting my
urge to have all the soaps.
On our last day in France it was also Ross birthday so we
decided to drive into Aix-En Provence for breakfast before our long drive back
to Barcelona. It was a perfect little
French town and we had a great time exploring the narrow streets and taking in
all we could of the old world before heading out. We stopped and bought fresh fruit from a
farmers market for our trip and smelled every flower in the market.
It was a gorgeous day to be driving and we had a lovely
time. I still cant believe I have been to France! I know to some people its not a big deal but
I have never been someone who is lucky enough to have travelled like this
before so to me it’s a dream come true.
This is the kind of thing other people do or that I see in movies, it is
not the kind of thing I do. So the fact
that not only am I living in Spain but travelling into other European countries
fills me with a joy I cannot put into words.
Happy Birthday my love
We spent one last night in Barcelona and took in as much as we could. We ended up finding this huge art museum late that night so it was closed but on the stairs were many people just taking in the view and listening to this guy playing a keyboard and singing. It was a perfect end to the night. I would be happy to go back anytime. What a magical city.
Streets of Barcelona at night
Fun Fact about French:
So being from Canada we are taught French as a second language in
school. I took it from the 4th
grade until the 11th grade and then again in college. I though I had a pretty good handle on
it. I could by no means have an intense
conversation but I could absolutely get by in a French speaking place. However now that we have been living in Spain
and focusing so much on learning to speak Spanish we have both forgotten all
the French we know! We would be sitting
in a restaurant in Marseille and instead of saying Bonjour we would say Hola,
or when asking for water we would say aguq instead of aqua. Just little things but we both found it
extremely hard to remember any French. I
also think part of that reason is the French we are taught in school is not
done very well unless you go to an actual French immersion school.
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