Sitges

Yesterday I went to Sitges, a nice beach town about 45 minutes by train outside of Barcelona. The beaches there are much nicer than in BCN. They're smaller, but not as busy as those in Barcelona.

One of things I was most excited about in Sitges was the Bacardi museum!! Unfortunately, it was closed, and I was sad. While Bacardi is a Cuban brand, its creator was from Sitges originally. The story (according to Wikipedia, at least) on Bacardi's origins is actually quite interesting. Before Bacardi, no clear rum existed, and rum was considered to be a "lowbrow" drink (think pirates).

Look at how pretty Sitges is!

Side street

Cathedrals and Labyrinths

I visited Santa Maria del Mar (1329-1383), and the Barcelona Cathedral (13th-15th centuries). Both are gothic cathedrals in the Catalan style. Per its title, the Barcelona Cathedral is the more famous of the two. Personally, I liked Santa Maria del Mar better.. It was quieter, and had a spacious nave that allowed you to see the entire church. The Barcelona Cathedral, on the other hand, was quite crowded with other tourists, and the choir prevents a full view of the nave.

Santa Maria del Mar

I also went to the Labyrinth Park (again). It's a beautiful place, and a little more off the beaten path. It is the oldest "historical garden" in the city (first construction started in 1791). The park was owned privately until 1967, and was opened to the public in 1971. No more than 750 people are allowed in at the same time. If you're ever in Barcelona, I highly recommend a visit.

Tibidabo

Today, I hiked the small mountain (512m or 1679 feet for the non-metric folk) called Tibidabo. It's not a very long or arduous walk, but it was a beautiful one. The mountain overlooks the entire city, and while the amusement park on top of the mountain may not be particularly interesting, the view is probably worth it!

On top of Tibidabo there is a small amusement park and church that date back to the turn of the 20th century. I didn't take any photos of the church/park, mostly because I figured you could find better ones online anyway. :)

Girona

So I went to Girona yesterday, which is a beautiful little town about an hour and a half by train from Barcelona.

The Girona Cathedral has the second largest nave in the world (22m) beaten only by St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. I wasn't very impressed with the exterior of the cathedral, but that may be due to the fact that it wasn't finished until the 19th century, I believe, and looks quite boxy compared to most gothic cathedrals that I've seen.
The most incredible part of the visit was the choir practicing as I walked into the cathedral. I'd be lying if I said it didn't bring me close to tears. There's something extremely awe-inspiring about the way that choirs sound in cathedrals (special thanks to my pops for making me appreciate cathedrals so much!).







Click on any of the photos to see more images!

So I'm horrible...

...at updating blogs. Mostly because I'm fairly certain that most people don't actually read blogs. At least I don't, really. Skim, maybe. But read? No.
Anyway. I went to the Botanical Gardens and Montjuic yesterday. It was quite a hike to the top, but well worth it. Here are some of my favorite shots from the day:

 

I spent today sunbathing/eating Oreos on the beach with a fellow American.. Not a bad 4th of July! I'm planning on heading to Girona tomorrow, so I hopefully I'll have some interesting things to post about that visit.

Acclimating

Well, I'm over the worst of the jet lag (and it only took one day!), but there is still plenty to get used to. Mostly the heat. Last time I was in Barcelona, it was March and quite cool, and I frequently found myself wishing I had a thicker sweatshirt. It's a little TOO hot now. People don't start skating until around 5 or so, which somewhat puts my picture-taking on hold during the day (not that there aren't other things to take photos of...). To be fair, it's only the second day I've been here, and only the first where I haven't been insanely jet lagged. Thus the post title, of course! Acclimation is in order. Just gotta give it some time. Favorite photos of the day:

THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE

...I'm heading back to Barcelona //June 24th-July 20th\\ and Copenhagen //July 20th-August 8th\\, and adding Bristol //August 8th-August 22nd\\ to the mix. Stay tuned for (mostly photo) updates!