Last Lap Part 1- Bilbao again and much more Barcelona !!!

Well here I am again updating this blog. This is likely to be the last round for some time yet, but stay tuned because there are lots of updates coming. I had to be in Europe again for my MSc presentation. To cut the story short that went well and I am now in possession of what I came here for, bringing to a close yet another chapter of my life. Since I had to be all the way on this side of the world anyway, I decided to take the opportunity to travel a bit and cross a few more items off the bucket list while I could.

So let’s start off with my return to Bilbao. To be honest I’m not that nostalgic about Bilbao, and the only reason I was there again was because I had to be really. I doubt I’d go back randomly; it would definitely have to be for something specific. Before that I should explain the bit of hassle involved in getting to Bilbao. That same week, I had given a presentation at a conference in Houston, Texas on the 24th and needed to be in Bilbao by the 26^th- fun times. I had to fly from Houston to NYC, NYC to Madrid and then finally Madrid to Bilbao . It didn't end there though. I had to drop off my luggage the first hostel I stayed at, and then take a 45 mins or so metro ride out to Plentzia, which is where the presentations were set to take place at the marine station there. Needless to say, by the time I got there mid-morning of the 26^th, I was quite the zombie. In fact, I hate to admit it, but I actually fell asleep during the afternoon session. My presentation was the next day and it went well; I didn’t have to deflect any of the questions! Considering that I had just given a version of that presentation at a conference two days before, I felt I was in good stead. I ended up being pretty painless actually. It went well and now I have my MSc!!

 A little mix-up while making my reservations resulted in me having to change hostels for the rest of my time in Bilbao (I spent the first night at a hostel near the San Mamés football stadium). This new hostel was located in Casco Viejo, the old town. Due to an oversight on my part, I actually ended up in a mixed dorm. Of course with my luck, in the 4-bed dorm, there were 3 guys. Ahhhh bwoi. Would you believe that ALL three of them snored??? I didn’t realize it the first night I was there because I was out till the wee hours celebrating with my classmates. However it hit me full force the next night. Combined with jet lag and a disrupted sleep cycle due to the time difference, this made for a pretty sleepless night. Just great eh?

Regarding said celebration with my classmates, we met up in our usual spot in Calle Somera and did what we always do. Hang around in the street, bar crawl a bit and then end up somewhere trying to dance to questionable music. This time around it was some festivities- come street party in community near the old town . To be honest  Bilbao nightlife gets old pretty fast for me. It was fun though, especially knowing that this was the last hurrah for us as a group.

Cheers guys- we made it!!

The next night before I headed out for a bit, I ended up at a nearby KFC. I was really hungry and was in need of a stop-gap. I don’t really trust pintxos (Basque country tapas) that late at night. Many of them contain eggs or fish somewhere in the mix and some of them have been out on bar counters for hours. Other people eat them and are quite fine to be sure, but knowing my luck… So back to the KFC. Ordered my chicken “crujiente’ or Spicy because I already knew not to expect much in terms of flavour. I can definitely say if I lived here full time, I would be cured of any KFC cravings once and for all. You know you’re in Europe when the spicy is not NEARLY as spicy as the original in Jamdown. Bleh.

The hostel emptied out quite a bit on Sunday and quite a few rooms free dup totally. Guess which room however, still retained most of its occupants? Anyway, Sunday was a pretty lazy day for me. I went out to buy my train ticket for the next day, and have one last walk-about in the city. By this time I was pretty much over Bilbao and ready and rearing to move on.


BARCELONA

Now Barcelona is a whole different kettle of fish. I like the general vibe there much more. After the 7-hour train ride and finding my way to my hostel, I decided to keep the evening quiet.  Barcelona was HOT! I was a bit unprepared for that. I had relatively few warm-weather items. In fact, Bilbao had been pretty warm as well.  I had planned to wear a blazer to my presentation but I ditched that idea pretty fast. Not only would have I have been waaaay overdressed in comparison to my fellow students and the faculty present, but it was also waaaaay too hot.

The next morning, I struck off from the hostel in the direction of the Basilica  de la Sagrada Familia which I had missed the last time I was in town. Here one of my little travel shortcuts backfired on me. I had read that the best ways to by-pass the long queue was to either buy tickets before hand, or get them at a particular ATM nearby that not many people seemed to know about. So feeling smug, I trotted across the road only to find that the ATM wasn’t functioning correctly, so I ended up joining the line just like everyone elseL.
 The basilica is an awesome structure by famed Catalan desidner Antoni Gaudi. Construction began in the 1890s and is still ongoing. I know a lot of people aren’t fond of the exterior, but I like it, and I liked the interior even more. The details in the architecture and decorations are amazing. I don’t even know how Gaudi sat down and planned all this out. The stained glass, the staircases, the ceiling! I think I can now safely call myself a Gaudi fan.

Stained glass

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

Stained glass details

Then after a quick lunch, it was on to Nou Camp; the home base of FC Barcelona and the largest stadium in Europe. When taking into consideration my budget, I almost skipped out on doing the tour here. I’m so glad I didn’t. It was a good interactive tour with lots of information to take in-the trophy room, locker rooms, press room, ringside at the pitch inside the stadium itself. I headed back to the hostel after this.

                                      

I could tell the other girls in the hostel room were a bit puzzled by the fact that I was back “early” each evening, I was always the first one back, but I know my limits. I had enough time to do the things I needed to, so no need to overextend myself. Besides I still had a month of travelling left and had a pretty hectic travel schedule just before that. So there was no sense in going until I absolutely overdid it with no energy to do anything else.

The next day, Parc Guell was the first order of business- designed by Gaudi (again). You have to go up one heck of a hillside to get there on foot from the metro. Very luckily there were escalators along the way to help out. If I hadn’t known beforehand that it had been designed by Gaudi, I would have probably figured it out in short order. He really had such a signature style. It was very pleasant strolling through here and stopping every now and then to admire the unique features.

Then I went to Parc Montjuic. There are several features including the Olympic Park, Gardens and a castle. If you know me very well, you may guess which one I decided on of the three. That’s right, the castle! I’m a sucker for monuments like that. Plus the view from the castle was supposed to be the best of the city.

 I ended up hiking a bit from the funicular stop to avoid paying for the touristy cable cars. Only to find out afterwards that there was a bus that went up the hill! If only I had known!!!  Montjuic supposedly has the best views of Barcelona to be had. 

Unfortunately, It got pretty overcast really quickly and the view wasn’t much of a view anymore. Eventually I made my way down (on the bus this time) to Placa Espana where I hung for a bit trying to find out which bus to take back to the hostel. I probably should have just taken the metro though. I would have gotten back at least 45 mins earlier than I did.

On my last day I kinda just winged it. I realized two things I hadn’t done was go to the beach or visit the old city centre (Ciutat Vella). I let the day play itself out. I walked down from my hostel to the beach and wandered along the coastline there for quite a while. The weather really wasn’t great, but I didn’t mind that much since I hadn’t planned on swimming or sun-bathing anyway.  I actually took a little nap on the beach that was rather pleasant.

Playa!!!

By this time my little free map was in tatters, but I had a general sense of where I needed to go to get to Ciutat Vella from where I was and I eventually found my way there. I bobbed and weaved through the medieval streets and the Gothic Quarter till I ended up at La Rambla. 

I had planned to walk up La Rambla to Placa Catalunya and take the metro from there, but by the time I got to the base of La Rambla I was beat. I had also stopped at a supermarket to rustle up some supplies for my ‘voyage’ to Rome (details below) and so I had that extra stuff weighing me down as well. So I just headed back to the hostel and collected my things from reception who had been so kind as to keep my luggage for the day even after I checked out. Then I moved on to the bar adjoining the hostel as I had some time yet before needing to make my way down to the docks and needed somewhere to chill. I was also really in need of something realllly cold.

 I then made the journey down to the docks, subway changes and all. Now there was supposed to be a bus near the statue of Columbus that would take passengers down to the terminals. I don’t know what happened but allllll now that bus nuh reach yet!! Of course the pier I needed to get to was alllll the way down the docks. By the time I got there, I was a miserable, sweaty, and unhappy camper. I checked in and then went to board. I had anticipated a relatively largish vessel; I knew it transported freight as well as vehicles etc. However I wasn’t quite prepared for how nice it was. While my inner budgeter had told me to just reserve a Pullman seat (simply a reclining chair) for the >20hr journey,  another little voice urged me to just spring for a bed in a cabin. So I did; It only cost about 12 euros more. Boy did I luck out, it was definitely worth it. I ended up in a 4-berth cabin with nobody else in it!!!! Awesomeness. NO awkward shuffling around or snoring strangers.

My Empty cabin :) :)

 It definitely was the best decision. That bed and having access to a shower was everything!! I could explore without worrying about my things. Benefits of traveling outside the high-season I’m sure. Overall I think the boat trip was a good move. I had some time to kill anyway and it was less hassle than taking a flight would have been. Plus I got to sail across the Mediterranean and a chance for my body to rest a bit. 

Sardinia

The hours passed by quickly enough and soon I was in Civitavecchia, the closest port to Rome. I then got on the next train headed into the city where I hoped my friend Patrina would be waiting for me.

More to come soon. Italia at last!!!