Barcelona

Room with a view... Plaza de Cataluna  

I had finally made it to the city I have heard so much about and always wanted to see! My mom had picked the perfect hotel in the middle of the city right across from Plaza de Cataluña. After settling in and relaxing for a little bit we decided that since all the malls and shops are closed on Sundays, we should do that now. We didn't have to walk far to find a leather factory and went inside to look for a jacket for my mom. We hadn't been there long until the owner (??) was throwing special offers at us. He told us about the time he was in Norway in the 50's and was extremely "helpful" finding us both coats that he thought were perfect. We didn't agree until we were almost about to make an escape until we saw something we liked. So after some bargaining and refreshments (bottled water) we did end up with a bargain! Good thing we went into the store with the intention of buying because they were not letting us leave empty-handed... We looked in a few stores and a mall in the area before we figured it was time to eat and were happy to see that Hard Rock Cafe was literally our hotel's next door neighbor. I have nothing against the Spanish cuisine, but I think I had my fair share of weird seafood for a while :) My mom didn't mind and I know she enjoyed her ribs and chicken too. 

Ready to dig in :)

Sagrada Familia under constuction since 1882

The next day we spend sightseeing in Barcelona. I was happy they had tour buses all around the city since my foot wouldn't let me walk too much... From the rooftop of the bus we could enjoy the view and the sun and the wind :) The main attraction was of course La Sagrada Familia, a big Roman Catholic church known as the symbol of Barcelona. Antoni Gaudi is the designer of the church that still isn't finished 128 years after they started building it! Another place we went to was Parc Güell created by the same architect. The bus also stopped by Camp Nou, the FC Barcelona's stadium. My mom and I spent some time in the fan shop there... 

Parc Geüll

Aren't we cute? 

Later in the afternoon we decided to find a way to get to Tarragona (about 1 hour south) for some basketball action... The plan was to take the train in plenty of time to locate the gym. but that was before we arrived at the train station and realized that the train we had seen on the table didn't run on Sundays... The next one would take us there way too late. Already having bought the tickets we were not ready to give up so the solution was to take the train to the station before Tarragona and then maybe grab a taxi. Miraculously we made it to the game alive (the taxi driver was going way too fast...) and just in time! for the second half.... But it was well worth it as CB Tarragona won an extremely close game (1 point) against the team from Palma. After the game I got to meet and talk to fellow Norwegian Terrence who plays for CB Tarragona. Turned out he was going to Barcelona with a few teammate that night, so I got to hang out with them as they celebrated the win. It's always fun to meet other pro players to share experiences with, and I had a fun last night in Barcelona. The next morning my mini-vacation was over and I got on the flight back to Santiago. It was back to work for my mom too who returned to Oslo not much later. 

W!!