Off the Barcelona!
I was a little worried about schlepping to the train station with all our stuff and the possible madness of getting through security and all that, but it turned out to be a breeze. I kept remembering how it was taking the train from Paris to London, and only afterward remembered that was from one country to another.
We had a lot of time to kill so we sat in a cafe. I had (yet another) cafe con leche and a delicious chocolate muffin. I don’t know if it was any different from a chocolate muffin in the U.S., but it seemed yummier.
The train ride was absolutely lovely. YP made sure to get us front-facing seats, and we each had a window. Plus the woman next to me got off early so I had a whole row to myself for most of the time.
I listened to music, daydreamed, and had (yet another) mixto sandwich plus cafe con leche in the cafe car.
Three hours on a nice train is the perfect amount of time. Long enough to enjoy yourself but not too long before you start to feel antsy and bored.
Getting to our hotel from the train station in Barcelona was a bit of a pain. Plus it was sunny and humid. After we had a late vegetarian lunch, YP went back to the room and rested and napped for like four hours.
In the meantime I went to the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, mostly because it was the only museum open that day. On the way I passed the Barcelona Cathedral (as I would a million times during our visit). There was a sign saying that shoulders had to be covered, and that day I was wearing a sleeveless dress. A lady tried to sell me a shawl, but I figured it would be easy to go back another time so I said no.
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The museum was nice and, as museums are in New York, over air-conditioned, which was nice at first but then it was freezing. I watched this short documentary on a Welsh professional wrestler, although I drifted off a couple of times.
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I went back to the room to charge my phone and found YP still napping. I stuck around for a little while, then headed back out. I tried to visit the library but it was closed by the time I got there (a recurring theme), and then had ramen for dinner
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It was very pretty but tasted just okay. Still, it was a nice change from tapas and ham and cheese sandwiches all the time.
I got back before YP, who had gone to another vegetarian restaurant for dinner. I showered and relaxed with old episodes Midsomer Murders.
While I couldn’t hear the street noise, I didn’t sleep well that night. Too many cafe con leches I think.