Getting loose with Señor Gaudi

1. Plaça Reial featuring Gaudi's earlier work, a lampost.
2. Casa Batlló. Commissioned by this guy Battló in 1904 who gave Gaudi complete reign over the project and is now a museum with an outdoor jazz/cava bar round the back. 20.35euro entry for adults, 16.30 with a student card. Reminds me of a seabed covered with fish skeletons, or a building made from human bones.
3. Casa Milà. Commissioned in 1906 for the Milà family now owned by that massive bank Caixa and two families still live here! 16.50 for adults, 14.85 with a student card. Also reminds me of a seabed with seaweed-y balconies, also the desert.
4. 5. 6. Front and back of La Sagrada Familia! Incomplete church commissioned in 1883, Gaudi worked with it until his death in 1926 when he got run over by a tram. He looked so ragged and unkempt (he devoted the last decade or so of his life on this church) that no one gave a rats ass until someone finally identified that it was that famous architect dude that was building the epic church in town and called an ambulance, he died in hospital a couple of days afterwards. It's projected to be finished in the 2020s but when you're thinking in Spanish time.. I reckon it might be 2050 before it's done. The entire construction is being funded publicly meaning that the tourists that come to visit Sagrada Familia are helping build it; 13euros for adults and 11 for students. When it's finally finished though it'll be free (cause it's a church). Rather than waiting in line it's probably best to book online the day before, OR, you can buy tickets from the Caixa atms, sneaky sneaky!
7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Park Güell. Commissioned in 1899. We spent an entire afternoon here making our way slowly up to the peak with this view(12) and then met up with our new Italian friends Andrea and Marco and found this view(13, 14) atop a random mound that elevated a stone cross; it's like entering an alternate Earth.
15. 16. Another recommendation by our apartment owner Lucia; a very expensive glass of shitty wine at the rooftop bar of B Hotel. Definitely worth it for the view.

17. 18. 19. Bar crawl with Equity Point. Free shots, cheap drinks, did a body shot and licked salt off some guys chest hair, all in the sweet name of tequila!

La Boqueria

1. Introducing the Mercat de St Josep de la Boqueria. Supplier of cheap fresh fruit, quinoa salad, juice, vegetarian paella and lollies (oh the irony) to Chelsea and Michelle as well as a place to view weird parts of animals and seafood I've never seen before.
2. 3. Fruit glorious fruit. One of the highlights of being in the south of Europe is definitely having access to the most incredble fresh fruit. Had my first avocado in about 3 months because they were so cheap, I died.
4. 5. Candehh!! An unnecessary
6. Our daily (or twice-daily) juice hit; anything with coconut. Freshly squeezed at 1 euro a pop, who could resist?
7. Fancy some cow testicles? Tongue tickle your fancy? Maybe kidney?

barTHelona

Barcelona is one of those cities that held the smallest resemblance to Sydney in that it had the whole city/beach thing going. However, it also had the tapas/sangria/night life/street culture on steroids that puts home to shame.

Oh and next time I'm getting a tattoo by this guy.

And thus begun our love affair with tapas.

1. 2. The most amazing apartment in El Raval; a neighbourhood that is supposedly dodgy, but I beg to differ.
3. 4. The best, and reasonably priced tapas we could find in Barcelona, recommended by Lucia the owner of the apartment - O'Toxo 3 Hermanos. Meatballs, spicy chorizo, catalan bread and god that OCTOPUS mmmmmmmmmmmmm. Oh and how could I forget the sangria?
5. Plaça de Catalunya.
6. This is the day we drank mojitos and about 1 and a half litres of Sangria in the middle of the day then ended up drunk at 4 o'clock in the afternoon at the beach without our swimmers wondering what to do.