*Barcelona Pun Pending*

Hello neighbors! (not really (well really hello but not really neighbors))

I was going to try really hard to squeeze multiple days into one blog post, because I'm sure you are as sick of my spring break as I am, but then I looked back at my journal for today, and A LOT HAPPENED. So...sorry about this, but hopefully you will find it entertaining or educational.

Note the scaffolding 

We woke up a little later than usual because Hannah C. and I had only gotten home at 4:30am (see last blog post for shenanigans).  First up was La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's famous unfinished masterpiece. Construction began in 1882, and check this kid out, it still isn't finished.  My personal pictures of La Sagrada Familia aren't really blog-worthy, because it was pouring rain while we were waiting in the long long line which wound all the way around the outside. So, I am off to the internet to find a suitably jaw-dropping photo.

It really is spectacular, inside and out. I've never been one to moon over architecture, but Gaudi's work has really amazed me. He builds these structures that look like they somehow belong there, like they have grown up from the landscape and have been there for eons. La Sagrada Familia was no exception. The inside, forgive me Doctor Who lovers, seemed somehow larger than it should be, especially considering the cluttered feeling I get from the amassed tombs and monuments of most cathedrals. The way the light and stone worked together created this wonderful spacious feeling, even as columns branched down from the ceiling at correct intervals. I could definitely see people worshiping here.

On our way to our next destination, something honestly terrible happened. Hannah B. was pick pocketed. The thief was an expert, truly there was nothing she could have done to prevent the crime. Still, that does not make it feel any better when your entire wallet is snatched right out of your purse. We ducked into a nearby supermercado while she called her parents and cancelled her credit cards. After a suitable mourning period, we turned to practical questions. Since there was nothing really we could do to recover her stolen goods, we had three options: 1. Find a police station and file a report that would most likely do no good since we had no information about the thief and he/she would not be able to use Hannah's credit cards. 2. Go back to the hostel and sulk. 3. Go to the chocolate museum.

Don Quixote, in chocolate

As I hope you will have guessed, we went to the chocolate museum. I mean honestly, could you hope for a better place to be pick pocketed right next to? We walked in, got free admission with our Barcelona cards, and were each handed a bar of chocolate.  We walked through the museum blindly and got through the exhibit in about the time it takes to eat a chocolate bar. Roughly. At the gift shop we bought more chocolate, and walked out feeling much happier than we could reasonably expect to after such an afternoon.

For dinner, we met up with Liz and Liz our friend, my roommate and a friend from back in Bath! We found this great little vegetarian restaurant and got some real nutrition into our bodies. It was wonderful to see friendly faces who also spoke English. We traded stories, and I took a picture!

The Liz's and the Hannah's!

Everybody say Adios, Barcelona, because tomorrow we are off to Madrid!