Day 1 BARCELONA

First of all, I dont have the full function of editing so i'M not sure what this would liik like.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep with all the excitement about the trip but normally when I lay my head on the pillow sleep just comes.  Needless to say the Best Western in Millbrae was right next to a train station so with its  pounding tracks and blaring horn, I was awakened pretty much every hour.  But all that fizzled away overcome with excitement, we blew that popsicle stand with a smile.  I've never been on an Air Canada flight and it was surprisingly pleasant.  It helped that the attendants all had french accents. However, they really took to heart that everyone on board was on vacation so they charged their "restaurant" items up the yin yang costing Scott $5.00 for a muffin and a small bottle of water.  Now I'm not certain if it was Canadian dollars or American as they would not accept cash but only credit cards.  There is still an hour and a half left on this flight and Im hungry.  My schedule is off but I still have that smile on my face!  Let's land this baby now, eh? *sits back down to finish watching "Ghost"*

Fast forward to the Toronto terminal, we scrambled to the restrooms and off to get some lunch.  We moseyed over to Carleys and ordered a Shrimp Spinach Salad that was to die for!  I've always thought salads were boring especially for someone like me who's decided to change my eating habits.  Whoa!  What rabbit would not want to get a taste of this!  It was a decadent medley of grilled shrimps on a skewer, spinach, bacon bits, hard boiled egg whites, mandarin orange slices topped with French fried onions and thin Chinese fried noodles! I can't wait to experiment when I get back home.  The dressing was sweet with a hint, just a hint of tang, sort of reminded me of poppy seed dressing.  The onion soup was just as boastful, not smothered with a bunch of onions in it but had French bread baked in it topped with mozzarella cheese.  In fairness, I had three bites, but it was enough to make me want to come back to Carleys on the trip back.

The flight to Barcelona was a bit more cumbersome.  The plane is bigger, so more passengers.  However, people seem very nice and friendly.  We were. It graced with individual tv screens and no charging station for my iPad so I had to pull out the power pack.  I'm just wondering what's going on at the Big Brother house right now.  Did Frank or Kara get evicted?

I couldnt wait to get off the plane!  However, interesting on the way to the Tryp Apolo hotel, I was looking at the side of the mountain trying to figure out what those piles and plies of these boxes on top of each other and then the driver said it was a cementary. Wow they dug horizontally in the side of the mountain.  I found this interesting.

After lunch, I took a nap not realizing how tired I was 2 hours later I woke up with only 1.5 hours to spare before meeting the rest of the tour group. Needless to say I was in a fog. But the 4 hour tour was worth it. We saw the works of modern artist (modern in their day not ours). We saw the works of Gaudi, the Sagrada Familia which is the whole outside of this church depicts Jesus' life carved in concrete. It was so detailed but not yet finished, more towers are going up. This is a must-see in Barcelona. We also went to the statue of Columbus and this is also a must-see! All around the base of it shows his meeting with the queen, correct me if I'm wrong but I was just so in awe about the intricate details of these fabulous architectures chock full of history!

There were a lot of authentic food, but since it is the first day, didn't want to risk getting the wrong food and getting sick. The food we did have was very good though. It was fresh and true to form unlike the food back home that is so tweaked to even taste like it's truth but hey, credit, they are all RDA approved.

We walked from the Santa Maria Church back to the hotel. I really wanted to go see the Picasso Museum but didn't get there in time for the last tour. Save for next time!

We also went to Guell Park (pronounced "well")

Back at the hotel, I tried to upload photos but couldn't keep my eyes open, so I slept through the loud concert next to the hotel! I love this place! I can't really do it much justice with photos or my descriptions but you will have to visit!

Trivial Things that I noticed:

The hotel does not give out individual hand soap or shampoo, they have dispensers
Europe they call them washrooms, America -bathroom/restroom, Philippines-comfort room, you do the math, who calls it the best?
The public stalls smell good (so far) and there is no water sitting in the bowl, they conserve
The porta potties are clean and u don't go in an open hole, it's an actual toilet bowl so the 50 cent euro is worth it
The diet coke comes are in itty bitty bottles and called "light" and they are expensive, about, 3 dollars at the restaurants oh and no refills!
Oh at the hotel rooms you put your key card in a slot to turn on the lights so before you leave, all lights are forced to be turned off.
Because almost everyone ride bikes everywhere, they are fit! You can take and ride these bikes and park them in a parking spot at your destination. Then for those who didn't follow rules and park the bikes willy nilly, a truck drives around and picks them up. The bike lanes are in the middle lane of the road and are respected by car drivers. Here's what's funny, pedestrians are not respected at all, you have to dodge the cars if you're walking, not the other way around like in America. So those people that take their time crossing the street while drivers wait, will be run over in this city. Also, cars can drive over sidewalks and again pedestrians must run for safety!

The buses are first class! The subway is like in New York, dirty and smelly. People are scantily dressed but no one cares because they all dress the same way. I noticed that unless you are selling something, no one really smiles,not that they are unfriendly, they just don't, unless you are asking them for directions, which I often did and they like that you try to speak in their language and will gladlly correct you if you are looking for the right word to say.

All in all, it's been pleasant. Now I'm excited to get on the boat! Till my next rant...LOVE ONE ANOTHER!