My first day trip was only up to Tibidabo, one of two mountains in Barcelona (the other being Montjuic). It's pretty easy to get to, and there is a funicular (special tram) you have to take at the end of the bus line to get up the mountain the rest of the way. A ferris wheel and amusement park wait at the top, as well as a cathedral whose towers you can see from Placa Catalunya. Luckily, the amusement park was closed. Great views of all of Barcelona and the Mediterranean. It was pretty easy to get to and didn't take much time at all.
My second day trip which I took today was up to Montserrat,(Serrated Mountain) a Benedictine monastery about an hour out of Barcelona by train and which is located in the mountains.
You have to take the metro, train, and finally a cremallera (rack train) to get there. It's not as quite straight forward as going to Tibidabo was. It was actually kindof confusing, considering it's such a popular tourist/day trip from Barcelona. You have to buy tickets from Placa Espana, but those were even difficult to find. I had to go outside the metro station and then back down another set of stairs on the other side of the metro station just to find the booth that sold the tickets. There were no signs anywhere except for one that indicates "railway line" in a funny squiggle that you get accustomed to seeing here in Barcelona. Then you buy a ticket which is supposed to get you all the way up to Montserrat via all these various methods of transportation, but that's not clear either cause I got off at the wrong stop (along with about a dozen other people) and ended up having to take yet another form of transporation up to the mountain - a GONDOLA. While that was very nice and all, it was an additional E5 over and above what I'd already paid! I'm glad though that others were confused as well, because it shows me that I'm not just another silly tourist! Poorly marked signage and very short and sweet verbal directions from the over-worked/under-paid Tourist Information personnel almost caused me to get off at the wrong train station AGAIN on the way home... good grief! You know, I guess maybe to those who work in the tourist industry here it might seem very straightforward. They are most likely very tired of giving the same directions over and over and over again. But my point is that they wouldn't have to if there were better marked directions! At the end of the day, Montserrat is really worth the little bit of trouble it takes to get there. I highly recomend this day trip!
I totally enjoyed sitting in the sunshine up there in the fresh air, away from the traffic. Even though I like living in the city, I am the type of gal who very much enjoys (and needs!) to get out to the wilderness and be in touch with nature as often as I can. The fresh air and quiet really help to ground me and still my mind. I am definitely a tree-hugger.
So this evening here I am back in Barcelona. I've bought my groceries for the next few days and am just settling down to take a late siesta. It's now 7:00 pm. When I wake up, I'm going to make a light dinner and get ready to go out, because TONIGHT FOR SURE I am heading out on the town. No more sleeping through it, either! My friend Jessie is going to meet me, and we are going to hit "Matinee" at D-Boy, a very popular gay club in the centre. Matinee is very well known in Ibiza, so I'm really looking forward to the music tonight. It's going to be good, and I so need some good hard dancing! And as it's one of Jessie's last weekends in town before she heads back to Vancity, I am definitely taking advantage of her company!
Someone said to me recently: "You haven't changed a bit! You're still partying hard, you're still into the clubs...." and my response to that is:
1) no, I'm not partying hard at all, and
2) of course I'm still into clubs! I love to dance!
Grab a clue, will ya? What's with this mentality that suggests that once a person hits a certain age then they should no longer like to go have fun? For me, dancing is a release and that will never change. Ever. I hope to shake my bootie till I'm 90! But I won't go out every single night just to dance, nor will I hang around in a sloppy club, NOR will I stick around a really nice club if the music is bad! Bad music can ruin my mood in about two minutes, and so can grubby youngsters trying to stick their tongue down my throat. So pah-lease, project your crap onto someone else.
And besides, how many nights can one mature gal take of sitting around in her room? The roommate situation is, well... how shall I say this? Becoming pathetic? I do like both Pam and Lucas very much, and I even like that fur ball cat, Sammy. But Lucas is a one-time professional basketball player, hence the only thing he watches on television is sports. And I guess he can do that because he seems to have dibs on the couch/living room area more than anyone else in this household. Right now for example, he is both watching sports AND listening to bad electro music. So on a Saturday night I think it is quite appropriate for this Cougar to get out of the house and hit the city, don't you? Meeeeooow!!
Other than that, it is starting to get chilly in the evenings here. I'm considering buying additional bedding soon, and a new jacket or coat, or having these items sent to me from Canada. Either way I'll have to do something about it by November for sure. I've been watching the weather in Vancouver, and I know its been unseasonably cold lately. I can't complain too loudly about our weather here in Catalonia yet, but I know we aren't too far behind you all because I had to wear a pair of SOCKS to bed last night. oh no!
At least I still wear my sunglasses every day. :)
Charleen xo
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