Ok so I am typing this on an extremely old jkeyboard with very sticky keys so excuse all the typos I will come back and edit later!!

I have now been in Barcelona for three days and I am having the most f***ing awesome time!1 I love travelling and being away and I have continued to practise my spanish in a most successful way :D

I started off the day today boarding the tourist grockel-bus once again, at 9am when it was pracically empty, to cruise along the beaches down to the Port Olympic, where all the high rise hotels and new builds are. It was nice so early in the morning, cool but sunny (already 26C) There were a few interesting remnants of the cityś old industrial past in the barrio of Poble Neu, where old factory chimneys dotted the landscape.

My first intellectual stop of the day was le Museu Historia de Catalunya, which did what it said on the tin (and fulfilled my expectations of going there), which was to basically give me some understanding of what the feck this Catalonia business is all about, of which I was previously, ashamedly ignorant. It was, however, waaaaay too packed with information and I just sorta skimmed round readingt he bits I was interested in, and I do understand now! Will not attempt to paraphrase here for fear of sounding like an uneducated douche, but my understanding is definitely better than before.

After that I successfully located the Casa de Correos (after asking directions IN SPANISH fromt eh receptionist at the hostel) to post my postcards [postcards, yes I know how oldskool of me :P] then stopping in one of those delightful little spanish bars for a Cafe Solo (tiny, strong, delicious espresso... I LOVE taking the coffee and leaving the sugar without a backward glance, a barista yesterday gave me a nod of approval, see_ I AM European!!). Then I wandered a while round the back streets of beautiful El Born, bearing all the remnants of yesterdays Catalonian Day protests - LOTS of graffiti.. there is a LOT of graffiti in Barcelona! Banners hung and Catalonian flags and whatnot everywhere. I never really knew much about the whole concept of Catalonia before I came to Barca..

Next was a very peaceful half hour spent in the magestic Eglesia Santa Maria del Mar, a traditional Catalan gothic cathedral. It was beautiful. El _Born is a wonderful distric with lots of vintage shops and alternative things like that.

La Mercat de Santa Caterina, then lunch at a salad buffet place (bottomless diet coke refills ftw!! Also I stocked up on fruit for the next few days from the free buffet). I visited the Museo de Picasso in the afternoon, where I got in for under-25, saving myself five euros (cannot find the euro sign on this crappy keyboard, lol) more impòrtantly, SOMEBODY THOUGHT I LOOKED UNDER 25!!! :D The art was amazing, really interesting. I had no idea that Picassoś early work had been so realistic.. But my god it was f***ing seething. There were massive orated spanish and french tour groups. Every single painting had like five peopel stood around it. So so often I was stood regarding a painting and some frickin douche with no spatial awareness or just a plain lack of manners or art-gallery-etiquette came and stood IN FRONT OF ME and completely blocked my view of the paintings D: waaa. So it was good, but I would have stayed longer if it wasn so frickin rammed with people. Makes me wonder if any of the amazing and beautifyul things in the world that are accessible will ever be able to be visited again without being in the company of a million other people...

After the Picasso museum I GOT BUBBLE TEA!!!!!!!!! YES I DID!!! Unfortunately my favourite Taro flavour is now out of bounds due to the milk in it, but I had a very nice green tea with lemon and those yummy taopica pearls, oh bubble tea itś been too long,.,,

Then I discovered a wonderful vegan shop and stocked up on almond - oat milk, seitan burgers and tofu pate and spoke a lot more spanish!!

My evening consisted of meeting up with old frineds from my previous travelling days - I had a drink with Sophie & Grace (whom I lived with for a while in Sydney) and their mum, Karen, in the Hard Rock Cafe in Placa Catalunya. It was soso good to see them and I am now no longer a Hard Rock Cafe virgin!! Before leaving before dark to get back to my hostel in its dodge district before dark.

Which takes me up to now. This computer is randomly giving me free internet, not sure why since itś supposed to cost a euro for an hour or something, but oh well.

It is totally my bed time since I plan to get up early tomorrow to rent a bike and cycle the miles of cycle path along the seafront and hopefully get a bit more of a splendiferous tan!!

Buenas noche

Xx