Day 14

Woke up this morning feeling great, excited about heading to Spain but somewhat apprehensive given how comfortable I now felt in Germany.

The weather is hot again, apparently the heat will continue for another week or so. I'm starting to get a little colour so I hopefully won't get smashed by the Spanish sun.

We checked out of the Park Inn and caught a taxi to the Schonfeld Airport in West Germany. I was surprised to see so much of the Berlin Wall still standing, the city has obviously embraced it as a symbol of freedom covering it in amazing art work and incorporating the remaining sections into public spaces and buildings. We didn't have enough time to explore the West but it goes to show how much more there is to Berlin.

No issues catching our flight and as an added bonus I was able to listen to the hawks beat the pies live over wifi so the time passed very quickly. Proud of both teams and how they paid tribute in memory of Phil Walsh's tragic passing.

Arrived in Barcelona and it was hot! Apparently they have been through multiple days of 40 degrees. We caught a taxi to our accommodation at Plaza Catalunya which basically the centre of the city and had no problems contacting Rodrigez who provided us with access to the apartment and some useful information on the city and where to eat. He told us to beware of pick pockets and Romanians and also added that it would take an axe to break through the front door which was reassuring.

I grabbed some essentials from a local supermarket located in the building next to ours and we enjoyed some local cheese and cold meats before heading out to check out La Rumbla.

La Rumbla is a crazy pedestrian friendly street that connects Plaza Catalunya to the Mariner stretching for a least 2km. Its a huge tourist attraction that I would describe as hectic in the evenings. Ryan and I decided that was the place to spend our first evening and we weren't disappointed. As we walked La Rumbla soaking up the energy and culture of street we we're constantly approached by people offering something "you want drink, you want smoke, you want club, you want women". Usually this would s*** me to tears but unlike the Indians in Thailand, when you say "no gracias" they politely thank you and leave. The beggers can be a little more persistent but they still don't hassle you too much.

We ate tapers and drank sangria in the Placa Reial at a restaurant called La Crema Canela where street performs rotate around the square and entertain for tips. If I had change I would tip, if I didn't I would politely apologise.

Unfortunately for me I didn't give the pick picketers enough credit and some slippery gypsy managed to pull a few euro from my pocket. I was however smart enough to only carry a small amount of cash so no harm done.

We ended up turning in around 2am after a fun first evening in Barcelona.