Barcelona Bound!

Que tal?

I apologize for my negligence in updating the blog yesterday; I was thoroughly exhausted by the time I had made it home last night.

Yesterday was quite the day. I awoke around 6 AM; scrambled to take a shower, get dressed and swallow some breakfast. Lauren's friend, Natalia, was moving back to Barcelona and we were going to greet her and help her with all of the luggage she was bringing back. Her flight was scheduled to arrive at the Barcelona International Airport at 8:30 and we were a solid hour away, best case scenario. The three of us piled into our Clio and sped off towards Barcelona. Though we encountered Barcelona's version of morning rush-hour traffic, we made it to the airport just in time to greet Natalia and carry her cache of luggage. We packed ourselves back into the Clio, the operation resembling a game of Tetris (in contrast to the Chinese fire drill we performed leaving that morning).



Our merry quartet was now bound for downtown Barcelona. Although I've briefly touched on it already, it's at this time that I would like to convey to you the fullness of the absolute craziness that is travel in Spanish cities. Drivers tend to leave little space between themselves and the next car and move in and out of traffic with alarming speed and little warning. Scooters and motorcycles are worse, often ignoring all traffic laws, such as red lights and right-of-way. They are also prone to squeeze themselves through the already miniscule gaps between lanes (and the cars in them). The roads add to the pandemonium; they weave in and out of the city, forking and re-merging at will, a system of insane pulsing, narrow capillaries pumping a steady flow of tiny European cars to their destinations.



Derek traversed the ridiculous network of alleys and highways like a pro. He handled situations that would make lesser men curl up under their steering wheels and cry with tenacity and grace. We were all incredibly thankful for his driving prowess and I'm sure it will prove invaluable as we continue our trek around Europe. Once in the city, we helped Natalia carry her luggage home (including other belongings we collected from a friend of hers) and bid her goodbye. Derek, Lauren and I continued on to explore the city. Our first stop was the Sagrada Família cathedral (pictures above and below this paragraph), a gargantuan and eclectic work of art. Construction for this building began way back in 1882 and still continues to this day, as evidenced by the numerous cranes and scaffolding. We also visited the Catedral de la Santa Creu and toured the surrounding Gothic district, which is made up of a cacophony of historical sites as old as the first century BC.


Later that evening, we enjoyed a delicious two and half hour meal at a nearby restaurant. Pictured below is a sample of the delicacies upon which we feasted. So incredibly delicious. You're going to be hearing a lot about food in this blog, especially while I'm here in Spain. It's a major part of their culture and accounts for the greater part of the Catalunyan citizen's day (at least 4 to 5 hours throughout the day). After leisurely enjoying our meal and enjoying discussing all manner of things with Lauren (matters ranging from deep challenges of faith to where to catch/eat the best anchovies), we drove up to an escarpment build atop Montjuïc, which affords an amazing view of the city below.


Finally, we drove back to the Wells' home in Girona late that evening, closer to 1 AM. We went to bed satisfied and exhausted; we had reached saturation point from absorbing so much of the richness of the surrounding culture and history. So much that this blog post is sadly inadequate to convey the fullness of our experience. It's only Day 3 in Europe and already God has blessed our journey in incredible ways. I look forward to sharing more about how God is moving here in the coming days.

Que le vaya bien,

Patrick