Barcelona: Day 7 : Queen Vic

So today we decided to explore the cable cars a bit today, and decided to go up to Montjuic, where there is an old fort that we could check out. I was happy to know that we survived entirely on groceries that we bought for the day, which left some extra money to do various things. The visit up the mountain went without a hitch, and we found the metro and the funicular train that went up to the cable gondola just fine.


We spent hours walking around, enjoying the sights, taking in the sweet cool air that was blowing in your face, and enjoying the olden sights of Spain. Ian provided some nice insight into a bit of Spanish culture, and how all the Spanish flags have only red and yellow, and thus the Catalan flag is red and yellow stripes.

There were so many opportunities for great pictures, and while I don't have Facebook, I can live vicariously through Ryan's Facebook to look at pictures and download ones that I like. If not, we can always settle that when I get back home. It was a real bonding experience between the five of us, and I'm really glad that we just decided to go out there and check it out. There were also some trails in the woods and such leading up to it that would be prime for mountain biking.

Oh, speaking of bikes, we went and visited and bike shop this morning. What a sweet place! Two stories of all kinds of bikes, from mountain to downhill to road to commuter stuff. Then there were all kinds of glasses and gloves and shoes. The one interesting thing? The place was incredibly clean. The floors squeaked when you walked on them just because it was so clean. We sort of went with the notion that we might be able to find some rental mountain bikes to head out to the mountains. The daily price also doesn't look too bad, which is a plus.

So anyways, here are some pictures from Montjuic:

 

Later in the day we made the decision to go out to a bar as a group for the first time. We had heard of this place called Queen Vic that catered to Clemson students, known from semesters past, by giving them discounts and other things like that. We headed over around 1030, and it was a nice sort of little pub atmosphere. It soon got a little crazy, with lots of people showing up, but it was a breath of fresh air to be in a place where everyone spoke English. Most of the people were British, with a few Irishmen mixed in and a few Americans as well. Drinking the ol' Guinness on tap was absolutely delicious, and of course one of our own was generous enough to buy a round of shots for the group. It was a great way to kick off the semester.

The place got a bit sketchy after a ton of people came in and the drugs were pretty much all around you, but for the discount, eh, I suppose we could put up with it. From the looks of it, tomorrow is going to be another beach day. Can't wait! It's awfully late, so I'm going to turn in for the night.