#travelling alone
Day 2 of travelling alone and I think my icy heart is melting…
I started my day by wondering the backstreets of Barcelona again, sweeping side to side through the hustle and bustle, searching for a cafe to have breakfast. After failing to find the one I had vetted on Time Out last night, I found a quaint little cafe, Dulcinea. Successfully ordering myself a latte and a croissant, I sat down for a short read of my body language book. The croissant was very tasty (must have been homemade) but I took a little longer sipping the latte which came with no sugar and was borderline offensive to my taste buds. I decided not to ask for sugar though, I’m trying new things this weekend after all. Nevertheless, I finally finished my first (ever!) cup of coffee with no sugar and left to continue on… There is hope for me yet!
Making my way in the general direction of the Sagrada Familia I eventually stumbled across it. Despite the scaffolding and construction that was going on I was taken aback by the intricacy of the details in every element of the building which did not fail to amaze and inspire me. What a beauty to behold! (More to come in a later post).
Taking a spot on a bench in the park opposite I sat there a while to take it all in until the sun dipped behind a tree, leaving a chill in the air in its wake. Naturally I decided that was my queue to move on and proceeded to follow the sun back towards the Passeig de Gracia in search of the next architectural feat: The Casa Batllo!
Wow. Just wow. The Casa Batllo is truly an exquisite piece of architectural engineering that does not stop with the exterior but winds and swirls through every room in the building. In all honesty I was not familiar with Gaudi’s works before this trip but I have developed a fascination with the passion and intensity of his work which is evident in every small detail of this house. (More to come in a later post!).
Having soaked up as much architecture as I could I headed back to the hotel for a siesta (it’d be rude not to surely?) and braved myself for the real task of today…
Dining alone. Feeling fresh from my nap and starving hungry, I braced myself and marched in to the first welcoming and respectable looking restaurant I found, requested a table (for one!), browsed the menu, decided on a Seafood Paella with a glass of Rioja and placed my order. It really wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be. The wifi probably helped though and it wasn’t overly busy tonight so I didn’t feel guilty taking up a whole table to myself either but I felt very proud of myself for finally doing it!
Although as first times go, I did sink my glass of wine rather quickly so left very merry with a smile plastered across my face and a bit high on the success of pushing my own boundaries… and liking it!
Dare I say it I think I am warming to the idea of going solo in the name of wanderlust…
Day 1 of travelling solo and it’s been an odd experience so far.
I dumped my bags, refreshed my (limited!) Spanish and headed out along the back streets of Barcelona. Wondering along and wading up through the river of people streaming towards me; meandering from 1 street to another; bouncing off corners; passing by sidewalks only to backtrack within seconds to detour towards something that caught my eye; getting lost, crossing a familiar path and then trying to get lost again. It was a complete maze of culture, language, people and fascinating architecture.
Of course this trip was about pushing my boundaries, trying new things, doing something I wouldn’t normally do, and I was certainly well on my way, but nosing in and out of various restaurants trying to chose somewhere to eat, I just couldn’t do it. I found myself chickening out, I don’t know what it is but I just can’t seem to face the prospect of sitting in a restaurant alone to eat. Again with the ‘I’m a massive contradiction to myself’ because I can have lunch in a coffee shop without batting an eyelid but that’s to casual a setting to worry about. Unfortunately today that’s the closest I got!
Nevertheless, I found myself sitting outside Catedral de Barcelona, admiring the intricate detail of the building only to end up people watching after a short while. So instead of reveling in the historical culture of the place, I sat there studying the art of the selfie (no, seriously! If you had watched these people you would honestly think they were gunning for Miss World… or Mr World in the case of 1 particularly precise Japanese teen who couldn’t leave his semi-existing fringe alone!).
I’m not the most observant person ever, I’ll be the first to admit it too! But when you actually watch it’s truly amazing how many people pick their nose, scratch where they shouldn’t and are just generally disgusting when they think they can’t be seen because they are in a crowd. The personification of stereotypes bordered something from a Little Britain sketch show after about 15 minutes too and the continuous waves of fresh tourists did nothing to undo my conclusions.
Deciding that the romance of my day had been tainted somewhat at that point I decided to leave and head back to the hotel to track down the names of a few things and plan out a route for tomorrow.
On that note, I should sleep!
