Barcelona Continued...

Ok, after a few hectic weeks of non stop musical practice and also retreat planning, basketball sessions and what not, it is now time to continue about my Barcelona trip.

The musical and retreat news can come later.

Anyway, where are the 2 medical students-journalist at now?

Ah, day 2.

So, awakening to a bright, cheery and bee-yoo-tii-fuull day, our 2 medical students bumped of to Montjuic. Catalan for Hill of the Jews, Montjuic is a broad, shallow hill overlooking the city's harbour. The Palau Nacional is situated at its top Museu Nacional d'Art Catalunya, an extensive showcase of Catalan painting and sculpture.

Of course the 2 medical students did not enter the museum because they are not the really artsy fartsy type of people.

Instead they went about taking more and more pictures of all the majestic fountains at the entrance of the place.

Fountain 1

Descending another flight of steps:

Fountain 2

And another level down yet again:

Fountain 3

The mother of all fountains:

Fountain 4

with her little babies adorning the sides..

Fountain 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10....

-_-
Think of all the poor people in Africa that has got no access to water.

Speaking of which, this is where our male medical student gets drawn to one of the young Spanish school girly girls. She comes up, asks him to sign a petition of ' We Want Pickpockets Out of Barcelona' and being the man that he is, he signs and the darling promptly asks for a donation. And of course, his maleness got the better of him - reached for his wallet - she grabs it - he recoils in horror and walks veli veli fast to sensible female medical student who was a few metres away - only to realise that when he reaches her,50 euros had disappeared from the wallet in his hand.

Females are so much more sensible.

They also have the Olympic Park on Montjuic but it is so ugly that I won't bother posting up pictures.

So after getting over the initial shock of being pick pocketed, the 2 medical students visits Barcelona's UNESCO site: Casa Batlló

What is this Casa Batllo?

I like to think of it as No. 12 Grimmauld Place in the Harry Potter books. Squashed between normal looking shoplots and mundane everyday life, Casa Batllo peeps shyly out into the world, a building restored by none other than Antoni Gaudi.

If you do not actively look for Casa Batllo, you can very well walk past it. It is, in essence, an enchanted building that tilts the scale between normality and fairytale magic here in the heart of Barcelona.

Eesh, trees obscuring its view.

VERY EXPENSIVE TO ENTER - 17.50 euros, our 2 medical students went off exploring.

The main hall

The Roof

The centre of the building with a sky roof for natural light to enter.

The corridors at the attic with symmetrically curved ceilings.

Casa Batllo by night.

Nothing historically significant about it, Casa Batllo is just a building served to feed some weirdo's love for architecture and also another display of Gaudi's works. However, it is mystifying and very very Disney-Snow-White like, and is definitely worth a visit.

After Casa Batllo, they decided to walk randomly and visit all the churches that was on the map.

The most famous of all which is the Cathedral of Santa Eulalia.


They have a mini garden in it that is cordoned off and belongs to the geese and goldfish.


Directly outside the cathedral, there is a small orchestra playing tunes, and a huge bunch of people dancing to the music.

Ring-a-ring-a-rose style.

Everyone knows the steps; it is a bit freaky.

The next church up is:

So pretty but I have forgotten its name and cannot be bothered to look it up.

They also explored the streets of Barri Gothic:

Somewhere in the middle it turns a la beach style.

And then stumble onto Parc de la Ciutadella. It has a zoo, a lake, a fountain and several museums.

Of course, both smart medical students skipped the museum and since female medical student quotes, 'I don't believe Spain has any native animals that I have not seen before' they made a beeline to the:




*drumroll*





- fountain.

But its so super duper ugly cos they are doing refurbishment at the back.

and did nothing other than cam whore once more,

finally left the place when the sun was setting.


Day 3 was dedicated to Montserrat, a monastery upon a hill which is about an hours' train ride out of Barcelona.

So So So Pretty Lor. All pictures taken from my trusty Canon digital camera without Photoshop.

They both then trekked up St Joan, a hill where they found the statue of Mary and Jesus in that is now displayed in the church for visitors to see.

Is it really Mary and Jesus?

Apparently found in one of these holes in the hillside.


However, the way down was precarious.

Look at the tooting stairs!

Can you see male medical student on the far left?

Both medical students used all their power of balance and worked their muscle groups in perfect unison to ensure that they did not tumble down the hill and end up in A&E.

It is also worth a mention that they both had torn ACLs (that is the ligament in your knee) in the past and both had them operated on. So Both medical students have dodgy knees. And both managed to make it down without so much of a scratch.

Yes, a standing ovation please. We are medical students after all.