September 8th, Friday: Day 10

Our hotel.

We woke up to an amazing view of Barcelona atop the Hotel Porta Fira, which we just checked into last night. Mason especially enjoyed looking out at the bustling city. However, we couldn't stay for long because we had a lot of exciting events to do. After having a quick bowl of cereal, we all departed to our first location. We had to take a 30 minute bus ride to get there. Tyler was the most excited out of all of us. This was because we were going to the Palau de la Musica Catalana! Being a musician himself, Tyler wanted to see one of the most beautiful places that talented musicians come to perform. It was easy to tell when we had arrived. With tourists bustling about it and insane sculptures decorating the outside, there was no doubt that this was our destination. After paying €9 each to enter, we stepped inside the amazing concert hall. The interior was even more beautiful than the outside. Intricate stained glass designs covered the walls and ceiling. The stage had a beautiful wood finish. Chandeliers hung suspended in the air. All of us were speechless. 

Our view from inside the concert hall.

Sadly, there were no events happening at the concert hall while we were there. After about an hour of examining the building and taking some memorable photos, we left. As we walked to our lunch area, Rohan explained to us that while that was a great building, Spain had even more beautiful places, like the Sagrada Familia, that we would visit later in the trip. We couldn't wait until we went there. After a brief 3 minute walk, we arrived at our lunch location, the Restaurante La Plassohla. It was a very nice casual restaurant. All of us ordered a patatas bravas for €6.50 each, a classic Spanish meal that consists of chopped potatoes that are fried and served with a spicy tomato sauce.

Our patatas bravas that we ordered.

It was a delicious meal, and cooked to perfection. However, I(Chris) accidentally ordered the extra spicy sauce and practically burnt his tongue off! After finishing up lunch, we headed to our next place of interest. History:It was a brief 12 minute walk to get to the Monumento a Cristoforo Colombo. It is a huge 60 meter tall monument that is dedicated to Christopher Columbus and his achievements in exploration. There is a huge pedestal decorated with mythical beasts and people related to Columbus. Atop the pedestal sits a statue of Christopher Columbus himself, pointing his right hand towards the New World.

The Monumento a Cristoforo Colombo

This monument was created back in 1888 and still stands today. Andre was especially amazed by the statue and even tried to touch it before he was stopped by a policeman. After that encounter, we were eager to move on to our next location. After walking for 23 minutes, we arrived at Barceloneta beach. Nature: The beach was big and beautiful, with over 1100 meters of golden sand and sapphire sea. There were also many pieces of art and shops along the beach. We gazed at some of the nice statues, such as El Peix D'or (which means "gold fish" in English). It is a large depiction of a fish, made of gold-colored stainless steel. It was built for the 1992 Summer Olympics, and its color changes based on where the sun is in the sky. While the structures and shops were nice, we enjoyed the actual beach the most.

The El Peix D'or statue.

The water was refreshing for all of us, and the beach was very relaxing, despite all the people there. Tyler even constructed his own sand castle while we were there, and showed it off to all of us as we started to pack up our stuff. After we got cleaned up, we headed to a place to eat dinner. It was a 20 minute bus ride to get to Cera 23, where we chose to have dinner. Rohan and Mason ordered the Pure de Apio Trufado for  €12.50 each. It included a truffled celery puree and various glazed vegetables. Rohan claimed it was the best thing he had ever tasted! The rest of us decided to have the Meloso con Parmentier de Trufa for  €16.20 each. 

The Meloso con Parmentier de Trufa we ordered.

It had honeyed beef and a white truffle parmentier, which consists of potatoes and some meat. It was another great meal. After we finished our meals, we took the 25 minute bus ride back to our hotel. We discussed what our favorite parts of the day were and then went to sleep, excited for another day of discovery in Spain.
Average weather in Barcelona, Spain:
The average weather towards the beginning of September averages to be about 26 degrees Celcius in the city of Barcelona which is about 78 degrees Fahrenheit.