from ancient Rome to magical fountains

Brandon and I walked aorund the Old City today. We went to La Catedral de Barcelona, stopping first at El Mercat de St. Josep and the courtyard of a hospital in the Raval section of town. We stayed in the cathedral for a while. There is so much to look at while you are in there, not only architecturally but also religiously and artistically. I was especially a fan of the courtyard, because not only is there a gaggle of geese, but also a few red eared sliders. There was a beautiful reception room for the big-wigs that come to the cathedral with incredible murals on the walls and ceiling. I was walking around the courtyard and there was a small opening in the interior fence. I walked through and found myself in an outhouse in the center of the courtyard. I found it a strange place for a bathroom, but I used them anyways.

We then walked around the old city, following a self-guided tour of the Roman ruins around the city. We followed the old city wall that remained from when the Romans constructed aqueducts, gates, and defense walls and towers. We then stopped in Santa Maria del Mar which is a beautiful church. There was a wedding about to start inside so we said a quick prayer for the groom and departed (game over for him).

We then headed back to Aldana and I took a siesta. Tom, Ben, Rob, Meg, Brandon, and I then walked down Parallel Ave. to Placa Espanya. I don't think anyone can come to Barcelona and not watch the evening show at Font Magica. I think this water performance was the best I have seen yet. The music selection was better than the previous shows I had seen and the fountains seemed even more powerful. We sat down close to the fountain on the bottom steps of the hill. I was able to get some good videos (once the loud and obnoxious Americans next to us left). We stopped at the small Cafe del Sol on the way back and ordered us some menus de los dias (I had read that Cafe del Sol was one of the recommended dining places in the city...we had no idea why). We all re-grouped back at Aldana and then headed up to Gracia to Placa del Sol, where I had done some sketching a few months ago (when we got there we saw the real Cafe del Sol that is a popular restaurant to go to...next time).