After waiting for about 20 minutes at the bus stop, I boarded the bus to the airport and immediately passed out. This would be the first of many "guerrilla naps" I would take throughout the day.
Today I was flying back to Barcelona to visit Alex and Vanessa Esteve. I would be flying with "Clickair" and had found a round trip ticket for 50 euros. I realized I'd gotten to the airport a little early, when I was told I could use my printed out ticket as a boarding pass. I found a bench and slept for about 45 minutes until our plane was ready to board. I didn't even need my passport. I had the last seat on the plane and after the young couple sat next to me, I fell asleep, waking up to a bumpy landing as we touched down in El Prat Airport.
Outside I called Vanessa and she quickly picked me up by the entrance. As we drove through the city, I recounted all of my adventures, travels and experiences since the last time I'd been to Barcelona, 6 months ago. Alex and Vanessa had been super busy as well considering they have their own business and got married in October. In regards to tourism, I told Vanessa I wanted to see Park Güell and Gaudí's other famous works. Before visiting the park, Vanessa drove me to the "guest apartment" where I would be staying at for the weekend. The piso was where Vanessa had been born and her grandfather still lived in the first floor of the building. When her family had bought their new house they'd closed it up and left it for 20 years. With Alex and Vanessa's new business they reopened it and turned it into an office and guest house when international friends come to visit. It smelled brand new as they had redone the wood floor and repainted the walls. Vanessa gave me the grand tour of my room, the kitchen stocked with snacks, the bathroom and the cute living room with its fire place and comfy furniture. Amazingly hospitable. I quickly dropped off my big back pack and put what I would need for the day in my book bag.
We were lucky to find a parking space by Park Güell. Guadí is a genius. The park was surreal with bridges and walls built out of the natural rock. Mosaic tiled benches ran around the plaza where vendors and sitar-playing musicians filled the air with lively sound. The park itself was free with the exception of the admission to Guadí's house. The house was really cool with amazing furniture and decorations. I loved Guadí's use of glass and wood. We went out and walked around the upper level of the park with its beautiful lookout over the sea and La Sagrada Familia. Walking down the spectacular staircases of the grand entrance, I stopped to take pictures of the amazing mosaic lizard and incredible houses.
After Park Güell, we went looking for hotels for when my mom comes to visit. Vanessa knew the perfect place, right in the center of the old town, next to the old beautiful hospital, 200 meters from La Sagrada Familia and with easy access to all of the public transportation. We then drove across town to Alex and Vanessa's apartment. Amazingly decorated with art and photos from all of their travels their small piso was really perfect. Vanessa told me to make myself at home while she made lunch and I sat on the couch reading their book about security for medical personnel.
Alex came home and we sat down for lunch. After lunch Alex went to take a short siesta and I sat back down on the couch, quickly falling asleep.
I woke up and got in the car as we met Alex's sister and brother and law. We then drove to the dojo for an afternoon of martial arts training. The dojo was recently completed and beautifully designed. I hadn't trained in a long time, 6 months, and it was obvious. Nevertheless, I remembered the techniques and bounced back relatively quickly.
After training we went to a great Chinese restaurant for dinner and then they dropped me off at the apartment around 1:30am.
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