We love meeting and borrowing friends, so before coming to Barcelona, we connected with @amanda’s friend @tomhayton to arrange for a meetup. It was great timing because he had a speaking/networking event scheduled (Twitter for Business), and best of all… the bar was literally next door to our hotel!

It was a full-on Gaudi day. After the park, we headed to Sagrada Familia, the renowned church he designed. We have had the worst luck with renovations, restorations, and scaffolding-cluttered sites, but I promise you, this church is absolutely stunning. Since our photo don’t do it justice, check out this Flickr shot instead.

You can’t visit Barcelona without a trip to Park Guell, designed by infamous (and home-town favorite) architect Antoni Gaudi. We spent a few hours in the park & garden surrounded by Gaudi’s gothic infusion listening to street artists, watching vendors obsessively dust their products, and laughing at kids who chased after a flock of birds.

After that intense day, we decided to have a decent meal over a sit-down dinner. This family-style Spanish restaurant was just off the Ramblas. Our celebration event was titled “we totally escaped those bullies in the alley,” which was accompanied by a sizzling seafood paella, pasta, and (Eric’s vice) a glass of Coke.

Shaken & stirred, we ditched our shady hostel booking and checked ourselves into a very comfortable hotel right by the Ramblas, the main strip in the city. It was a cozy place to settle into and one of the most memorable ups in Barcelona- security, television, Internet… and best of all, our own bathroom!

We were caught at the wrong place, at the wrong time. It took us a day to get over the shock of the event. To be honest, we are still heartbroken about Eric’s photography kit  ($4K worth of gear) being stolen. When we shared the story, nearly everyone had either direct or indirect experiences with robbery in Spain.

After an 8 hr bus ride from Marseilles to Barcelona, drama unfolded within the first hour. Situation: We were groggy from the long haul, it was pitch black at 6 am, we needed to find the right metro line to our hostel, and we are clearly not from around town. Result: Robbed by professional thieves & then stalked. What a start.

While the city rested quietly, we headed back to our hostel in the late afternoon to grab a couple drinks and use their wi-fi. We stayed put until our outbound night train to Barcelona. Marseille was rather uneventful, but perhaps eventfulness is not always that great either….

We took it easy on the first day and decided to tackle more on the second. Well, turns out the second day happens to be a Sunday. Marseille (and most of France) was a complete ghost town- everything was closed, including their high street, cafes, and restaurants. Not a soul in sight.

Dear Honda S2000:

You still have a pretty firm grip on Eric’s heart, but be aware that he can have wondering eyes sometimes. Nothing to lose sleep over, but I just thought you should know.

Evidence above.

We are not only eating (see neighbouring post), we are also indulging in treats! We got a bit addicted to gelato in Italy, so when we passed Jeff de Bruges in the shopping, we let our cravings dictate our actions. Two hours of strolling around Marseille’s downtown core and these puppies above were are only purchase [chocolate + pistachio]

After dropping off our bags to our hostel (five mins from the train station!), we asked the staff their cheap eats recommendations. Ten minutes later, we found ourselves down a shady block, having a 12€ Tunasian feast: Baguette, couscous, chicken, fries, and “steak” (aka. two hamburger patties). We had lunch & dinner in one meal!

We decided to spend two days in France’s oldest city, Marseille. Why not?, we thought. It’s the second most populated city in France, and the third largest metropolitan area after Paris and Lyon. Plus, it’s an accessible stop-over as we head in the direction of Barcelona. Just around the bend is the Vieux-Port (Old Port).

Eric silently scanned the hilly typography of Monaco at a viewpoint.

“Got it,” he says. 
“Um… got what?” I ask.
“I’ve visualized the entire Grand Prix track in GT. They did a damn good job with the graphics in the game- this place feels so familiar to me.”