La Playa

What a fabulous day.

After a much needed wallow fest, Serena and I rolled out of bed at the crack of noon. A leisurely stroll down the Ramblas to La Bocaria (the local market) procured for us some lovely salad fixins, which we then trekked out to La Playa (the beach). A bit of a misadventure on the wrong train sent us shooting past the stop we had intended, but we found a lovely spot anyway and enjoyed ourselves immensely, in spite of the overcast day.

It is a wonderful sensation to travel at your own pace. As much as I am enjoying my studies here, there is nothing like being able to experience a whole new world through your eyes only. When you are hauling ass through the Barri Gothic, you can’t appreciate the shops that made up the lively hood of the Jewish culture there. When you are only given an hour for lunch, you don’t get to truly experience the Catalan love of food and wine that makes every meal an adventure. But at your own speed, the daily lives of the people here in Barcelona become your own, and you can see what it might be like to be a local.