Originally, i was planning to come back via Moscow, but decided to go through Barcelona, and am i glad i made that decision! It was the last destination in this trip, and after 5 weeks of bag packing, i was beginning to feel the strain, but the wonderful sights- the pristine beaches and green mountains, the sunny weather, nice friends and a lovely host in Barcelona made it really a memorable stay.
Mireia, my host, was a lovely Spanish engineer teaching sound to students, lucky to have a job in a city with 42% unemployment rate amongst its youth. She had another couch surfer Rune from Denmark staying with her for a day. Marc, who also stayed with us in Singapore, was back in Barcelona and was kind enough to spend the day with me taking me to all the key tourist spots. Between the three of them, i always had interesting company to see the city.
Barcelona got rich during the industrial revolution in late 1800s. Its most famous architect Gaudi, after whose buildings the word Gaudy originated, created buildings inspired by nature and animals with no straight line. Miro and Picasso were other famous artists with their own distinctive, though something that i won't be able to appreciate, art styles. The city had am interesting past with Jews, Romans, Christians and Spanish people playing important roles- yes it is inhabited by Catalonian people under Spanish rule for last 300 years still looking for independence, a fact they don't forget to mention whenever given a chance.
After doing the gothic and the gaudi tours in two days, and going through the Picasso museum and a few Basilicas, and getting the down load on its history, i was ready to hit the beaches and climb the mountains for a last time on the trip. Evenings were spent with friends drinking beer till late night, water for me actually, reminding me of college days, as most people serving beers were illegal immigrants from Punjab.
I did one last cooking job and left the balance spices for Mireia - she had spent a month in India and loved almost anything Indian. She of course needed a little teach in for Indian cooking. I hung out till late with her the last night, not wanting the trip to end, but in the end i was happy to be back on the plane, excited to see family again in Singapore, of course not before finally doing some shopping for them in Barcelona. It was a fitting grand finale to the most exciting travel adventure of my life.
Originally, i was planning to come back via Moscow, but decided to go through Barcelona, and am i glad i made that decision! It was the last destination in this trip, and after 5 weeks of bag packing, i was beginning to feel the strain, but the wonderful sights- the pristine beaches and green mountains, the sunny weather, nice friends and a lovely host in Barcelona made it really a memorable stay. 
Mireia, my host, was a lovely Spanish engineer teaching sound to students, lucky to have a job in a city with 42% unemployment rate amongst its youth. She had another couch surfer Rune from Denmark staying with her for a day. Marc, who also stayed with us in Singapore, was back in Barcelona and was kind enough to spend the day with me taking me to all the key tourist spots. Between the three of them, i always had interesting company to see the city. 
Barcelona got rich during the industrial revolution in late 1800s. Its most famous architect Gaudi, after whose buildings the word Gaudy originated, created buildings inspired by nature and animals with no straight line. Miro and Picasso were other famous artists with their own distinctive, though something that i won't be able to appreciate, art styles. The city had am interesting past with Jews, Romans, Christians and Spanish people playing important roles- yes it is inhabited by Catalonian people under Spanish rule for last 300 years still looking for independence, a fact they don't forget to mention whenever given a chance. 
After doing the gothic and the gaudi tours in two days, and going through the Picasso museum and a few Basilicas, and getting the down load on its history, i was ready to hit the beaches and climb the mountains for a last time on the trip. Evenings were spent with friends drinking beer till late night, water for me actually, reminding me of college days, as most people serving beers were illegal immigrants from Punjab.
I did one last cooking job and left the balance spices for Mireia - she had spent a month in India and loved almost anything Indian. She of course needed a little teach in for Indian cooking. I hung out till late with her the last night, not wanting the trip to end, but in the end i was happy to be back on the plane, excited to see family again in Singapore, of course not before finally doing some shopping for them in Barcelona. It was a fitting grand finale to the most exciting travel adventure of my life. 
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