BCN 2013: Rain Rain Go Away

It's a rainy morning today in Barcelona. Woke up at 6AM today which is already an improvement compared yesterday. But my stubborn tummy is still not used to my current time zone, and today is a weekend so breakfast will be served even more late compared on weekdays.

Earlier, I checked the yahoo weather. I failed to do it yesterday morning and based my clothing on the weather when we arrived. Boy! That was a big mistake! It was too cold yesterday -- and windy!! I didn't have my warmers on and braved the cold 7 degrees Celsius! Today, it's six and it's now raining (indeed, Yahoo is right). Okay, just rain showers actually. But still, it's gonna be a very cold and wet day until 12nn.

So yesterday, we went on a guided tour from 9AM-7PM non-stop. We booked tickets from the Barcelona Guided Bureau, a very professional and helpful team that really made all the euros we spent on them worthwhile. Within that day, we saw the works of Gaudi, some beutiful places in Barcelona and a trip to Montserrat, 60kms north west of Barcelona. 

I don't know a lot about Gaudi prior to this trip. But our passionate and really helpful guides, Wendy and Monica (both very fluent in English), tickled my curiosity. Now I know why they say Gaudi was born too early, his works are really way ahead of his time -- too modern for the 18th century. I cannot stop wondering what was on his mind during that time.

My favorite amongst the places we've been to yesterday is the Montserrat (serrated mountain) that houses the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Montserrat and a Benedictine Monastery with almost a thousand years of history. The road to Montserrat made me a bit dizzy with all the round-about. But the view on top? Magnificent! It's a truly refreshing experience that makes we wanna stay longer there (if not for the extremely cold weather, colder than Barcelona). The serene view of nature, and mountain tips with sprinklers of snowflakes and the calming effect of the church bells are really the bests I've had so far on this trip. Too bad, we weren't able to hear the singing of the Escolania de Montserrat, one of the most ancient boys' choir in Europe. But still I am very glad because we were able to see (face to face) and touch the beautiful Black Madonna.

Also yesterday, we made two beautiful friends -- the young and articulate Kristal from Trinidad and Tobago and the calm and determined Rita from Brazil. One thing we have in common: we were all drawn to the beauty and wonders of Barcelona :)

We ended the day yesterday with a quick trip to Zara, which is on SALE by the way. Later on, we found out that this is the sale season in Barcelona. Long Champ, Coach, Armani Exchange and other brands are all on sale!!!

Oh wait, I haven't told you yet that we met two more kababayans yesterday. The helpful Filipina from McDonalds who kept on reminding us to keep our valuables and ignore people asking questions and all. And the brilliant chef at the bar where we had dinner last night, who treated us with the best Spanish desserts!! Aww! Twas such a lovely day :) Praying for an equally beautiful (or even more better) day today -- so rain, rain, please go away :)