My time in BCN was coming to an end as I was soon heading to Sitges for a few days to visit some family friends, but first there were a few more things to do.
To begin with this was the first time in over ten years that I was in Barcelona for Victor’s birthday. In the early afternoon myself, Victor, and Luis, a fellow classmate from Montserrat and someone I actually played against in a tennis tournament, headed over to a public basketball court. We spent at least 90 minutes playing pickup games as more and more people came. Late that day Victor’s parents prepared some tapas with a little bit of everything and topped it off with his favorite, lemon cake. I was surprised that it actually tasted pretty good because from the look of it I would typically have gone for something else.
The next day I decided to do one of the most touristy things anyone could do in Barcelona and that is visit the Parc Güell. I have gone there many times as an excursion with my previous schools, at least once with my parents and grandparents, and when I was here in 2017 I also went. Even though I know the place in and out I never get sick of how beautiful it is and also the views you get of the city.
Later that day I went to a couple of very well known shopping centers we used to visit frequently on the famous Avenida Diagonal. L’illa and El Corte Ingles. We used to go to L’Illa often for the FNAC store which is a book/tech store. My dad liked going there because they have a good English book section and I liked to see the Apple devices and other cool tech. Also at this shopping mall they had a cafe called Central Cafe that had awesome sandwiches and soups, but they were no longer at this location.
I walked further down Diagonal to El Corte Ingles. They have all kinds of things from designer clothes, to school materials, tech, sporting equipment, and much more, but I was just interested in the grocery store and the candy store. I was very fond of the following sections. The olive one was huge, jamón ibérico because it just tastes great, and oddly the shrimp chips we used to get is something I still think about frequently to this day. Some things never leave your head just like the Mussol restaurant we went to on occasion also on the Diagonal.
As time was running out this trip would not be complete without going out with the boys. In 2017 I had just turned 18 and we went to a famous club called Sutton. I coincidentally even saw other former classmates of mine that night. I asked Victor if we were going there again and he said he had not gone in years because they had “grown” out of it. I thought that was funny because we were either already 23 or just turning 23 so not that old.
Anyways this time we went to a bar that at first was very calm and quiet, but as it got later and the live music started, it was completely packed and almost everyone was dancing and singing. My friends were getting drunk, but just like 5 years earlier, I was the only one that did not have a single alcoholic drink. Luis still wanted to go to the club once the live music stopped, but Victor and I were ready to go home. Especially me. I do not have the stamina to stay up very late nor honestly the desire to go to a club because it is not my thing. Sutton is the only time I have been to a club.
Luis got mad and Victor was very upset that he was mad and everyone left in a drunken bad mood. Except me of course. These arguments were stupid and blown out of proportion.
What I did notice that night is when some of my friends were starting to get a bit tipsy or drunk, I felt a bit of sadness or pity. I do not why, but I just felt bad for them for some reason because they were starting to do stupid stuff and kind of embarrassing themselves a bit and I did not like seeing that. I guess for some people it is just how they like to have a good time and they do not care about how they look and regrettable actions they may commit, but that is certainly not my scene.
My day of departure had arrived, but before leaving I had some delicious canelones which I guess you could say is the Spanish version of lasagne. Shortly after I said goodbye to Victor’s family and Bimba before Victor would drop me off at the train station to head to my next destination.
Hasta luego.