Thursday, January 26, 2012

Barcelona Adventures Part Dos: Montañas y Playa

What's the best way to get over a painful hangover?  Walk up a giant ass mountain of course. The day after our vodka-gin-rum night of death, JMS, L & I decided to go to Montjuïc, a mountain in Barcelona with a castle (I know, we're up to here with fucking castles) and a gorgeous view of the city.  S decided to stay home because he couldn't bare any contact with sunlight after the previous night, and no one really wanted to be photographed considering we all looked (or at least felt) like we just got hit by a very large churro truck.  


So instead I give you lots of scenery photos!  They're nice.  Like them.  
There's that castle.
I know, you're just longing for a bungalow.
Good call on that tanning spot.
View #1 of Barcelona from  Montjuïc 
Pretty impressive, no?
Honestly, it was really nice to go up there, sit, and not think about anything.  I know that NYC has places like the top of the Empire State Building and views from the Brooklyn Bridge, but sometimes, amidst all the hustle, I think it can be pretty difficult to find a place where you can just sit down and be at peace.  Montjuïc was that place for me.  


There was another place too.  Read about it after the jump!

And here it is.  The reason everyone is attracted to Barcelona -- the beach.  


I have to say that I am the furthest thing from a beach lover.  I've got pasty skin and I only come in two shades -- vampire & lobster.  So after JMS left back to Madrid (*tears*), I had a day to myself and took a walk along the beach, only ten minutes from S & L's apartment.

Jealous much?
Yes, this is a real picture.
I am all for having alone time, but I was really afraid that if I spent too much time by myself on this trip, I would start thinking.  Nothing good ever comes from me being left alone to my thoughts.  It starts off fine, but I always end up spiraling into a little stress ball and giving myself panic attacks about what I'm doing with my life and why I'm wasting away at my current job.  See, it's happening already.  


But I was so shocked to find that it didn't happen here.  It's as if the beach had this hypnotic effect on me.  I walked along the beach and worried about absolutely nothing.  I just soaked in the beauty of this place and my mind was totally at ease.  (Vacation FTW.)


No stress allowed.
It was only around 55F and people were surfing.
They got cojones in this city.
After a much needed day of not thinking, I came home and had dinner with S & L.  I was in perfect relaxation mode.  


I guess this kind of goes hand-in-hand with my stress post from a while back.  Do you have a spot that you love to go to to de-stress?  Let us know in the comments & be sure to stop by for more Barcelona posts next week!  (There will be wine involved.  Lots of wine.)


-Beetle, xx.


P.S.  The highlight of my beach day was this guy who was doing some crazy cool exercises on the boardwalk.  If I were 65, he'd be the man of my dreams.


Look at that vigor.

2 comments:

  1. When I was in Boston, I would love to go to the Copley Square side of the BPL - if you try to cross over to the main library, you'll come across this beautiful courtyard. That's where I loved to go to destress.
    http://www.bpl.org/central/event_spaces_images/courtyard.htm#courtyard1.jpg

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    1. I know *EXACTLY* the spot you're talking about. It's as if it's cut off from the rest of the city, which is ironic because it's smack dab in the center.

      I love that place. I used to call it Boston's slice of Europe. :)

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