The Rain in Spain...

"The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain"... No it bloody well does not!!!
I landed in Barcelona on Tuesday and was treated to a torrential downpour. The skies crackled with lightning, thunder boomed across the house tops, and it rained so hard that my wee guesthouse was nearly flooded. (More to do with frankenstein like building additions than the storm, but still!) And here I left 27 degrees in Berlin for 15 and pouring rain. You could swim through this stuff!

What's a girl to do? Well... put some proper shoes on, tough it out, and make sure she's not wearing a white top. :P I did not come all this way to stay in some manky hostel. So with that attitude I proceeded to get myself thoroughly soaked. But I did managed to take in the Picaso Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and a million wee churches. Also saw the big gothic Cathedral. Which actually is probably best seen in a huge storm like that. It suits the Gothicy feel to have flashes of lightning illuminate the faces of the demons and bizzare stone creatures carved into the walls. And it was quite the sight to see the roof gargoyles bursting water out of their mouths with a force that would rival most fire hoses. So there you go, had the weather not been determined to drown me, I never would have seen that.

But things are improving. The weather has decided to cast a few rays of sun during the day. (Still rains at night though.) And I've switched hostels to a more central location, which will make it easier to get around. Though that had more to do with the aforementioned guesthouse screwing up my reservation than anything else... Still, gotta look on the bright side. At least now I won't have to lug my 18kg pack as far when I catch the train!

And I'm enjoying Barcelona. In fact, I'm even toying with the idea of coming back here for a Catalan Fiesta that's happening next weekend. Apparently the whole city erupts into a giant party. Music on every corner. Events for free. That sort of thing.

But for the moment the plan is to spend a few more days here and then head off to Valencia in search of warm weather and toasty beaches. I remain skeptical. :P