On February 19th, I began my third weekend trip out of London in a row. This time I caught a flight to Barcelona, my first visit to Spain, to see my friend Alex who I had not seen since 2005 when we lived in the same residence at Otago University in New Zealand.

On the train from the airport into town, a picturesque home that could easily have been in the middle of nowhere in the countryside:

Alex met me at the metro station and we headed to his apartment, where I met his girlfriend Rosa and got to see some photos from our days in New Zealand, back when Alex had long hair:

That night we went to a going away party for one of Alex’s friends, which was really nice, then a had a good night’s sleep. On Saturday morning we got up and headed out to look around town.

Before we headed out, however, we had to have a drink. No, it’s not vodka – Alex keeps filtered water in a Swedish vodka bottle. Luckily there was no vodka beside the water, so I never accidentally poured myself a glass of vodka in the morning.

A few random photos taken around Barcelona:

The graffiti says “Don’t believe anything”

We walked a whole lot in and around the old town, admiring fancy old buildings and taking photos. Alex and Rosa explained a lot about Barcelona to me, so it was a very educational experience.

Neat gargoyle:

Flags of Catalunya, Spain, and Barcelona:

Inside an old church:

More old town:

Inside the cathedral:

I was really impressed by the underground parkades in Barcelona, which have little infrared sensors that activate lights above the parking spots so you can see from a distance whether there’s an empty space (red light = occupied, green = vacant).

Of course, as a tourist in Barcelona it’s impossible to completely ignore Gaudi’s legacy. He designed some pretty nifty buildings in downtown Barcelona:

Before we headed home for supper, the three of us checked out a department store for a couple things, and of course Alex decided to play with the puppets:

That night we went out to celebrate the birthday of one of Alex’s friends, and then another good night’s sleep at his rooftop apartment in preparation for an active Sunday.