So day 1 for us was really the second 1/2 of day 0.5.  After we dropped our bags off at the hotel we went out sight seeing to kill some time before our room was ready.

Like last year, the Children’s festival was going, and the parade was something to see. It seemed to me like it went on forever, but Jason said that he thought it was shorter then last year’s.  We watched the parade for a while, but then it was time to move on.  It seemed like we walked around forever.  I was feeling tired and cranky and I was just overall in a really poor mood.  I wasn’t feeling to well either due to the lack of sleep and the extended time on all the planes.  While I don’t get air sick, my body has the tendency to adjust for movement and I have the feeling like I’m still flying or driving hours after I’ve stopped.  So needless to say I was just ready to sit and strech out.  I know that I was sitting a lot on the plane, but all the walking throught the airports luging around my laptop seemed to be taking its toll.

So the first, and really only place that we took in was the Catedral Basílica de Barcelona.  Unfortunatly it is still undergoing renovations to the outside, so my pictures aren’t quite as spectacular.  We actually got a chance to look inside and I was really blown away.  I guess they have these things called Chaples along the walls on the inside of the Cathedral.  Each one is for a different saint and they are all very different.  We ended up not being able to go to the cout yard because they were begining a service.  Hopefully I’ll make it back inside before we go.

After walking around some more we made it to the main hub of the area we are staying.  Our hotel is in the Barri Gothic.  The west side is boarder by the city’s main promenade, La Ramblas.  The north is marked by the Placa Catalunya – this is the hub.  I was so tired by this time, all I wanted was something to eat and someplace to sit.  We walked down La Rambla.  The food along here is supposed to be over priced and not that good, but I didn’t care.  We found a little place that served sandwiches and I sat and ate with gusto.  I also needed water.

After “lunch”, we were going to try and walk through the Mercat de la Boqueria, the city’s open air market, but since it was Sunday that just didn’t happen.  Finally we headed back to the hotel and the room was ready.  It must have been about 1:30 PM local time when we got to the room and boy was it small.  Although I had prepared myself for a smaller room than I was used to, this was still a surprise.  I don’t think Jason and I cared all that much since we immediately laid down and slept.  I know you aren’t supposed to nap so you can get your body used to the time change, but neither of us cared.  It was time for sleep.

After about a 5 hour nap, we finally got up and got ready to go out for dinner with Jason’s coworker that’s also here for the conference.  We ended up walking back up La Rambla for tapas.  We hit a trendy spot that was packed with people, but thankfully they had an outdoor set up.  The Ciutat Comtal was AWESOME.  Jason had been there last year, and I was really excited to go this year.  We sat out side in the fresh air, sipping cold beer and eating all manner of things.  My favorite so far were the bacon wrapped dates with cheese and raspberry sauce… that was some good stuff.  We topped off the night by getting some gilato.

After we got back to the hotel, we crashed.  That nap earlier didn’t change a thing, we were out like a light.

Click here for our stops for the day…

Click here for all the day’s photos…