Saturday, March 30, 2013

Saturday I was up not so early and set off for the Hard Rock Cafe to meet the group for a trip to Tibidabo. We took a direct bus from the Placa de Catalunya, but it is also possible to take a train and a funicular. With a group of ten, it was easier for our guide to put us all on the bus. As our bus climbed the steep hill to the top, we passed many bicyclists, in full biking gear, straining up the incline.

Tibidabo is the tallest mountain (512 meters--or 1679 feet) in the  Collserola range. It  has an amusement park, a church, the Temple of the Sagrat Cor with a sculpture of the Sacred Heart on top, and a communications tower. The bus let us off just below the hill and we hiked up the rest of the way. A day that felt warm and inviting downtown turned blustery on the mountain top. We stood at the bottom of the church making our plans and our guide offered us two different return times. A shivering lady in our group (I say lady because she is older than the other students, but not quite as old as I am) had not dressed for the weather and she immediately piped up to say we should leave at the earlier time. After we went up to take the elevator, I never saw her again until we left, so I am sure she was hunkered down in a sheltered corner somewhere! We had about two hours to wander around. Our guide, Joan, walked us through the church to the elevator. I went up with the first group and I have to say that the wind was very strong up there. It really felt like you could get blown off if you weren't careful. I spotted the sign that said we could climb up to the statue and set off after a couple of other girls in our group. The stairs were somewhat enclosed, so the wind wasn't too bad and the last set of stairs was actually inside. We exited out at the foot of the statue and the view was amazing. Fortunately, the walkway around the bottom of the statue was somewhat sheltered from the wind so I was able to see the view from all sides.

View from the top of Tibidabo

Tibidabo Church view from below

After going to the top of the church we went down and walked through the amusement park. Our guide told us that Tibidabo is a tourist place and that people from Barcelona hardly ever go there. I am sure that is true but the same can probably be said about any attraction in one's home area. Once you have seen it, you aren't likely to keep going back.

At 1pm, Joan rounded us up and walked us part way down the hill. We met scads of people biking and walking up. I think many of the walkers had come from a bus or funicular stop or one of the parking lots along the way. We saw a lot of scenic views on our way down. We reached the funicular and Joan bought a group ticket for all of us and reminded us that we needed to travel together, because the ticket had to be scanned to get out. So one by one, he scanned the ticket and we each passed through the gate. We took a short funicular ride and then transferred to a train that took us right back to Placa de Catalunya.  I don't know what is in store for us next week, but I have really enjoyed taking advantage of the tours that the school has arranged for us. There are places I would like to re-visit armed with a bit more knowledge of the area and there are other places that I am glad I saw once and that is enough.

I trotted of to the apartment to do some laundry and found that I was wrong about not having another roommate. When I arrived home , I found a young man named John  from Sweden. He has two more weeks at the Don Quixote school and was living in the school residence near the Enforex location. He described the horrors of living with other male students and is super happy to be here. He moved into the double room that has its own bathroom, so we shouldn't be in each other's way too much. At least that is what I thought until the housekeeper showed up a bit later and told me that two more "chicos" are moving in tomorrow. Well, I am to have three male roommates.  I guess I have lived with three males before, so it won't be the first time. It has been so quiet living by myself that I wonder how it will be. John and I chatted and hung out on the balcony for a while. Then he went out to eat and I did my laundry. He was in his room and I was in mine when we heard someone in the hall and found that roommate number two had arrived. Rickard (spelling, I don't know..) also from Sweden had arrived. Rickard  picked the other single room so that means he and I will share a bathroom. By then it was getting on toward 10pm and I left the two Swedes talking and retired to my room to work on my blog and other computer work. I heard them go out later so I guess they will get along fine! It was the end of my day but not theirs.