Barcelona, Spain

Holy living crap, I apologize for the horrid grammar and spelling in that last post. I was writing it in the few seconds I had left before my battery died. Please disregard the awfulness of it.

Anyway

Barcelona, Spain -

We arrived in Barcelona on a beatiful sunny afternoon, loaded in and then took off to sight see. This was one of the cities where I wanted to spend as much time seeing and experiencing as much as possible, and that is exactly what I did. The day started off with a walk with the Parkway guys to the beach which was nearby. When we arrived the Parkway dudes were flipping out over the waves, which were pretty fair. They all tried to figure out a way to get a hold of surfboards to have a surf but to no avail. A bunch of the dudes had a swim and some of us just checked out the scenery. I noticed that the beach had several seafood restaruants that I earmarked for later. When the boys had dried off we headed off to the metro to catch a train in the city. The dudes in This is Hell joined up with us making for a massive collection of brothers. While on the train, I asked a woman in Spanish if she could give us directions to a famous street called La Rambla. She responded in perfect english, complemented me on my spanish and then gave us directions. We got off at a stop that led us to La Rambla, which is an old street with lots of shops and cafes. At this point, the parkway guys seperated from us and went on their own. This left Casey and I and This is Hell. When i'm on tour, especially in Europe, I relish going off by myself and blending in with the locals and seeing what the city has to offer. It's nice to be able to go at my own pace and not have to wait for someone to finish getting a falafel or something. If not alone, I usually prefer to go with my main man Casey(one of guitar players) who is an awesome travel companion. He provides much entertainment, is very easy going, down to try new things, and is overall a totally righteous bro. Speaking of which, he started posting updates on the Comeback Kid website and they are a must see! He really has a way with words - comeback-kid.com

Anywho, so after the parkway dudes took off, I decided to follow suit and go off on my own. I just can't hang with large groups. The sun was starting to set and I wanted to make sure I got to see the Sagrada Familia, a famous cathedral by famed Spanish modernist artist Antonio Gaudi. I hopped back on the metro, transferred trains and arrived quickly at the Sagrada Familia just as the sun was starting to set. The cathedral is famous for it's very orginal and unique style. It almost kind of looks like a sand castle. It's absolutely gorgeous. The cathedral started construction in 1882 and is still not complete! It has very dramatic towers and the inside is quite enormous and artfully crafted. It's a must see if you are ever in Barcelona. It's unlike anything else in Europe. I took my time at the cathedral, snapped a lot of pictures and stared at the amazing peice of art. I finally was forced to leave when the cathedral was closing for the night. I still had plenty of time before our set, so I hopped on the metro once again to make my way to see some more Gaudi work. I decided to take the train to Park Guell, a famous park that was designed by Antonio Gaudi and also has a house within it that Gaudi lived in for a time. I arrived at the park after a 20 minute walk from the metro and I was immediately satisfied that I had made the trip. It was dark and the park was mostly abdoned. I walked up to the entrance gate and entered a new world. I felt like Dorthy in Oz or Alice arriving in Wonderland. The park featured amazing building at its entrance which once passed, opened up to a large sqaure, then a staircase decorated with mosiac dragons and fountains. The staircase led to a huge area with large columns, then another staircase leading to the rooftop of the columns that provided an unbelievable view of Barcelona city. You would have to see this place in person to understand the beauty and magic of it. I felt like I had entered a fairy tale and was expecting a giant or unicorns to come charging out of the forest. I would jump on the unicorns and ride them to the river of hot chocolate and then deliver golden coins and lolly pop dreams to the village children for the summer solstice. The best part about being at this park was that not only was it off the tourist season, but it was night and I had it all to myself. It was magical. I made sure to sit and enjoy the view and the quiet as long as I could before I had to go back to a sweaty show. But alas, rock and roll called me back and I had to leave my wonderland and head back to the club.

When I arrived back at the club, I met up with the Parkway guys and Casey again and I convinced them to come with me to one of the seaside restaurants to get a seafood paella. Getting a proper paella in Spain was at the top of my list of things to do while I was in Spain. Casey, Gaz and Jeff from Parkway, Jay from Cancer Bats and myself all rolled up to a nice, classy restaurant that I had seen serving pealla earlier that day. Gaz and Jeff had never even heard of paella before but were willing to give it a shot. 45 minutes later we were all looking at a huge plate were a gorgeous seafood paella once stood. We all rubbed our stomachs with content and toasted to a good meal.

The day ended perfectly with an awesome show with kids going crazy, singing along and having a great time with us, which left us all thinking "why had we never played in Spain before?"

After our set we had to immediately pack up and head out for the long 14 hour drive to Zurich, Switzerland. For only having been there one day, I left Barcelona feeling like I had experienced a great deal of the city and culture. Definitely a highlight of this tour.






Sagrada Famila




Park Guell