Dondee Essstaaa Barcelloonnna Weekend...

This weekend I ventured out of my comfortable moroccan existence to visit the faraway land of Barcelona.
I took two trains and a plane on Friday for my brief Spanish holiday. I had wonderful sun-filled weather and great food. PLUS, I was able to see some of my lovely friends from Drake who were there for the week on a mission trip.

My friend and I were mistaken for Spaniards multiple times (although not by spaniards, by tourists). We almost felt like we blended in with a country and enjoyed the time where we didn't stick out everywhere we go. We didn't draw stares and didn't hear any degrading remarks. It was a wonderful respite.
We were site-seeers extraordinaire. I saw Sagrada Familia, Parc Guill, various other Goudy houses and buildings and the magic fountains. To make the trip even better, we stumbled upon the world's longest bench. I sat on it. Not sure what else to say about the bench, it was very long and windy and was very comfortable. Perhaps my favorite bench in the world. We did a little bit of European shopping, hearing that prices are better in some of Barcelona's stores since they originate from Spain.

The weekend concluded with seeing Drake people from my church in Des Moines. It was wonderful to see so many people and to spend time with them. I attended the Sunday morning worship with them and then Alicia and I were accompanied the rest of the afternoon with Jon and Ashley. We saw the beach, ate gelato, and visited a pretend road? - There was a park with an abundance of road signs and road markers which we assumed is for those parents who don't want to deny their children anything, including playing in the street. It seemed like a safe and contained alternative.

We came back to Casablanca at 9:40 pm, ran to catch the first train and then planned on taking the second train right away, leaving us in rabat at midnight. However, the train wasn't going to arrive until 12:55am. Bringing us to Rabat at 2am. I arrived back safe and sound thanks to a friend meeting me at the station. A restful end to a restful weekend.