December 22, 2013: Day Two in Madrid/Barcelona

Today was the day we were to take the train from Madrid to Barcelona.  It was a very easy process and the train took about 3 hours.  We arrived in Barcelona and checked into our hotel.

We walked down La Rambla and to Palau Guell, one of Antoni Gaudi's creations.  The ticket came with an audio tour, which was a great way to learn about the building.  The highlight of this exhibit was the rooftop, decorated with interesting ceramic covered chimneys, a perfect photo op!

For dinner, we wanted a nice traditional Spanish meal.  There were a lot of restaurants on the same street as our hotel so we decided to go in and have paella.  We ordered a combination paella with seafood, chicken and vegetables to split between the two of us.  The person who was running the small restaurant was very generous and gave us a larger paella free of charge.  He gave us a free bottle of water and even offered us free shots, which we politely declined as we rushed out.  There is a fine line between being generous and creepy.  But it's a nice anecdote to tell our friends, especially because of the fact that my friend misinterpreted the word "shot" for "shirt" and didn't understand why I was adamant on declining his offer.