Finale De Barcelona

During our travels throughout Europe, we have experienced the beautiful, the romantic, the historical and the artistic, but there are experiences that deserve their own special label: the "Wow" category. The Eiffel Tower at sunset, walking through the Holocaust Memorial, and seeing the Colloseum in person were all experiences that made an impression that will last a lifetime. Our last night in Barcelona deserves to be in that category.
We had put off going to the Magic Fountain for reasons of fatigue or convenience so that we had only our last night to go see it. The fountain is not so magical most of the week, but on Thrusday through Sunday nights, starting at 9:30 p.m. the fountain gives a "performance" coreographed with colored lights and classical music. The fountain is situated between the end of a main street and the National Palace (which also has a fountain in front of it, about 200 metres from the Magic Fountain). We approached the end of said main street just at 9:30 so we got to walk towards it as it was changing from blood red to lemon yellow, all the while feeling like moths heading towards some hypnotic bright light.
There are five shows lasting a half hour each and ending at midnight. We thought we would stay for maybe two shows, but because they kept changing the music and colors, we stayed until around 11:30. The evening began to feel even more like the culmination of our trip when we met friends that we had been travelling with since Paris. We had planned to meet them at the fountain but after seeing that roughly 1-2,00 people were gathered around, we quickly gave up hope. The crescendo of sound and light and saying goodbye to our friends for the last time felt like the capstone to an absolutely incredible and unforgettable experience.
We ended the night by returning to our new "hostel" that we got for the last night because the hostel we had been staying at was all booked up. Hostel is in quotations because it was basically just a large apartment; but it was comfortable and centrally located. Another bonus was that the owner was from Rosario, Argentina, where I spent five weeks last summer. We happened to support the same Rosario soccer team so we got along just fine. After a brief passport scare in the morning, we got on the bus to go to Madrid.
After that last night, along with a relaxed and fun-filled week, we both agreed Barcelona was our favorite city. As for now, we travel to the true Spain, the heart of the country in Madrid. Although we won't go to a bullfight or drink sangria, we will be sure to take in the spirit of Spain as much as possible.