It was a short flight from Sweden to Spain only 2.5 hours. I was surprised that I didn´t have to go through immigration or customs. I just walked off the plane collected my luggage and went outside to meet my friend Javi. That expedited the process of my departure from the airport to the city of Madrid. My friend Javi Gonzales arrived on time to meet me at the airport. He came all the way from Tarragona, on the new speed train, the Ave, which travells at a speed of about 300km per hour. The train took about 2.5 hours to reach Madrid from Tarragona. Its a good thing Javi met me at the airport, because we had to take the metro from the airport to Madrid with many connecting trains, bustling crowds and having to walk up and down never ending stairs with my luggage (I swore that the next time I travel, I will only take a backpack with basic necessities - Right!) We had planned to stay with Javi Beltran for the night, then the next day we would take the fast train to Tarragona where Javi Gonzales lived. Javi B met us at a metro station in Madrid and took us to his place. We dropped my luggage off and went by to pick up Christina Peda (Javi Beltran´s sister) who had only arrived from Melbourne a couple of days before. As usual, I was eager to get going, so we jumped into Javi Bs car and off to explore Madrid. A Nigerian friend of Javi G joing us in the city later. Here are some photos of our exploits in the city of Madrid:
We got up early the next morning and had breakfast (chocolate con churros) at Javi ´s place; then off the get the train to Tarrogona:
Do you notice that I am only carring a small travel bag? Well, I decided to leave the rest of my bangarang at Javi B´s flat, because my next destination (Germany/Austria) was in 4 days and I would be leaving from Madrid. Well, when we reached the central station where the fast trains departs for Tarragona, we realized that we had about an hour before our train leaves, so we decided to put our luggage into a locker and take a walk around the area. Later we decided that having some lunch would be a good idea since the journey to Tarragona would take about 2.5 hours. Well, you can guess what happened next! We rushed back to collect our luggage and was just in time to see 0ur train pulling out of the station. what a bummer!!
The next train was in a few hours, so we reschduled for that train, and had to travel in seperate coach because we couldn´t get two seats together. The journey to Tarragona was a very scenic one. I tried to take some photos, but the train was going too fast. I sat beside Juan-Pablo a young professional who offered to take photos of me in the train: 
He was travelling to Zaragoza which is located between Madrid and Tarragona (the 1st train stop) and works at Zaragoza University. He gave me much insights about the culture and history of regions where I was travelling to. We exchanged email address and I promised to send him my blog address so he could follow the rest of my journey.
The train made only 3 stops including its fianl destination (Tarragona). Close to the end of the journey, Javi G came over to my coach and remained there for the rest of the journey as there were many vacant seats by then. We took a few photos on the trian:
We arrive in Tarragona around 6:30pm, had a quick rest then got ready for the meeting which started at 7:30pm (Book Study - English):
After the book study, we drove by the Kingdom Hall where the Spanish group met. They had just concluded their meeting and were about to leave. We met Javi´s brother and his family and some others Spanish friends and we decided to go with them for supper:
A DAY IN BARCELONA!
The next day Javi, Debora and I drove to Barcelona. Debora was quite familiar with the city, so she acted as our tour guide. There was so much to see in Barcelona, a day was far too short, so I decided to settle on seeing Antoni Gaudi´s building (Casa Batllo), Las Ramblas, the food market and the harbour. Here are some photos:
Below, Las Ramblas, a busy pedestrian mall approximately 1.2 kilometers and lined with trees. Las Ramblas is full of street theatre, cafes and market stalls. It is popular with both tourists and locals alike. It appears to be the bub of Barcelona:
To the left is the Christopher Columbus monument located near Las Ramblas.
Below, a busy open market situated about mid way along Las Ramblas.
The water in the bay at Barcelona appears to be quite clean and full of all kinds of fish. Debora through a few biscut crumbs in the water and a schoal of fish hovered around begging for more. I was tempted to jump into the water a grab a few for dinner - yummy yummy went my tummy!!
We left Barcelona around 5:30pm and arrived in Tarragona about 6:45pm. We had to get back by 7:30pm to attend a Jazz Concert in Tarragona. The Jazz band is called The Ladies of the Jazz an Afircan American group. They gave a great performance:
After the Jazz performance,we went for a bite and then went dancing salsa and merenge until the wee hours of the morning. Here is the group of dynamic party animals:
The next day, I prepared lunch (Jamaican style) for five of us. After we had lunch I got ready for my trip back to Mardid and they all came with me to the train station. On our way to the train station we made a brief stop and took some photos by an ancient Roman aqueduct:
I couldn´t believe it was already time to leave Spain. I have leaving Tarragona with much treasured memories! I can´t wait to visit again, but the journey must continue. My next stop is Germany/Austria!
