Our early Sunday morning wake-up call, coupled with our fun-but-exhausting previous week with Jigar, resulted in a dire need for some rest once Alex and I arrived in Barcelona. Having been to the city twice before, I was confident I could show Alex the best sights - plus a few new ones - in two full days after using our first day to relax and catch up on some final trip planning. We spent the day mostly perched within our guest house, ventured out for a couple meals and ended the evening feeling relaxed and recharged, ready to take on Barcelona in the morning.
We started Monday by walking to the Sant Pau del Camp, since it was on the way to the Barri Gotic neighborhood, our primary destination for the morning. Unfortunately, a concert was scheduled to take place within the church so it was closed to visitors. While not that impressive from the outside, we did love the flowered walls nearby.
Alex now knows how to spell "bougainvillea" because I love it so much and always point it out.
We continued walking toward the Marina and stopped briefly to check out the various monuments, government buildings and, of course, the many boats anchored nearby.
A lot of these boats sailed from pretty far away!
Checking out the seemingly-out-of-place Picasso statue near the water.
Next, we headed to El Casal, a small off-the-beaten-path café for lunch and enjoyed a quiet and delicious meal away from the hoards of tourists we encountered on Las Ramblas. After a delightful leisurely lunch outdoors (a standout was Alex’s appetizer – fish gratin, which was like a rich, fluffy crab cake), Alex and I continued to stroll through the Gothic Neighborhood, finally ending up at the Catedral de Barcelona.
Looking up at Placa St Jaume.
Everone seemed pretty impressed with the classic gothic-style Carrer del Bisbe archway.
The Barcelona Cathedral is an enormous Gothic cathedral and seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona, Spain. It was constructred during the 14th-16th centuries and is known for the many gargoyles that line the various roofs. We meandered through the beautiful interior and were also able to ascend to the rooftop for views of the city and nearby rooftops. The outdoor scenery wasn’t quite as impressive given the numerous television antennae but we still enjoyed being able to look out across downtown Barcelona.
Looking up at the impressive altar.
Now looking back.
View of the steeple from the rooftop.
We only saw the front as we left the building!
Park Guell, our next stop, is one of my favorite places in Barcelona so I made sure Alex and I allocated an afternoon on a clear day to check it out. The park was designed by Antoni Gaudi, whose unique architectural style - typified by bright tiles and unique curving walls - is displayed throughout Barcelona. Unfortunately, upon arriving we learned that the admission rules have changed since I was last here and we could only buy tickets for two hours from the time we arrived. Fear not! The park has siphoned off a “free public area” where we were able to grab a beer and stroll around to pass the time until we could enter the main area. Once we were able to enter, we were not disappointed; the beautiful tiled architecture and views of city, sea and sky were just as good as I had remembered.
Not a bad view from the "public area."
There were many contrasts between Guadi's more modern architecture and older styles.
One of the best spots n the park, in my humble opinion.
Looking out toward Barcelona.
The tile makes everything look so bright and colorful.
We saw our brief opening without other tourists and pounced on a friendly English tourist to take our picture.
One more shot of the tiles and cityscape.
And one of me in my favorite place.
Some of the more "modern" columns.
Looking up at the pavilion ceiling, also detailed with tiling.
Walking down the hill – which was much easier than the steep incline up! – Alex and I settled on a restaurant near to the bar at which we were later meeting a friend-of-a-friend. We took the subway to the Eixample area and checked out the Casa Mila on our way to dinner.
Commonly known as La Pedrera, Casa Mila is the largest civil building designed by Gaudi in Barcelona.
If you are ever in Barcelona and find yourself “tapas’d out” definitely go early to snag a seat at Foc I Oli. The small place is very casual, only has about ten seats and serves one thing: delicious burgers.
Tiny unassuming place (I mean, we are basically on top of the cash register!) but amazing burgers.
After dinner, we met up with Jill, who is friends with our friend Kristen from NYC and just happened to be in Barcelona on her yearlong travel adventure! We sipped cocktails – a welcome change from Spanish wine - and shared travel stories for a few hours before realizing it was way past our bedtime. It was great to meet a fellow traveler and swap recommendations for our upcoming destinations; Alex and I are really looking forward to France now!
Today we woke up to a cloudy, rainy day – our first in a while – so we took our time getting ready and headed back to a nearby spot we discovered with amazing brunch options.
Copacetic is such a great neighborhood gem – the servers are super friendly, the food is delicious and the chefs can accommodate just about any allergy or preference!
Feeling refueled, we took advantage of a brief rain interlude and walked with our takeaway cappuccinos to catch the subway to Sagrada Familia. Learning from my admission experience at Park Guell, I had prebooked tickets online so we were able to go in immediately upon arriving – no waiting in the rain for us! We walked around the church outside and marveled at the structure – and how far the builders still have to go in order to complete it.
So strange to be able to see the old and new parts of the church side-by-side.
Once inside, I was shocked by the changes that have occurred since I was last here five years ago. I remembered dusty floors, dark wooden scaffolding and empty areas that were blocked off to tourists; now the interior is almost complete and the finished product seems within reach.
We thought the newer interior was very alien-like.
Quite a different looking church altar!
Alex and I both felt like the brand new inside was at odds with the older feeling outside, but obviously it is difficult for harmonious architecture to exist when the church has been in construction for nearly 100 years! By the time we had finished checking out the inside, it was pouring rain again so we stepped into a nearby coffee shop to wait it out for a bit. Once the rain let up a little, we headed to our last Gaudi stop in Barcelona, Casa Batllo. The house was built by Gaudi for the Batllo family and is fashioned in the typic Gaudi “funhouse” style (as I like to call it). With no right angles in the construction, we thought the structure was more reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland than a real house that people lived in.
The exhibit illustrated how the façade was designed to evoke feelings of water, nature and man.
I’m not sure what Gaudi’s views on drugs were but the crazy design in some of these places make it seem likely that he took a liberal stance!
We had one last Spanish meal of meats and cheeses at a cute tapas spot near our guesthouse, Vino y Otros Remedios, before heading home to get some sleep. Tomorrow we fly to Marseille and both Alex and I are excited to spend a few weeks driving through France!