Barcelona, Spain - Day 2

     On our second day in Barcelona, we woke up early so we could be some of the first in line to get into the Sagrada Familia church. When we got there, we found that we weren’t the only ones with this idea and the line we encountered was even longer than the previous day but we didn’t have the sun beating down on us. It didn’t take much waiting and we were finally in. The last time Iz and I visited the church, it was full of scaffolding and we were only allowed to walk around the perimeter. 

     This time, everything on the inside was pretty much done and we were able to enjoy it fully. There were a lot of windows that let in natural light and the design of the building was so refreshingly modern. The great thing about Gaudí is his attention to detail and his whimsical side, both of which are present in every detail of the church. It's amazing that Gaudí started building the church in 1883 and only saw it 1/4 of the way complete when he died. There are many arguments from the people of Barcelona about how much of the design is based in Gaudí's original design due to them being lost and the church being damaged by the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

     The second stop was another Gaudí landmark, Parque Güell. It sits north of the city and provides an amazing skyline view of the city. Iz and I remembered the long hike to get up to the park so we did some research and found a bus that drops you off right next to the front gate. The front gate sets a fun tone for the park with the two gingerbread houses. 

     Behind them are sets of stairs divided by fountains and the famous Gaudí lizard. A replica is available from every peddler trying to earn a Euro in the park. At the top of the steps is a cave full of columns and fun ceiling decorations. On top of the cave are the famous benches that form a huge half circle and provide a great place to soak up the view of the city. We felt more of an urge to sit in the shade after the people we saw sitting there left. It definitely made our time more enjoyable.

Izzy’s dad insisted we hike up to the crosses at the top. When he tried to leave, a most disagreeable old lady told him he shouldn’t come down that way because she was coming up that way. This did not go over too well. She learned better.

     After a quick bite and a game of cards at a pita shop, we made for our final place of the day, the Gothic Quarter. It’s famous for narrow streets, charmingly old yet dirty buildings, and a sense of history. The main gothic church was closed but we were able to visit the crypt. The women had to cover their shoulders to enter. Another relic of tradition some can’t let go of.

     To get back to our hotel, we went to the train station to catch a bus. Since we watched one drive off, we decided the twenty-minute wait would be better in the shade. In the meantime, a line of old ladies formed and when we returned to the stop, they were quite unhappy when we cut in front of them. The last are going first they said. I informed them they were because we’d been waiting in the shade so they can shut it. We ended our evening by having a bottle of wine and some tapas while watching fireworks celebrating the end of a festival in the small town outside of Barcelona where we stayed.

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Barcelona, Spain - Day 1

     We caught a taxi into Barcelona on Saturday morning to the Plaza España. The taxi driver was nice enough to point out that the Plaza de Toros(Bullring) had been turned into a shopping mall. What a middle finger to Spain from Catalunya and their ever continuing effort to not be Spanish. They also passed a law prohibiting bullfights. The mall also came equipped with a tower to go up and get a great view of the city. Instead, we had a coffee at a local cafe and ventured over to the gay pride festival to see what was going on. Saturday was the day for lots of sports activities for kids.

     Afterwards, we made our best investment of the trip and bought a 2 day pass for the bus and subway. We went to the Casa Batlló, designed by Antoní Gaudí. It's an old house that he was commissioned to renovate in a new and modern way. He took lots of inspiration from nature and designed the outside of the house to look like a dragon. The inside has many interesting touches that create the sense of being inside a living creature. The walls are designed to look like scales and the handrails of the staircases look like vertebrae. The most spectacular part is the roof, where he designed the chimneys to look like the back and tail of the dragon. The view of the city is nice too.

      We went in search of a non existent burger place for lunch we had heard about. It sounded amazing but in the end, we just went to a run of the mill Spanish restaurant. We took a long break from the heat and the girls went shopping for some clothes. Then, we tried the Sagrada Familia but the line was long and we only would have been able to go in for a half hour. This did not satisfy our time for price value so we decided to try the next day and go on to La Rambla. On our way, we passed the Arc de Triomphe.

     La Rambla is a long stretch of street that reaches from the Plaza Catalunya to Barceloneta, the small beach town. It's full of restaurants, tourist shops, and lots of pickpockets. If there is any place in Barcelona where you run the risk of being picked, its on La Rambla. There are also other clever games in which people appear to be participating in betting on which cup the ball is under. They go back and forth winning and losing but the trick is that they are part of the group trying to con people out of money. Another great place to visit on La Rambla is the famous Mercat de la Boquería. It seemed that every other stand offered an over priced fruit smoothie full of fruit seeds and no delicious juice. We tried one of course and it was not good. We also made the mistake of going to the first stall in the market and realized how much we overpaid after we saw them for half the price at other places. Oh well. We made up for it by buying some fruit for snacks later.

     From the market, we went down to the harbor near Barceloneta so Izzy's parents could see the boats. They love boats and all things boat related so it was like heaven for them. We took some pictures of them by the boats and wandered around the marina checking out the sites. There were a ton of people out doing the same thing and enjoying the end of the day. The old customs building is right by the harbor and is magnificent. There's also a statue of Christopher Columbus "pointing to the new world" or Italy and Greece in reality. Later, we met a friend of Izzy's for a while and had a drink to catch up. It was a great day.

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