Weekend in Barcelona

Dear Barcelona,  you...are...awesome.

Another "puente" has come and gone.  This vacation went by faster than ever, which means it was a blast.  My good friend (Kate) and I planned a trip to Barcelona about a month ago.  Both of us happen to be Spanish majors, so we had a pretty good idea of what to expect from the city because we've studied it.  I knew that Barcelona was a modernistic tourist attraction, I knew it had awesome architecture, I knew it was perfectly situated on the Mediterranean..but I had no idea that I'd love it as much as I did.

Kate and I on the boardwalk

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain after Madrid.  It's the 16th-most-visited city in the world and the 4th most visited in Europe after Paris, London and Rome.  When I think of Barcelona, I think of Gaudí.  Antoni Gaudí is a famous architect nicknamed "God's Architect". His masterpieces are all over the city and you better believe that I went to visit them all!  Starting with the most famous, "La Sagrada Familia".  Kate and I stumbled upon it late Thursday night when it was extremely dark out.  One of the best moments of my life was accidentally running into this giant work of art! We went back the next morning to visit it in daylight.  It's extremely detailed and just gorgeous, so gorgeous from the outside that we decided not to pay to go inside of it.

 

The Sagrada Familia has been a working process since the year 1882.  Gaudí worked on it for 40 years and it is said to be finished in the year 2026, which will be the centennial of Gaudí's death.

www.hola.com

What a great way to start the vacation right?  That was just the beginning.  Next up; Las Ramblas, a long street in the center of the city known for its shops and market. We walked up and down Las Ramblas a couple times- on accident but it was still nice to not have an itinerary.  At first we attempted to follow a tour guide but we couldn't find it.  It happened to be for the better because we ended up seeing everything we needed to see and then some.  Situated on La Rambla is the famous market "La Boqueria".  This market was very busy- full of locals buying fresh produce and tourists taking pictures and drinking delicious fruit smoothies.  The market has everything from flowers, cheese, meat, seafood, spices, candy, fruits, etc.. 

Fresh smoothies for 1 euro.  I had a raspberry-pineapple :)

I had a free sample of this nougat

Spanish mushrooms

 

The end of La Rambla turns into the beautiful ocean waters and the boardwalk that you see in my first pictures above.  After our delicious Mexican lunch (yum) we took a metro to go see the next famous stop- Park Güell.

Ocean view from Park Güell



Looking up to the Park

Another Gaudí work of art, Park Güell is a hike up a hill but worth the views!  Full of tourists, (for obvious reasons) this attraction is a beautiful park full of mosaics, gardens and of course, the popular salamander.

 

All the benches are mosaics

Day 2: Casa Batlló, La Pedrera (both by Gaudí), Els Quatre Gats, a little shopping, the music theatre and the Magic Fountain

Casa Batlló



Casa Batlló

 

La Pedrera

 

Els Quatre Gats "The Four Cats" bar- famous for being the place of Picasso's first exhibit

The Magic Fountain- it has 50 different shades of colors and it plays music

I feel as if we covered a lot of ground in 2 days.  Kate and I also became experts at using the Barcelona metro.  A little advice would be to buy the 10 ticket pass and pass back the ticket to your friend so you end up saving a couple euros.  Also, don't be afraid to get lost.  It was to our advantage to stumble upon different neighborhoods, sights and attractions.  For example, we ran into the giant Gothic church on accident and ending up strolling through the Christmas markets.  I bought two amazing sweaters from a local woman who handmade them.  I couldn't resist!

The Gothic Cathedral of Santa Eulalia- it opened in 1450

I have only good things to say about Barcelona. I even felt very safe in such a touristy place (I've heard stories).  Overwhelming and welcoming at the same time, the city has enough entertainment to last you months.  I hope to make it back one day!