So today we arrive in Barcelona around lunchtime and are staying overnight! We take off tomorrow evening at 10pm so we have plenty of time in a city that needs plenty of time. As most of you know, my abroad adventures began in Barcelona—I spent 5 months here in 2007 before I moved to Greece and met Craig. But I never mind coming back to my favorite city, and I can’t wait to show the city to my husband.
For those that are planning on visiting to Barcelona: I highly recommend the hop on hop off tour. I don’t recommend these in every city, but in Barcelona it’s really a great way to see a lot of stuff. They have a 2 day pass so if you are in the city for 2 or more days, I would do that. There are two companies and they are basically the same.
My number one “must do” in Barcelona is Sagrada Familia. It is by far one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. I would put it on par with the Sistine Chapel. Gaudi was an architect in Barcelona in the early 1900s and he has many amazing works all throughout the city of Barcelona. The most amazing, in my and most people’s opinions, is Sagrada Familia. It is truly indescribable—when I can post pictures (internet is wayyyy too slow) I will or you could just google it to see what I am talking about. The church is yet to be finished and I honestly cannot imagine it ever being finished. Gaudi passed away in 1926 and there is still so much left to be done. For example: there are only 4 towers finished now and there will someday be either 16 or 20 (can’t remember which right now). If any of you get to Sagrada Familia and see the line, there is always a long line, and want to turn back—don’t. It is so completely worth it. We would also recommend getting the audio tour on the headphones. It’s only like 4 Euros and the church is amazing but all of it makes way more sense and is far more impressive when you know what you are looking at.
Among many many works that Gaudi has, others I would recommend are Parc Guell, and two famous houses he built—Casa Batllo and La Pedrera. All are worth seeing and touring. If you go to Parc Guell, I would recommend going early. Once it gets later there are just throngs of tourists and it’s not as enjoyable. It is also quite a hike so those who are not up for that should keep it in mind. Casa Batllo and La Pedrera are now museums dedicated to Gaudi—with the outside being absolutely stunning and the inside being incredibly interesting.
Another “must do” in Barcelona is Las Ramblas. This is a long street full of vendors and street performers. It is definitely an experience to walk up and down—I love sitting at the cafes and people watching. You can see anything here—every time I go it’s completely different. This time, Craig and I saw a John Wayne impersonator, hip hop dancers, a robot, a bunch of guys doing a card trick which seemed like a way to rip people of but we aren’t sure how, and so much more. Along Las Ramblas there is the Mercat which is a huge market. Absolutely go into the market—it is such a sight! They have stalls with all fruit, all candy, all nuts, etc… it is so beautiful! They have popsicle treats and all sorts of fruit to eat on the go if you want to get a snack! This is when I dropped and broke our camera so we didn’t get to take that many pictures. However, I have some great pictures from the last time I went that I can post!
The food in Spain is absolutely incredible. Aside from Sangria—my favorite—they have the best sea food you can get. I would always recommend getting the seafood paella—as it is a Spanish specialty. However, make sure to get it from a good place. It can be easy to go to a touristy place in Barcelona and overpay for bad food. One place you cannot go wrong is the Port. It will not be cheap, but it will be very, very good.
Something I had never done before that we did this time is stop at the National Art Museum of Catalan. Catalan is the region of Spain where Barcelona is—and this is the main museum of their art. It was very impressive, but our favorite part was the view outside. We got some great pictures from here with the entire city of Barcelona behind us. Definitely worth a quick hop off the tour bus to get this picture!
I could go on and on and on, as there is SO much to do in Barcelona. Anyone who is going can always e-mail me for more details! We ended our evening at Port Olympic which is a huge street of bar after bar after bar! You cannot go wrong on a night out here! We had an absolute blast!
Craig LOVES Barcelona and it was just as amazing as I remember! I was sad to say goodbye but we have so much more to come! Up next: Palma de Mallorca, Spain and Tunisia, Africa! :)
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