Barcelona, Spain

For our 5th anniversary, Todd and I went (WITHOUT THE KIDS) to Barcelona, Spain!  For a whole, glorious week!  (Author's note:  For some reason, I did not blog about this trip back in 2010.  So I'm post dating it and blogging about it in 2017!)

We used my mom's Delta family pass and flew first class!  Seriously, it's the only way to travel!  "Ma'am, would you like a mimosa?"  Yes and please.

Many courses!  Soup and salad first though!  Either way though, first class food is still airline food. Meh at best!

Unlike our last trip to Spain, Peter Buck of R.E.M. did not greet me at baggage claim at the airport, much to my disappointment.  Instead, we went immediately to our hotel - Barcino 147.  Definitely a super cool hotel, great location and a really beautiful view!

This was our first room at Barcino 147.  There was a mix up and we actually got a bigger room!  Each room was unique.  One thing that I had never experienced prior to this was a shared bathroom. I was really dreading it, but it turned out to be ok!

After a quick nap, we decided to go out and explore Las Ramblas.  These Bostonians spotted a Dunks!  Not Dunkin' Donuts, but Dunkin' Coffee, of course.  I mean, really the coffee is the better of those two things anyway!

First stop:  La Boqueria.  There has been a market here since the 1200s, but today it's a great place to get fish, meat, spices, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies and even some tapas!

Here fishy, fishy, fishy....

Inside of the busy Boqueria Market.

Back on Las Ramblas.  While Las Ramblas is very touristy, it's a great place to people watch.  The tree lined pedestrian walkway is about three-quarters of a mile long.

At the end of Las Ramblas is the Monument to Christopher Columbus.  It's almost 200 feet high and you can take an elevator to the top, which we did.

Seems pretty harmless.  Statues surrounding the column near the base depict important figures in Columbus' life.

The view from the top looking east was nice but I seriously thought I was going to die.  I'm terrified of heights, and this column was SWAYING.  Like, left to right and I could feel it. 

Looking back north toward Las Ramblas from the Christopher Columbus column.

Phew.  Once we got down from that terrifying column, we stopped for some sangria to calm my nerves!

Heading back through the Place Catalunya where the fountains light up the square.

Batllo House, designed by Gaudi and built in the early 1900s is one of several buildings designed by the quirky architect in Barcelona.  The building façade looks like it was made of bones.  The little window balconies look like faces or masks from below.  Creepy and cool at the same time.  I love all of the color and shapes with the glass and ceramic.  There's so much to see in a Gaudi structure, and so much symbolism.

We ate dinner almost right next door and in the shadow of Batllo House!  YUM!  All of the food pictures we took in Barcelona were titled, "That's not paleo" since we were in the midst of a four month long paleo challenge at our gym!

Since we didn't have kids with us, naturally, we wanted to keep the party going.  In 2010, our semi-newly elected president was Barak Obama.  Time to stop into a bar that shares his name for some ales and stouts!

Todd having a pint of Guinness with the Commander in Chief.  I'm pretty sure they were discussing foreign policy here.  (2017 note: The front of this bar looks totally different now, and apparently, President Obama now sits in front of the doorway rather than inside!)

Back to the hotel and it's strange home plate shaped elevator! 

 

We fueled up with pastries and coffee on day two.  #thatsnotpaleopart2

We decided to ride along on the Hop On Hop Off bus to get general view of Barcelona.  La Seu Cathedral is in the distance. 

The Harbor area with it's pretty palm trees and the imposing Westin hotel in the distance.

One stop we wanted to make while in Barcelona was Monjuic.  Translated, it means, "Mountain of the Jews."  Up on this mountain, there's the Montjuic fortress, the Olympic Stadium and several museums.

You can get off of the Hop On Hop Off bus near the base of the hill, and take a gondola lift up to the top of the mountain.  The views are pretty spectacular, including this one of La Sagrada Familia.

Todd attempted to start World War III by firing off this massive cannon.  At one point, there were 120 of these cannons at the fortress!

The fortress at Montjuic.  The first stones were set in 1640, but the original castle was demolished and a new one (the current one) was built in the late 1700s.   It is now a municipal facility owned by the Barcelona City Council.

The fortress overlooks the harbor, with the hundreds of shipping crates and cruise ships in port.

EEK!  You guys know I don't love heights!  Someone get me down from here!

The Montjuic Telecommunications Tower was built for the broadcast of the 1992 summer Olympics.

Me and this guy at the Barcelona Olympic stadium.  (We did some burpees right after this!)

Comin' at ya live from BCN.

Montjuic Gardens and the Catalonian National Art Gallery.

Arenas de Barcelona where the bullfighting used to occur.  It was built in the late 1800s, but the last bullfight happened here in 1977.  In 2012, a ban on bullfighting went into place across Catalonia.  It now houses a bunch of shops, restaurants and a movie theater. Side note:  The Beatles played here in 1966!

I love the architecture across Spain.  There's more curves here than some of the other countries. (And I don't mean the lovely women!)

Casa Mila, or La Pedrera as it's known was Gaudi's last architectural work.  He was certainly a master of the curves.  Next time, I want to go inside!

Oh geez, I'm sure it's been like, 2 whole hours since we've eaten.  Let's have some jamon bocadillo and some sweet cheese and pineapple (which officially, over 6 years later, I'm still dreaming about).  We stopped into this place, Ciudad Condal on the recommendation from the guy who owned our hotel and it did not disappoint! 

Pan con tomate y tortilla de Espana.

Back out on the narrow streets of Barcelona after some tasty tapas.

The Torre Agbar, the newest and tallest building in Barcelona.  Not many people like it!  It's only 142 meters too, so although high, it certainly can't compare to other cities.  Construction limitations mean that no building can be taller than La Sagrada Familia, so likely there won't be too many skyscrapers in Barcelona.  The colored aluminum panels make it similar to something Gaudi might have done.

 Our Hop On Hop Off bus continued after lunch and took us to the outside of La Sagrada Familia, Barcelona's most famous landmark.  Unless you're there, it's very hard to imagine the sheer size of La Sagrada Familia.  Work began on the church in 1882 and as of 2017, it's only 70% completed.  When it is completed, it will be the largest church building in the world! 

I really like Gaudi. His buildings are unique and colorful and always tell a fantastic story.  One word that keeps coming to mind when I think about his work is FUN!  But I really, really dislike the outside of this church.  I don't think of "fun" when I think of a church.  It has a few interesting points but it's all over the place and I can't have any sort of feeling when I admire it because I have too many feelings about it, which makes me feel uneasy (like my ADD is off the charts here).  I get that that is the intent, but I don't have to like it.  I love a beautiful church but odd fruit and Christmas trees?  Very weird.

Once again, Gaudi's lines appear like the bones of a skeleton on the Passion Façade, which depicts, as it states, the Passion of the Christ. 

OK, it isn't really a Christmas tree.  But one can't help but think that when they first see it!  It's actually the Tree of Life.

Let's see Gaudi in perhaps a more suitable setting:  a park!  Our next stop was Park Guell.  This is a fun little place.  There's lots of color and rounded curves and the buildings remind me a bit of iced gingerbread houses.

We climbed up to the top of Park Guell and got some great views of the city.  Doesn't my husband follow the rule of three's so very nicely!?

Trees lean one way, and rock support columns lean another way.

Gaudi loved to use tile mosaics and you can see plenty of them here at Parc Guell.

A funky guy checking out a funky park designed by a funky artist.

AHHHH!  Our favorite wine!  We found it!  We drank this wine on our honeymoon, five years earlier!  Interestingly, we drank this wine with Thai food!  Yum!

When we were thinking about going to Barcelona, my friend Greg suggested we visit Sitges for a day trip.  It was only about an hour away, and we went SOLELY based on his recommendation!  It did not disappoint!

We happened to be there during the famous Sitges Film Festival, which specializes in fantasy and horror films.  Of course, we didn't know this when we arrived, so imagine our surprise when there were many people in zombie costumes walking around!

Todd in the narrow, curving streets of Sitges.  It's situated on the Mediterranean, and much of the city is somewhat steep until you reach the beach area, so there are lots of hills and stairs.

Oh hello there.  What's up, Sangria?!

They have a little jetty that goes out into the Med that you can walk on right near the Church of St. Bartholomew and St. Tecla.  We went inside and there was a wedding going on!  All of our pictures came out blurry though.

Hee hee, I'm peeking around the corner of Todd's little artistic shot!  Time to head back up into town and get some lunch.

You thought I was going to post a food picture but nope.  Just delicious beer!

We ate lunch at Al Fresco (to the right) and then went back down toward the Mediterranean for some more beach time.  I liked this picture because it shows how creative the restaurants have to be with their outside seating!

Prior to this, I had never put my toes in the Mediterranean!  Can you believe that?  Through all of my travels?!  Good thing I got a pedicure.

Todd and I on a windy beach in Sitges.

The zombies are here for the film festival! 

Sitges architecture.

We finally hopped the train back to Barcelona in the evening to catch some dinner (ummm, not literally!) at La Paradeta.  This place was awesome.

First, you go through the fresh fish and tell them what you want.  Good thing Todd speaks Spanish!

Then they cook it up for you!  Seriously, the prawns were the biggest I have ever seen!  (Please note: more wine is on the table.)

The next morning, we decided to do something crazy... something we had never done before!  We decided to take a Segway tour of Barcelona!  Eeek!  We had to meet our guide in the Plaça de St. Jaume.  This is the center of government not only in Barcelona, but in all of Catalonia.  However, as you see it now, it dates back to 1823.

Our Segway Guide Edgar met us in the Placa and gave us a quick tour of the area as we walked to where the Segway's were parked.  He said this was built when the entrance of Palacio de la Generalidad was moved to the front of the building and the governor of Catalunya was lazy and didn't want to walk!

Here I am with the oldest fountains in Barcelona!  OH MY GOSH I JUST REALIZED THESE FACES LOOK LIKE DONALD TRUMP!!!!  Stop.  Just stop.  Did those that build this in the 14th century foresee our 45th president? 

Barcelona (then known as Barcino) was founded by the Romans and some of the Roman walls still exist today.  This tower in the Plaça Traginers Barcelona was built in the 4th century, A.D.  (Although my notes say that we were told it was built around 100 A.D.)  At any rate, it's old!

 La Merce Basilica (The Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy) in the rain from a Segway.  This church was built between 1765 and 1775, and whenever a city sports team wins a championship, it is the custom for the team to go to the church to give thanks.

OMG what have we gotten ourselves into!?  Look at me!  I'm in the front and I'm not even falling over!  Edgar took us down to the Port de Barcelona and gave a really nice history of the city.  I know people on Segways are annoying, but this was actually a really neat way to see the city (if you can get over the fear) and Edgar was an excellent guide.  There's a reason why Barcelona Segway Glides are ranked so high on the list of tours of Barcelona.  Almost all of that is Edgar's excellent narrative!

Ummm, Todd... over here, please. You're going the wrong way!

We didn't let the rain stop us from having fun! 

Now that I've got my land legs back, we went back to the Plaça de St. Jaume to check out the Barcelona City Hall.  Construction started in the mid 14th century on the current building (and like most other old European buildings, additions and renovations followed over the centuries).  However, the city leaders had been meeting in this area since the 1st century B.C. (B.C!!)  This room is the "Room of One Hundred."  It's typically used for weddings and other celebrations.

Hold on, I must speak to my people.

I'm crazy obsessed with elevations.  Back in 100 A.D., this was the highest point of the city within the Roman walls at 16.9 meters.  The doorway behind me leads to the remains of the Roman Temple of Barcino!

I was quite amused that they went ahead and built some modern day buildings around the temple!  This temple, also known as the Temple of Augustus since it was a place of worship for Caesar Augustus, was built at the end of the first century B.C.  The ruins were discovered during an excavation of the area in the late 1800s.

Perusing the Gothic Quarter. 

Lunch at Los Caracoles.  This might be my hangry face.  And apparently I'm very thirsty because I've got FOUR wine glasses in front of me.  Love the photobombing lady behind me, too!

Los Caracoles translates to "snails."  Many famous people have eaten at this restaurant including Salvadore Dali, Jimmy Carter and Robert De Nero!

Oh I get it now.  Snails.  So, not like... the actual snail.  But bread that is shaped like a snail!

Shut up with all of this incredible flan.

In our pre-children days, Todd and I used to hit up a lot of museums, which we did after we filled our bellies at Los Caracoles.  We stopped by the Picasso museum and had to snap some clandestine pictures!  Picasso is one of the finest examples of cubism in the world.  I love his crazy use of color in many of his paintings from this period.  The Las Meninas paintings are actually some that he did later in life, in the 1950s.

Studies from Las Meninas, 1957.  No color in this one but still very interesting.  Las Meninas was a painting by Velasquez that Picasso did a series of paintings about, trying to recreate it in his own way.  In total, he did 58 recreations of it.

All of that art has made us hungry!  Time for some tapas at Catalana, one of the best tapas restaurants in Barcelona!

Mmmm, one of my favorites... patatas bravas!

WE DON'T HAVE ANY CHILDREN WITH US SO WE ARE GOING OUT DRINKING EVERY SINGLE NIGHT! Here I am pretending to be young again, drinking at the local college hangout La Taverna L'ovella Negra (the Black Sheep).  The outside of the bar actually calls it "La Oveja Negra."

It's got it's own tap and everything!  I'd be night night termite after drinking one of those!

Our last full day (sniff, sniff) in Barcelona brought us to La Sagrada Familia, one of the worlds most famous churches.  I touched on this a bit above, but today we were able to get tickets to go inside of the massive church.  The Passion Façade is one of the four facades at La Sagrada Familia. Construction on this façade began several decades after Gaudi's death.

As of 2010, the brown section is what is completed.  When the entire church is complete, it will include the black and white portions as well.  If you think it's big now.... just wait!

Different types of stone were used for the different columns, giving them a multi colored look.

The columns are load bearing (functional), and also appear to look like trees.  I liked the inside of La Sagrada Familia much better than the outside!

Todd and I both agreed that Gaudi looked a lot like Kevin Youkilis!  YOOOOOUK!

The Nativity Façade is certainly beautiful.

The cross on the top of the Tree of Life.

You can climb the towers of La Sagrada Familia for a fee.  It's not cheap to visit this church, but it's a must when in Barcelona.  Currently, tickets to the church, the audioguide and a visit to the towers is going to run you 29 Euros (about $31 right now).

 

But it does provide some excellent views of Barcelona and the Mediterranean!

There's no shortage of construction equipment here at La Sagrada Familia.  The construction these days is fully funded by entrance fees and donations to the church.

Last but not least, we decided to do a little shopping!  We went to the cafeteria at the top of El Corte Ingles for the sunset overlooking the Placa de Catalunya.

Until next time, Barcelona!