Dios Mio Barcelona!

We had a really great five days in Barcelona. We walked 36 miles criss-crossing all over the city (according to my iPhone's pedometer). Our AirBnB was booked pretty last minute, so we ended up with a private bedroom/bathroom in a family apartment, and it worked out great. Our hosts were excellent. Their 18 month old daughter loved Bill, and they gave us lots of useful sightseeing tips. 

Our first evening, we took a good long look at the Sagrada Familia basilica while having drinks at a cafe across the street. La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece cathedral was started in 1882, but still isn't finished (estimated completion is 2026, in time for the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death). Bill had been here in 2004, but this was my first time seeing it and I have to say, as cathedrals go, I didn't love it. As our tour guide the next day said, though, "the outside will grow on you, but the inside doesn't have to". That was indeed my experience. The outside did grow on me once I knew more about the details and Gaudi's motivation (he was very inspired by nature). But the inside was really amazing. The giant columns look and feel like tree trunks that branch out to the ceiling. You feel like you're in a forest. And I don't know if we just got lucky with the beautiful sunshine that day, but the bright light allowed the stained glass to suffuse the cathedral with glowing colors. It was incredible. These pics don't do it justice. Hopefully we'll get to see it again someday when it's complete. Here is a link to a full set of picts from the Sagrada.

We took a train out of the city the next day to see a mountain monastery called Montserrat. What an incredible place. You can see why somebody thought it was a good place to feel close to God. We weren't able to hike around the mountain tops because it was raining, but we got a good feel for it by seeing the Virgin of Monserrat (a black Mary), and touring the abbey and museum. We took a funicular up and a cable car down from the mountain to get the full effect. That night, we got to see the famous "Magic Fountain" show in Barcelona. It's no Bellagio in Vegas, but it was a really nice water fountain show with colors, and tons of people came out for it. 

Little did we know that Saturday was Sant Jordi day (Saint George's day) in Catalonia, "the most romantic day of the year." It turned out to be a huge celebration, kind of similar to Valentine's except that everyone is out in the streets. Apparently, St. George slayed a dragon to save a princess, very romantic! There are rose vendors everywhere (a man must buy a single red rose for his lady so she can carry it around proudly all day), and book vendors everywhere (the ladies buy books for the men, and evidently HALF of the year's books are sold on that day!). We had a great time walking the full length of Las Ramblas with what felt like the entire city. Along the way, we saw a few more Gaudi-designed buildings, a statue of Columbus, and the waterfront.

Our last day in Barcelona, we headed up to Guell Park, which has great views of Barcelona.










Guell was a big supporter and financier of Gaudi's, so we saw more of Gaudi's work there as well. Then we headed back down to the Gothic Quarter and saw the Barcelona Cathedral and the Basilica of Santa Maria of del Mar. And then we managed to eat some paella. 

All in all, a fabulous visit to Barcelona. And the Spanish from all our trips down to Baja Mexico paid off and helped us navigate the city. Until next time, Adios!