There were times on our way to Barcelona, on the cruise, and on the way back home that I honestly believed I was either going to die or commit murder. Despite that specter of death, Barcelona managed to catapult itself into my Top 3 destinations, earning itself the great honor of being a city to which I would return without the slightest hesitation, following only Dublin and coming in slightly ahead of Tuscany. It is remarkably clean, the architecture is stunning, and the people are incredibly kind. The traveling trifecta!
We stayed at the Hotel Regina which was clean, comfortable, and a nice fusion of modern and traditional design, but more importantly inexpensive and amazingly located in the heart of the city steps away from the Placa Catalunya and La Rambla. And right next door to a Starbucks.
My parents were supposed to arrive in Barcelona the day before us, unfortunately due to the horrible weather in Atlanta, the Northeast, and EUROPE IN GENERAL, they ended up arriving about seven hours after us. While we were waiting for them, we decided to jump on board the hop-on-hop-off bus and get an overview of the city. We saw plenty of modernisme architecture, centuries-old buildings lining the streets, cathedrals, and more and got back to the hotel with just enough time to squeeze in a short lay down before meeting up with my parents. We went to dinner at a nearby tapas restaurant using the toothpicks to hold our eyes open, then my parents hit the hay while Colby and I went for a nighttime stroll along La Rambla.
We were warned and warned and warned again about the pickpockets in Barcelona and especially along La Rambla, but we never felt the least bit unsafe. We kept our belongings where we could see them, were alert to our surroundings, and Colby wore the dread money belt under his shirt, and we came away unscathed. The best part of visiting the city when we did was that all of the streets were decorated with beautiful Christmas lights and decorations, the buildings were glittering with LED lights, and pesebres (nativity scenes) were scattered around the city. It was magical.
The next day we went back to the hop-on bus so that we could hit the Gaudi sites. We started at Casa Batllo on Passeig de Gracia in a block of buildings referred to as "The Block of Discord". Now granted, Gaudi architecture is a bit much, but I've got to tell you, I fell in love with the whimsy, surrealism and organic flow of his buildings. You'd be hard-pressed to find a right angle anywhere in his design and there is so much creativity in everything from the flooring to the door handles. We also went to Casa Mila, but as it has been converted into shops, we decided to just view it from the outside.
To continue our Gaudi experience, we continued on to La Sagrada Familia, his unfinished masterpiece. Gaudi began construction on the cathedral in 1882, and it is estimated that it will take another 30-50 years to reach completion. I cannot even put into words how incredible this cathedral is. Let me tell you, this is no St. Paul's Cathedral or St. Peter's Basilica. This cathedral is like walking into a mythical forest--unimaginably tall columns stretching up toward Heaven like towering trees, jewel toned stain glass windows cast bands of rainbows on every surface. It is unlike anything I've ever seen, and all you can do is stand there, slowly rotating in the center of the construction chaos, pivoting slowly, head tilted back, mouth agape.
I'm not a particularly religious person by any stretch of the imagination, but standing in that cathedral, taking in the genius of another man's passion for his art and his faith, I couldn't help but think, this is a cathedral God could really get behind.
Sounds like your trip was wonderful! Gorgeous pictures too :)
FYI, I tried to comment on your About Me page with the list you have, delightful list! However I couldn't leave a comment because I kept receiving an error every time I hit "post"...just thought you might want to know.
Thanks for stopping by lately on my blog :) I've been a follower of your for some time now!
Posted by: Sara | January 05, 2011 at 08:33 PM
i've never been to spain and despite the heat warning your pictures so make me want to go! it looks gorgeous!
Posted by: katelin | January 06, 2011 at 12:31 AM
WOW. Amazing photos.
Posted by: courtney | January 06, 2011 at 01:27 AM
Looks wonderful!
Posted by: sophie | January 06, 2011 at 03:25 AM
Gorgeous photos! I cant wait to go one day. It's definitely on our list of must sees.
I would love for you to guest post for me! You can write about anything, just email it to me by Jan 26th. Thanks!
Posted by: Kendra | January 06, 2011 at 10:18 AM
Sounds like an absolutely incredible trip, amazing photographs! I was in Madrid in the summer and loved it to bits; Barcelona looks infinitely more wonderful :)
Posted by: Emily Jane | January 06, 2011 at 04:25 PM
Barcelona looks magical. And it sounds like despite all the travel snafoos you still had a memorable trip.
Can't wait to visit some day... Spain has never really been high on my list of "must sees". But, you, my dear, have piqued my interest!!!
Leaving the House in THIS?!?!
Posted by: Molly | January 08, 2011 at 11:56 PM
I finally got the chance to sit down with this post--wonderful, beautiful! Thanks for the tour. :)
Posted by: Kate P | January 15, 2011 at 02:59 AM