We walked 13 miles on our first day. Beginning in the old Gothic neighborhood, El Barri Gotic, we wandered from the main square called Placa de Catalunya down to the Cathedral of Barcelona. Remnants of Rome and an outdoor Picasso frieze were our first tastes of Spain and Italy. Ancient artifacts and famous art were regular sights this past trip. A stroll through narrow alleys lined with drying laundry led us down to the water and the Columbus Statue. From there we rambled up the Ramblas, the main tourist street shaded by big trees. For lunch, we ate our way through the Boqueria market. Fresh cut mango was one of my favorite snacks. The rest of the afternoon consisted of the Picasso museum and the beginning of our negotiation for the cheapest Barca jersey in town.
After a siesta, we set out for dinner and sangria before meeting up with a friend. A couple lessons learned: 1) when it comes to Paella, 'cheap' and 'delicious' are mutually exclusive, trust me 2) sangria is a specialty of southern Spain and the sangria in Barca is actually similar to Manischewitz. Afterward we set off to meet up with our friend. We ended up playing a game called 'navigate without a map or phone'. Long story short we walked more than was probably necessary and ended up seeing Howie Mandel, the Deal or No Deal host, at a hotel that was helping us navigate.
Day two in Barcelona was not actually in the city. We took a guided hike to Montserrat, the tallest mountain in Catalunya and a favorite spot for rock climbers. It was almost mystical hiking through the clouds up to the summit. Along the way we witnessed adventurous souls walking a tightrope stretched over a large drop. We wrapped up the day with Alex, our guide, taking us to a local hole in the wall tapas restaurant for a genuine Barcelona experience.
Our third day began with a tour of the absolutely incredible Sagrada Familia. This church is enormous, gorgeous, and breath-taking. Having now seen the greatest cathedrals in Europe, I can say this is my favorite. Inspired by nature, the inside feels like a forest colored by light shining through stained glass. It was actually very peaceful inside despite construction still taking place. After a brief trip to see the overlook at Park Guell, we made our way to a sandwich shop frequented by abroad students.
It's a good thing we did because otherwise we would have missed the FC Barcelona game we had tickets to. It was Saturday and I was fairly certain the game was Sunday. After getting to know our neighbors in the long food line we were shocked to learn the game was Saturday night. This meant we had to haggle with every souvenir shop in Barcelona before 8pm to find myself a jersey in time for the game. Don't worry, I got one.
Our last day in Barcelona was nice and relaxing out on the beach. I really enjoyed just walking around, sitting in the sand, and people watching. The people I see in each city never fail to outdo themselves. It's always a spectacle. The next morning we took the high-speed train to Madrid to begin our next adventure.
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