We were in Barcelona in 2007 and remember being blown away by the number of tourists from all over the world. Walking down the Ramblas, you can here many different languages while trying to stay in the flow of the mob of people. It seems like there are now twice as many people and we are here in late October. I can’t imagine what it would be like during the summer. The biggest attraction in Barcelona is the Antoni Gaudi designed Sagrada Familia cathedral. When we visited it years ago, we were only allowed between ropes and on the catwalks because of all the construction on the main floor. The whole floor of the cathedral is now open and was packed with people. It is really awesome. The towers are not complete yet and probably won’t be complete for a few more years. We will have to come back. Although by then, there will be even more tourists! It is still the most impressive church we have ever seen.
P and K are still with us in Barcelona, and K is a huge Joan Miro fan so we had to go visit the Miro museum, which is up on the hill overlooking the city. Great views of downtown from the museum. We lucked out because there was a Picasso/ Miro combined exhibit going on. The 2 artists were friends and were a source of inspiration for each other. The museum mixed in a bunch of Picassso’s with the Miro’s and it made it really interesting. We even saw a Picasso of a Velazquez painting that we saw in Madrid a couple of weeks ago.
I did get in a bike ride and saw a lot more of the city and Barcelona’s waterfront. With P and K, we were in Madrid, Sevilla, and Grenada – none of which really have a beach. In Barcelona, I was able to go from the Port and rode along all the Beaches until I got to the river by the Besas neighborhood up North. Not many people in the water because it is late-October and overcast but it was still fun to see so many people enjoying the Mediterranean. I also saw the harbor with huge yachts and the preparations for the 2024 America’s Cup which is being hosted in Barcelona.
Besides Sagrada Familia cathedral, Antoni Gaudi did several other designs that are also UNESCO world heritage sites so we did our best to see as many as we could. We walked through the Park Guell which was a little disappointing because of the hordes of people that also wanted to see it. Lots of tile mosaics everywhere. His ideas were certainly ahead of his time with lots of Dr. Seuss type structures. Lots of fun.
We stayed with P and K in a 2 bedroom Airbnb just a couple of blocks from the Sagrada Familia. It was just fine but a bit expensive. But Barcelona is a bit expensive. One thing I missed again in Barcelona was seeing a soccer game. Barca’s stadium, Camp Nou, is under renovation so they are playing in the Olympic stadium this year. Many players were also injured so I decided to skip a game and come back again sometime to see the improved Camp Nou and a finished Sagrada Familia. We will see you again Barcelona
Barcelona is the last stop on P and K’s Spain adventure so M and I are going to be back to traveling alone. We hope we showed them the fun of Europe Travel so they will join us again for a bit next year. Next stop for us is Valencia- Spain’s 3rd biggest city.
