Barcelona

Barcelona is beautiful! We stayed in an apartment in Ciutat Vella, which was just inside a maze of small passageways. It was far enough from the super-touristy Las Ramblas that we weren't surrounded by other tourists, and there were plenty of shops and restaurants in the immediate area that we didn't have to go far most of the time. The Gaudi art/architecture throughout the city is all amazing. It's the most colorful and lively architecture I've ever seen, and he makes even little things like streetlamps beautiful.

Sagrada Familia is on a whole other level. It's still being built from Gaudi's original plans and won't be finished for another 30 years or so. But the inside is done, and it is incredible. The church is enormous, and full of intricate geometric shapes not found anywhere else. Gaudi was inspired by nature and wanted his buildings to have a similar feel. In Sagrada Familia the columns are like giant tree trunks, splitting into branches at the upper levels and connecting to the ceiling. All the windows are unbelievable stained glass that lets various colors of light in to create different moods in an atmosphere where people could relax and meditate. In the basement there is a crypt, where Antoni Gaudi himself has been laid to rest.

The Park Guell is a large park in Barcelona, with a section dedicated to Gaudi's work. It was originally supposed to be a housing development, and Gaudi was commissioned to work on it by Eusebi Guell, who also commissioned many of Gaudi's other works. The plan fell apart at Guell's death, and only two houses were actually created. It was then turned into a park. Gaudi's influence is seen everywhere, from benches of his signature broken tiles to sculptures of the same style, to walkways constructed out of smaller rocks, to the complex architecture of the buildings on the property. As you go higher in the park there are incredible views of the city, and although it's crowded it's a beautiful place.

On our last day we hiked over to Monjuic, which was the site of the 1992 Olympic Games. There are many buildings and structures leftover from those events, such as a large stadium and Olympic center. The area also houses the Joan Miro Museum and Castle Montjuic, as well as a couple other museums and gardens. The top offers a great view of the city, and on the castle side a great view of the harbor and ocean below.

We didn't make it to a Barcelona soccer match (football to these Europeans), but watched one in a bar. We'll definitely have to plan ahead and get to one next time. We had a lot of good tapas food, which is great because you get to try a bunch of different dishes. It's more like endless snacking than a large meal, which is right up my alley.

Barcelona is definitely one of our favorite cities visited on this trip, and we'll have to go back, especially if they ever finish work on Sagrada Familia.

Check out some of the too many pictures I took in the gallery.