Barcelona

Barcelona, Spain. . . a nice trip. A bit more work than we had expected but still a lovely time. We saw the amazing Gaudi architecture. I've never seen anything to compare. Much like Alice in Wonderland meets Dr. Suess. Truly crazy but truly amazing.

Gaudi's Park Guell

Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia

We wandered tiny alleys through the gothic center. I found my favorite cathedral in all of Europe. Amazing gothic architecture with a center open air courtyard filled with beautiful live white geese and lush greenery.

We walked the Ramblas to the harbor where Columbus landed when he sailed back from America. Facinating to be in such a place of history. Loved the harbor but I prefer the gothic alleys to the crazy busy Ramblas.

We ate paella and tapas and sipped wine at sidewalk cafes.

Now, that was the lovely part, here is why it was hard. . .

I always think we live in a big city because it is always busy, there are people everywhere and we have a Max Mara and at least five Benneton stores. I realize now that in comparison, our city is quite small and quaint. Little did I know, Barcellona is the 6th largest city in the EU. And so of course with that comes lots of gypsies, and lots of litter, etc. Just wasn't expecting that. Also wasn't expecting it to be so hard to get around. . . Our hotel was not convenient. I was not able to find a hotel in the historic center that would accomodate the four of us so we stayed in the neighborhood next to the center called Eiample. Did not love Eixample. It is the area with the Gaudi archecture but I didn't think it was a lovely area. Perhaps I am spoiled by where I live.

Anyway, we also learned (too late) that the M on the Barcellona map stands for museum, not metro. This resulted in a 10 mile walk through Eiample to get to park Guell. . .all uphill. Okay, my husband says it was not 10 miles but it did take an hour and was all uphill. Serious hills. By the time we got the park, we were tired, but the views were amazing!

So, was it worth all the trouble? Definitely.