Barcelona city is full of textures, Curves and the Infamous Church
As we look towards summer travel, it’s time to talk about the hottest {literally AND figuratively} city in Spain…Barcelona City!
Barcelona is the kind of city you’d consider paying that huge airline change fee just to stay the rest of the summer. With their delicious food and wine at obscenely affordable prices, you’d make back your change fees in a day!
Granted, the heat of summer will cause you to pause or hallucinate if you don’t drink any water, but it’s an easy work-around::
Walk out in the early morning
Siesta in the midday
Then skip back out in the excitement of the night
Stick to drinking your water ALL DAY and then you’ll be fully hydrated to invibe in the wine by nightfall.
When we were planning our Euro-tour we added in Barcelona as a side trip. On our three-country tour, we unknowingly saved the best for last.
London was theatre fun.
Paris was soccer fun {they’d just won the World Cup!}. And our last stop…
Barcelona City
Barcelona, our third and final stay, was the place that’ll have you cancelling your return flight and consider renting one of the tile-designed Gaudi homes for the rest of the summer.
We saw the Eiffel Tower in Paris, but did you know that Barcelona had first dibs at it and declined? Paris can have the Eiffel, because Barcelona will have the Sagrada Familia…when it’s finished one day.
Barcelona city and all it’s textures
Antoni Gaudi is the man of this texture-filled city. His designs are everywhere in Barcelona. His style shapes this city with his mosaic and tile designs everywhere. But his crème de la crème is the work that isn’t slated for completion until beyond 2026. The construction is financed by tourist’s, and closing down during the pandemic delayed the completion one more time.
When - not if - when you go see this church, you NEED TO PAY FOR THE GUIDED TOUR.
Hear the Story
Everyone can walk around all sides of Sagrada Familia, but you’ve come this far - you need to hear the story, its history, the light that fills the inside. If it’s not added to the Wonders of the World list, it needs to be nominated when it’s complete.
I wasn’t a big fan of Gaudi’s design. {It’s a bit ‘gaudy’ for my taste and my eyes were darting this way and that with everything going on in his designs}. But once I heard the story behind this creation, I saw his work in a whole new light. And once you’re inside, light takes on a transcendent meaning too. A HOLY WOW!
He detailed every chisel of this architecture to depict the full story of his faith + using nature as his muse in his designs. In Barcelona they call Gaudi “God’s Architect”.
Have I made my plea good enough for it to make your travel checklist yet?
The city of Barcelona is Gaudi’s city
Aside from Sagrada Familia, Gaudi is everywhere in this city. Not all of his works were a success, though. He attempted to build his own township on a hill overlooking the city of Barcelona. He was generations ahead I guess, because it never took off with other buyers.
The Gaudi House Museum now brings plenty of people to his mini-city. Those poor artists, always getting their fame and fortune after they’ve passed.😕
We, along with a ba-zillion others, walked up the hot, sweltering hill to tour his forward-thinking township. After reaching the top I can tell you why people didn’t flock to his neighborhood. After walking up the hill – touring his “neighborhood” – and peeeeeling my sandals off my feet…I blessed the vision of the modern-day bus system pulling up in front of me so I could sit and ride back to our Airbnb.
The city beaches
The city beaches will cool you off in the middle of the day if you want to keep moving to “see it all”. But BEWARE of the floating objects. {Like a baby’s diaper. No baby, just their tushie-cover floating by. It didn’t stop the boys from swimming in, but I’d rather tiptoe across the hot sand back to my towel then see what else floated to the top. UGHHH}
Las Ramblas to tourist-ville
Our vacation rental had plenty of space and sat a few blocks down from the city center, Las Ramblas - the notable heart of this foot-traffic city.
La Rambla, or Las Ramblas, if you’re google-mapping it, is a plaza of activity. You can see real excitement later in the evening when the temperatures drop. Watch out for the good end and the seedy end when night falls. {Southernmost end lends itself toward women of the evening sightings.}
During the day we explored the shops, restaurants, and ice cream spots. No vehicles are allowed on Las Ramblas, so it’s easy to walk from one end {the port, beach, and cool waters} to the other end of Plaça de Catalunya.
It’s a must-walk when you’re in Barcelona. Or if you’re like me, grab a drink at one of the patio eateries and people-watch. Brian likes to watch the people’s interactions {fun too}, but I sit-n-stare at the fashion. What styles can I take home with me and mix into my own?
One shoe style you’ll see a lot of are the Espadrilles. They’re a signature shoe in Barcelona. So popular, you can design your own to take Barcelona originals home with you. I LOVE the creativity of this class, but the shoe-style just isn’t me. Did I just admit to passing on a shoe? {Must have been the heat talking.}
The Buildings & stories bring Barcelona city to life
True, taking one of the bus tours was another typical touristy thing to do, but read me out here…Take a bus for a spin around and get a quick view of the places you NEED to stop and explore. The Hop-on Hop-off Bus Tour in any city is the easy way to take a cool ride to get your quick views and ‘map out’ where you want to spend time.
It’s the physical way of google-mapping it and if you sit on the top it beings a nice cool breeze {your tush will still be sticky and sweaty, but it’s part ofthe Summer Barcelona experience😁}.
Pin each stop you want to make, and then on the next time around, hop off and start your adventure for the day. Hop on the bus with your sun hat and chill-cloth and take a ride.
We scout our stops on the bus, see the Gaudi architecture the city of Barcelona is famous for, and then later, when the temps drop, start walking to take in our favorite’s.
Even if Antoni Gaudi’s architecture doesn’t woo you, his story will. Building after building passes by on the bus, and it’s pretty clear which is a Gaudi.
Antoni Gaudi designs pop up throughout this city
local life and their savory foods
Food. Their gloriously-delectable food and by far the cheapest of our three countries this trip.
My dad said, “Next time we come back to Europe, I’ll pick up all the food checks here, you can buy in London.”
Best dinner…Seafood paella, with appetizer and wine {cost less than a croissant in London!…okay, maybe a little more, but not by much!} We went back another night so Dad could try their authentic, full-size sardines. Who knew tiny, salty fish could get so much praise.
Sadly, we were so caught up in our meals I never took a photo of the restaurant. So sad, and I vow never to do that to you again, because it was a google maps 6-outta-5-star rating.
Next time I promise to send you the name!
Many vacation rentals we searched were on upper floors. Start your stair-stepping workouts before you go. We rented an Airbnb for our family of seven. This space gave us room to spread out AND be able to stay in a neighborhood of locals. If we’re going to cancel our tickets home, might as well start living like a local right?
an embarrassing confession
And, I’ll confess it…
To my former high school Spanish teacher…I really, really wish I’d studied more in your class and actually learned how to hold a conversation. You were right - I was a lazy language teenager.😒
Maybe that’s why I keep going back to London - it’s comfortable. And I love the British accents. Everyone sounds so elegant to my dull and scratchy English.
We found English-speaking help so it wasn’t a big issue, but I still feel moronic. Ya know how to feel like a bigger idiot - travel to three different countries with three different languages in nine days and forget which words you’re trying to speak out. 🤦🏽♀️
Saying, “servicio” instead of “aqua” to order water will get a good chuckle out of your waiter.
“Merci” to the waiter in Barcelona and “Thank you” to the French - Désolé! Sorry Paris. Sorry Barcelona. But I really did try.
Babble, here I come, before our travels back to Italy.
Have you used a program {Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, Babble, Google…} to learn a new language ~ which is your favorite one?
xo ~Andrea
