We spent last weekend strolling through the streets in Barcelona and soaking up the beautiful sunshine!
We started our weekend adventure on Friday morning (earlier than most of our weekend trips), testing out Cologne’s airport due to the stellar flight prices they offered. We took the train to Cologne, scoped out the lounge for lunch, and after relaxing with the elite, spent more time than planned trying to exit the terminal to get to our flight... who knew we had to walk back through the scanner and security lines?! Boy did we get some looks!
After arriving in Barcelona, we dropped our bags off at the hotel and set off to see the town. We wandered down Las Ramblas (main street), peeking our head into the market, enjoying an evening meal of paella and sangria, and ending the night, strolling around the piers checking out the fancy sailboats. The paella ended up being a little more adventurous than we were expecting (we’re not huge fans of eating things that still have their eyes…), but it was still tasty!
On Saturday, we woke early and set off to break our record for “most steps walked in a day.” We reached 35,000 steps and didn’t even realize it until we got back to the hotel. I guess our legs have finally gotten used to all this walking!
We started the day off with a tour of the one and only “La Sagrada Familia” to check out Gaudi’s most famous masterpiece and one of our favorite cathedrals to date! This place is jaw-dropping! The unique architecture mixed with the incredible detail and hidden significance of everything inside and out was astonishing. For instance, there are no straight lines within the church, imitating the freestyle of nature. Adding to that, the towering columns holding up the ceiling and the 18 spires (12 for the apostles, 4 for the evangelists, one for Jesus, and one for Mary) are shaped like trees, both for architectural reasons, but more so, to represent a forest, again, pulling in the ties to nature. The stained-glass windows on the east side of the church are created in cool colors, depicting the cool and calm, morning light, whereas the windows on the west side are designed with warm colors, representing the reds of sunset and giving the room a warm, fiery feeling when the sun shines through the glass.
The three facades on the outside of the church also have their own, individual significance. The first one, by the current entrance to the church, depicts the Nativity and Jesus’ birth with extra elements emphasizing nature and the creation of life. The second is dedicated to the passion, which is simpler, but you can still appreciate the detail of the engraved faces and bone-like carvings that make up the canopy, plus there is a magic square in which the sum is always 33, the age of Jesus at his death. The last façade is the Glory façade or Façade of Bliss, which is still under construction, and will depict the final judgment and glory of God. And finally, one more detail to share, Gaudi specifically designed the highest tower on the church to measure 170 meters high, one meter shorter than the Montjuic Mountain, because he felt that man’s work should not surpass God’s work. So. Many. Details. Every little element is significant, down to the tiny insects hidden in the leaves on the doors under the Nativity façade. This place is going to be a beauty once it’s complete! Construction began in 1882, and its completion is predicted for 2026 (one hundred years after Gaudi’s death). Talk about a major project!
The city was waking up as we wandered back to the main street and away from the cathedral. We stopped at the exquisite Boqueria market and thoroughly enjoyed “sampling Spain” as we wandered through the stalls. We devoured Spain’s legendary ham, sliced off the leg right in front of us, a dab of cheese to go with it (not that it needs it), perfectly ripe and juicy mangos, giant strawberries that you could smell as you walked by, incredible empanadas filled with cheese, tomatoes and fresh basil, and the best marinated olives we have ever tasted (we even stopped by the market a second time on Saturday evening to get more olives, they were that good!).
My mouth is watering just thinking about all of the delicious cuisine!
Following the market, we wandered over to Güell Palace, a mansion in the middle of the city, designed by Antoni Gaudi for the Güell family. We had not heard about this palace before our arrival, but our hotel gave us free tickets, so we figured it was worth a visit. The palace includes several unique architectural designs, expressing Gaudi’s style, and our favorite part, the chimneys on the roof all capped with unique toppers.
Next up, we took an afternoon hike up Mibthyïc Mountain to catch a view of the city and wander through the sites of the 1992 Olympics. Considering we were both tiny tykes during the ‘92 Olympics, we don’t remember a thing about them, but it was still fun to see where they took place. The best part, in our opinion, was the diving pool, which overlooked the city. I’m sure the Olympic broadcasters loved covering these events!
We took a leisurely stroll back down the mountain and through the local park as we made our way to the beach. We walked along the shore and found a great place to sit and stretch out, collecting as much Vitamin D as possible! We had fun watching the dogs run through the sand, the kite surfers out in the distance, and the entrepreneurs who repeatedly tried to sell us some sketchy “Mojitos.”
We ended the night with dinner and a brief stop at the Cotton House hotel to admire the spiral staircase and rooftop views (we almost booked a room here and decided against it, so naturally, we had to see what it was really like). We took one last stroll through the small streets in the old town, stopping to enjoy the street music and eventually making our way back to our hotel.
Unlike our first trip to Spain, we did not fully embrace the Spanish culture this time… instead of staying out until the wee hours in the night and waking up mid-morning like the locals, we decided to keep our schedule, waking up early on Sunday to enjoy the city while everyone else was still asleep (and it paid off!). We enjoyed a quiet walk/hike up several staircases to the Park Guell and were greeted by the morning sun and incredible views of the city and Balearic Sea. We wandered through the park and admired a few more unique works of art, of course by Gaudi, and soon after made our way back down the hill.
We spent the rest of the day “getting lost” in the small streets around the old town, soaking up the sun one last time on the sandy beach, and indulging in tapas for lunch, including croquettes, patatas bravas, a plate of freshly sliced ham and of course, more olives. With only a brief time left, we ended our time in Barcelona, soaking up a bit more sun while sitting out on the terrace at our hotel before heading to the airport and back to rainy Düsseldorf.
We definitely could have used more time in this beautiful, sunny city, but weekends are short, and we’ll take what we can get! We already added it to our list of “Cities to Visit Again”!
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