Barcelona Part One

Last Thursday we headed to Barcelona for a long weekend. It sounds strange but I had kind of forgotten what the sun feels like. Even when the sun is out in London it is usually behind a cloud. But sitting by the water with the sun beating on my face felt amazing!

First off, let's talk Gaudí. His design style is so unique. The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia (Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family) is the most visited monument in Spain. Work began in 1882 and the projected completion date is 2028. Gaudí disliked straight lines (there were none in nature, he said) which is a theme that you can see throughout all of his buildings. Below is a photo of the Nativity Facade.

Along the outside of the building are lizards, snails, snakes and probably some additional creatures. 

 This building is so impressive, it is really hard to capture it in photos.

Another amazing building designed by Gaudí is the Casa Batlló. 

It has been described as the house of the dragon as the balconies look like a jaw of some beast and the roof represents St George and the dragon. 

One last Gaudí building we saw was la Pedrera. The roof features giant chimney pots that look like medieval knights. 

Sadly, I did not really like much of the food in Barcelona. But I took photos of some of the things we tried. One place Warren really liked was Tapas 24, which came recommended by a friend of ours. There we tried the Bravas, which are french fries covered in garlic aoli and a spicy sauce. 

 We also tried the Bikini, which is a sandwich with black truffles, cured Iberian ham, and buffalo mozzarella. 

Below is a photo of rabbit ribs which were breaded and fried. 

We tried this chocolate ganache dessert. I'm not surprised that Warren really loved this place. 

Barcelona has a lot of public water fountains. We saw people filling buckets at these fountains, washing their faces, or just getting a drink. The fountain below is at a Placa de Sant Felip Neri which was bombed by pro-Francist bombers in 1939. You can see the shrapnel scarred walls of the old church behind the fountain.

One night we were out in the Barri Gotic area and we got gelato at Gelaaati di Marco which was amazing! They let us try tons of different flavours before deciding. 

I got one scoop of Mascarpone and one of Cheesecake and both were delicious!

Warren got mascarpone, dulche de leche, and chocolate. 

This next photo was from Placa Reial which is considered one of Barcelona's prettiest squares. 

The Font Magica does a 15 minute display that goes along to music. This time of year they add additional performances that correspond to Christmas music. Behind the fountain is the National Museum of Art. 

In between the art museum and the fountain are these four pillars. They symbolise the flag of the Catalan nation.

Barcelona at night, view from the fountain.