Ole Ole Espana!

I know instantly when I’m going to like something. In seconds, I knew Barcelona was my city. I seriously loved it. I can’t believe it has taken me 35 years to get here….but I guess there is a time and place for everything. We liked it so much that we decided to come back to spend the end of our trip here. There is so much to do – cafes, tapas bars, shops literally everywhere. And the architecture is something like I’ve never seen before. And the people are so fun – you just feel a constant energy at all times of the day and especially night….except for siesta time of course which takes a while to get used to.

Our hotel couldn’t have been in a better location. We stayed at the Ciutat de Barcelona in the El Born district (which is the lower part of La Ribera). It has kind of a trendy, funky, Bohemian feel. It is also very central to many of the major sights and nightlife. But most importantly for us it was really close to the beach and Parc de la Ciutadella which allowed me to go running finally! Plus it was the first beach we’ve seen in a while that was actually sandy.

Since we knew we were coming back we didn’t spend too much time seeing all the sights. Instead we spent a lot of time walking around different neighborhoods and stopping in buildings, shops, etc, when we felt like it. Some of our favorite neighborhoods were La Ribera of course (including El Born), Barri Gotic, and L’Eixample.

In addition to having different vibes, many of the neighborhoods look very different from an architectural perspective. The Barri Gotic area is also known as the Gothic Quarter because many of it’s buildings are from Barcelona’s golden age (15^th century or earlier). It’s full of narrow winding streets, mansions, plazas, and beautiful medieval architecture. The L’ Eixample area is where many of the city’s modern architectural creations (from the 19^th century) are located. It is also where many of the high end hotels, shops, and restaurants are. The main street, Passeig de Gracia is a really fun street to walk down.

Our favorite sight by far was La Sagrada Familia – This is Antoni Gaudi’s (one of Barcelona’s most influential modernista architects) masterpiece. It is just massive and gothically beautiful....and it’s not even done yet. He started building it in the late 1800’s but thankfully left pretty detailed plans so that building could still take place after his death. I can’t imagine what it will look like when it’s done. We also saw La Pedrera, another one of Gaudi’s works, which was a pretty cool apartment building....the event planner in me couldn't help but think it would be the coolest place for a party! When looking at Gaudi’s works it’s pretty amazing to see how much time and thought went into every little piece. He was a true lover of nature and tried to include real people, animals, and plants in his architectural style…almost like a real-life Dr. Suess book or Willy Wonka movie.

We also had the chance to see the Palau de La Musica Catalana (hopefully we'll see a concert there when we come back) and Barcelona’s Catedral. Despite the fact that our hotel was steps away from the Picasso Museum and the Esglesia de Santa Maria Del Mar we didn’t make it to either of them! Gotta save something for the end of the trip! :)

Above all, our favorite experience in Barcelona was Spain winning the World Cup while we were there! Talk about perfect timing! We watched the match in Montjuic from Placa d’Espanya where they set up huge screen TVs for the public. It was us and 75,000 others watching Spain’s victory over the Netherlands. It really was unbelievable! One of the highlights of our trip for sure! :)

Ole Ole Espana!