Barcelona, how I will miss thee..

I've officially been to Barcelona, one of the coolest and most beautiful cities in Europe and it will remain in my top 3 favorite cities forever! The vibe reminded me of San Francisco with an old European twist, complimented by all the diverse people around.
Judy and I flew into Girona with Judy on Thursday night (after running late and delayed flight and a rainstorm...ugh) and eventually got to our hostel around 2 am. It was extremely well located, in Placa Real right off of the famous Las Ramblas, the main pedestrian street of the city. There were funky bars and restaurants in the same plaza, so it was always lively and filled with people!
On Friday, Chris showed us around everywhere. And I mean ALL over... this guy is an efficient tour guide, lemme tell you!! We started off the day in the pouring rain on Las Ramblas, then hit the Market for bright colorful fruit and a look at the chocolates, live seafood, and a wide array of cheeses. Then we walked further up Las Ramblas to Plaza Catalunya with all of the pigeons and scared them away with our umbrellas! We saw the Universitat de Barcelona and got a delicious tapas lunch. We saw the Block of Discord (a street with 3 crazy modernisme buildings vying for attention) which included la "Casa Mila" by Gaudi, aka the Bone House, and 2 others. Then we saw "La Pedrera" by Gaudi, aka the Stone House. (see the photos near the end of the blog!)
We headed over to Park Guell for a while (also designed by Gaudi) and it was absolutely amazing! The sun came out during this part of the day, just adding to the beauty that was already there.
The park had breathtaking views, intriguing landscaping, fun architecture, and a very peaceful feel. We saw the 360 view of Barcelona from the top of the "Three Crosses" then headed to Gaudi's most famous work, "La Sagrada Familia" cathedral. It is indescribable in words, you have to see it! Some may think the kooky spires are nontraditional and weird (both true descriptions), but it works in some strange way and I really hope they finish the building in my lifetime! They're definitely not close to being done, but I've heard what the artistic view is for the entire building and it's incredible!
After the long Gaudi day, Chris attempted to make us homemade cheesy pasta... it turned out to be clumpy cheese on chewy noodles, fun times! We went to the fantastic "Magic Fountains" light up to classical music in front of a grand palace. It was truly magical!

Saturday, we explored a second Ramblas in the city, had delicious kebaps, and then headed to Barceloneta, a city beach on the Mediterranean. The day was beautiful and accompanied by a chilly breeze, but once we stepped foot onto the sand it didn't matter! (I gotta admit, as a So Cal girl I got a little sentimental seeing a beach for the first time in almost 3 months!) We settled down for a little picnic and Judy and I got 5,00 E massages while suntanning! It was the most relaxing 10 minutes I've had in a LONG time... Then we dipped out toes into the Mediterranean for the first time and took a siesta on the sand. When we got up to leave, it suddenly got gloomy and we heard thunder, then felt fatty drops of rain pelt us! The weather in Spain is SO weird, I mean it's May and we had hail in Madrid on Thurs then a rainstorm in Barcelona! Ay ay ay...
We got Mexican food for dinner and Tiramisu ice cream for dessert! Saw the Arc de Triomf and Cathedral while walking, then a random pirate parade (still have no clue why that happened...) Went to Oveja Negra for a drink and soaked in the local feel of the city, then went to bed early (1:30, which is when parents start to think about taking their kids home here!).
Sunday Chris and I had lunch at Plaza del Sol, a vastly different place than my own Plaza del Sol in Madrid, and then walked to the Parque de la Ciutadella, comparable to Madrid's Parque de Retiro. We saw fountains, lakes, carnival booths for kids, the Parliament building, and many people picnicking on the sunny and beautiful Barcelona day! Finished with dessert at Hard Rock Cafe (oh, yes I did!) and flew home.

(photos: block of discord, stone house)



Wish I had had much more time in Barcelona to see Montjuic or go a little outside the city for the Salvador Dali museum, but all-in-all, I'm content with how the weekend played out. No one tried to pickpocket me (in the most notorious place in all of Europe!) and I fell in love with the feel of the city.

Shout out to Chris for making it a very memorable and fun weekend!! (Even with your poisonous cooking..! :P)