Our first experience with the Spaniards did not disappoint! Barcelona gives a warm feeling of history, art and creativity that makes a person want to roam the streets for days. It is quaint but booming. It is cool yet warm. It is calming in a bustling kind of way. As you can tell, I am not sure how to describe it. It is a feeling of wanting to soak it all in, but being quickly overwhelmed. In short, we had a wonderful long weekend in Barcelona!
Traveling South
Air travel is pretty cheap once you get into Europe. We used a local flight company called Transavia out of Amsterdam, and the experience was low key and casual. We basically checked ourselves onto the plane and rarely saw the flight attendants. Over the loud speaker, the staff told us about a bachelor party seated in the back of the plane, congratulating the man of honor on his last days of singlehood. The flight seemed like a bus ride more than a flight. But it was enjoyable.
We decided to try our hand at taking carry on luggage only! So Jeremy and I each stuffed a backpack full of clothes and made it work. It was wonderful to not have to worry about lugging a suitcase around. I would gladly do that again. We didn’t realize it before hand, but our condo did have a washing machine, so we cleaned come of our clothes before we came home. But if you see us always wearing the same clothes in pictures, it is because we did! We were in Barcelona Friday through Tuesday.
When we got off the plane in Barcelona, the air was wonderfully warm. There were palm trees in the airport parking lot. The sun lit our way. All things that the Netherlands doesn’t have during the winter. Jeremy got his ap out and called a cab, who arrived in 7 minutes. The driver also told us a lot about the area on the way to our condo. I had a positive feeling about the area from the git go.
Impressions From the Street
Obviously I don’t know all about the Spaniards from 5 days in Barcelona. But a person does get an impression from walking around among them. Here are some of my general observations about the people there. By the way, Barcelona has 1.6 million citizens within city limits. We didn’t experience shoulder to shoulder crowds, but I hear it is that way during the summer.
- Barcelonians don’t like color when it comes to dress. Everyone wore black, gray, or brown. Their coats, shirts underneath, pants and shoes were all very neutral in color. My teal sweatshirt screamed tourist, and probably grandma tourist at that.
- They are not tall people. Jeremy and I are vertically challenged people, and so we notice when others don’t tower over us. The people there are around our height. A person 5’10” to 6′ would be pretty tall in Barcelona. Not that anyone cares too much.
- The natives are pretty indifferent to new comers. They are not rude, but they aren’t welcoming either. Our tour guide told us that residents hate tourists. I didn’t sense that at all. No one was extremely negative toward us. But I could tell that even the polite restaurant workers kind of had a “Do you want it or not?” attitude. Most of them knew some English, but didn’t seem excited to use it. 🙂
- We were told by several people before traveling to Barcelona that the city is known for it’s expert pick pocketing. We kept our bags and wallets in front of our bodies so we always had an eye on things. We didn’t see any of this going on, and we were blessed enough to come home with everything we brought.
Highlight of the the trip: Basilica de la Sagrada Familia
Oh My… this place is amazing. I am not into ornate, gawdy sculptures or buildings, but I couldn’t believe this church. It was designed by Antoni Gaudi (1852-1926), probably the most famous person in recent Barcelona. They love him. He was a very spiritual man who wanted this church to be a “Bible in Stone”, and it sure is. Every detail of the entire building has biblical significance. I couldn’t begin to get all the details in my pictures, but you will get an idea of what the building is like. The church isn’t quite done, but they are working according to Gaudi’s plans, and hope to be done in the next 5 years.
Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. As you can see, the builders are continually working on this creation.
You get an idea of the extensive detail in this picture of one entryway. The statues tell the story of Christ’s birth and life. This kind of story telling extends over the whole exterior.
The front stage. It is small, but you can see the yellow umbrella like feature hanging from the ceiling with Jesus underneath. Gaudi wanted the inside to look like God’s creation, so the pillars are intended to resemble trees. No two are exactly the same.
One of my favorite views inside the church. I have many pictures of these stain glass orange widows. The orange windows were directly across from the blue windows. One side shines brightly in the morning, and the other in the afternoon. And they are designed to shine with extra special effects around the sun solstices.
Notice the impressive spiral staircase in the center back of the picture.
The ceiling. You can see the trees coming down from the heavens.
Another entrance. There are bible stories told in the sculptures above the doors. The steeples on top have much significance too.
These will be the outside doors eventually. For now a replica is displayed inside the church.
Flamenco
Before we even arrived in Barcelona, we signed up for a Flamenco Dance dinner show. They gave us a buffet style dinner first, and then escorted us into a small theater for the Flamenco Dancing. The dancers concentrate really hard during their performance, and each dance tells a story. This art form was developed by Gypsies in southern Spain years ago.
Guell Park
Guell Park was built by Gaudi in the early 20th century. It is named after his assistant, Eusebi Guell. The art in the park reflects Gaudi’s style of broken tile configured to make shapes and color. He also used the landscape to make eye catching sculptures. This park was SO fun to wander around in on a beautiful day. It is on a higher plane than the city, so it has beautiful views of Barcelona.
The short wall is an example of Gaudi’s art style- broken tile shaped into pleasing shapes and colors.
There are wild parakeets in the trees in Guell Park. Years ago they came to Spain as pets with people from Cuba. But over the years were released into the great outdoors.
Another example of Gaudi’s style: the broken tile in the dots around this window.
Sea Side
We spent one afternoon at the pier closest to where we stayed. We walked down La Rambla street to get there. La Rambla street was a river years ago. You will notice the wavy like tiles on the ground, which represent the river. Today it is a street filled with shops, food stands and fun performances.
Living statue of Antoni Gaudi. He only moved if you put a coin in his box.
Pigeons like anyone with food. This little girl got one to sit in her hands.
Statue of Christopher Columbus. He left this port several hundred years ago. He is pointing in the direction he sailed.
Another living statue. This one would “Knight” whoever put a coin in his box. Here you can see the wavy tiles on the ground which represent the river that used to run through that street.
The mountain in the background is Montjuic. This is where the 1992 Olympic games were held.
The sun was glorious. Jer and I ate outdoors at a pier restaurant.
Christopher Columbus up close.
Sites around Old Town Barcelona
The historic center of Barcelona is divided into 4 quarters. The Gothic Quarter has the oldest buildings. The El Born quarter has the most lively and fun atmosphere. These are the two areas included in my pictures. It was so interesting to walk around, look at the architecture, and soak in the atmosphere. If I don’t have a description underneath the photos below, it means I just liked the building. 🙂
This church is called Sant Felip Neri. It was bombed during the Spanish Civil War and you can still see where the shrapnel hit the front of the building. Gaudi came to this church often.
The lower half of this wall is part of the original city wall, built between 1st century BC and 4th century AD. The Romans founded Barcelona and surrounded it by a wall to protect it. Much of the original wall has crumbled, but the city has preserved what they could.
Palau de la Música Catalana. Historical music hall in the Gothic quarter.
The residents here live life like the rest of us. Here you can see them drying their clothes on the balconies.
This is one of the oldest shop in Barcelona. It was once a candle shop. Today it sells hand made shoes.
Gaudi’s home – one of the many things the Barcelonians are very proud of.
This home is connected to the left hand side of Gaudi’s home. This owner and Gaudi used to compete for most elaborate and beautiful home.
This is in the entry way of Gaudi’s neighbor’s home. Look at the worn stone floor. You can see the remnants of a flower design. There is also a small step with a snake like design. And the wall has the beautiful tile. Love it.
I believe this was inside the Palau de la Música Catalana, pictured earlier.
The World Fair, or International Exposition, came to Barcelona in 1888 and 1929. Both times the city made extra effort to look impressive and beautiful. This bridge was built and specially designed for the 1929 event.
This house is on the corner of the block where Gaudi’s home stands. In its day, this home was also competing for the most beautiful and impressive home in town.
Most of the streets in Barcelona’s historic down town look like this. They are narrow, homey, stylish, and lively.
Cathedral of Barcelona, built between 13th and 15th centuries. A young girl of 13 years is buried inside. In the 3rd century AD, she refused to renounce her Christian faith despite threats from the Roman government. They tortured her and killed her.
Spanish Food is Amazing!
The Spanish are known for their tapas and paella, but Barcelona offers just about anything you might be craving. To my surprise, Spanish food is not spicy. You won’t find spice in Barcelona. But they know how to create a rich, flavorful and delicious meal. Here are a few things we tried.
An example of Pintxos. Pintxos are a type of tapas, usually snack sized and “spiked” with a skewer to a piece of bread. The ingredient options are endless.
This diner, Los Tortillez, is famous for their tortilla de patatas. They are soft shell filled with yummy goodness- meat, potatoes, cheese, veggies, etc. The staff calls them omelettes, not sure why.
Paella – probably one of the most well know Spanish dishes. Traditionally, it has rice, meat, tomatoes, beans and spices. This dish was the Catalonian (specific community in Spain) version, which has noodles instead of rice, and seafood for meat.
Jamon. We would probably call it ham. Spanish people (and other Europeans) buy a full pig leg that has been dried and cured. They keep it on the stand as pictured on their kitchen counter. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated. They just thinly slice of pieces as needed or wanted. This Jamon was on a table in the local grocery store.
Packaged Jamon that we bought and brought back to our condo for snacking.
On one of our tours, the group stopped at a chocolate shop. We were allowed to a few pieces. The chocolates in this shop are made with only 4 or 5 natural ingredients. Obviously delicious.
Fortunately (or unfortunately) there was a bakery right next to our condo. We enjoyed their goods every morning.
Chipirones. Baby squid. One of the many tapas we tried. This one had what I would consider a Mole sauce on it. But I don’t remember what the sauce actually was called.
Pan con Tomate. This tomato bread was served at several restaurants we went to. Toasted bread topped with olive oil, ripe tomatoes and sea salt.
Not sure what this was called, but it is fresh tuna on crispy tortilla shells.
Again, don’t remember the name, but these fruity, seaside drinks were delightful.
Our Condo
We stayed in the Eixample area, right in the Center of Barcelona. It is known for its many business and restaurant options. We could easily walk anywhere we wanted to go. Our condo was on the very top floor of about 5 or 6 stories. The building was old and historic. The street in front of our condo was pretty busy, but we didn’t hear any noise once inside our condo.
This is the tiny old elevator we took to our top floor condo. The wooden doors you had to open and close yourself.
Inside the elevator. It looks bigger in the pic than it is. Jeremy, myself and our backpacks BARELY fit in this little thing.
Our kitchen/living area. Sliding door to the deck on the right.
This is taken from the deck looking inside the condo.
Our private outdoor area/deck.
Morning coffee on the deck.
View from our deck looking right.
View from our deck looking left.
The bakery right next to our condo building.
The bakery had an outdoor sitting area by the street. We had coffee outdoors one morning.
And I just had to include a picture of the strange square toilet inside our condo bathroom.
And that concludes my synopsis of our 5 days in Barcelona. Definitely a wonderful experience. This picture of Jeremy and I was taken on Montjuic, close to the old Olympic site and close to the 1929 World Fair site. Of course that is Barcelona in the background. If you look just to the left of the top of Jeremy’s head, you can see a round building, an old bull fighting ring. Barcelona out-lawed bull fighting 10 to 15 years ago. Now that round building is a shopping mall that holds several hundred stores!
Anyway, thanks for trudging through all my pictures. I appreciate your support in this strange but wonderful journey.
