Sagrada Familia
Spontaneously, I decided to take a trip to Barcelona over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Some thought I was crazy for making this trip for such a short period of time. But, I didn’t have a lot of time to take off from work right now, and Barcelona is on my bucket list of things to do. So Carpe Diem!
And it was one of the best vacations I’ve taken by myself. The weather was perfect the entire time I was there and it’s like the sky was polished just for me! But the most fun, was all the different people I met along the way!
Day 1
I arrived to a beautiful day in Barcelona on Thursday, Nov. 25 – Thanksgiving Day for Americans. I checked into the Hotel Barcelona Catedral, which is in a great location in the Barri Gotic area. This is one of the oldest, historic areas of Barcelona. However, the hotel is very modern in style and the rooms are very sizable for European standards.
In the afternoon, I took a bus tour of the city to see the sites and get a sense of the city. This is a great deal and is ideal if you don’t have a lot time to sightsee. It’s a double-decker bus and covers all the major attractions, complete with headphones for an audio history lesson. You can get a 2-day pass for $29 euros and get on and off as much as you like. The great thing was that I could catch the one of these buses just around the corner from my hotel at the plaza of the old Cathedral.
In the first few hours in Barcelona, I marveled at the Gaudi architecture and the brilliance of his work. I also met some wonderful people right off, but then again that’s not unusual. On the bus tour, I met some cool guys on the bus from Canada and interesting enough Tom had just moved to Houston for work.
After taking a tour of the Southern part of the city, I stopped in a tapas bar, mainly for wine, but ended up eating some tasty tapas. Juan became my new best friend serving me my first Spanish wines on my visit.
Juan serving up Spanish reds
Then some Americans began to come into the Tapas bar and were drawn to me like moths to a flame. I think it was my Southern accent and they just wanted to hear me talk. By the end of the evening there were about eight of us at the bar celebrating our Thanksgiving Day Spanish style! When I started to leave, Juan said to me, “you come back any time. You are good for business.” (But just imagine it in a strong Spanish accent.)
Mini Chorizo soaked in apple cider
Day 2
After breakfast, I set out to explore the La Boqueria market. I love to go to these markets to see all of the fresh food that the locals buy. And it is very fresh too! There were stalls of beautiful produce, fresh fish and seafood, meats, olives, and on and on. One favorite was the selection of different eggs, and such a variety.
I had lunch there because I knew it would be definitely be farm to table. It was a simple lunch of grilled octopus that sat on top of potatoes along with tomato spread bread. (That’s a catalon tradition to spread the bread with tomato and garlic..yummy)
I caught the double-decker bus again to see some more of Gaudi works around the city. I stopped off at the Sagrada Familia, but did not go inside because the lines were so long.
Next, I hopped on the bus and went to Park Guell, a fabulous place that Gaudi designed. It was such a beautiful place. Gaudi really loved nature and has incorporated nature into all of his works.
Gaudi's lizard
Guëll Park is one of the world’s most intriguing parks. The pavilions and main staircase designed by Antoni Gaudí look like they belong in some fairy tale. However, it was a failed project.
This popular park started out as a development project. Eusebi Guëll, a well known Catalan industrialist, acquired a 17ha / 42acre large hilly plot in the Gràcia district, north of Barcelona. He wanted to turn the area into a residential garden village based on English models. 60 Housing units as well as several public buildings were planned.
In 1900, Guëll commissioned his friend and protégé Antoni Gaudí with the development of the project. With the support from other architects including Josep M. Jujol and his disciple Francesc Berenguer, Gaudí worked on the garden village until 1914 when it was clear the project was a commercial failure: Guëll failed to sell a single house. In 1918 the city acquired the property and in 1922 it was opened to the public as a park.
Two houses were completed as well as pavilions for visitors and park keepers. The pavilions, designed by Gaudí, seem to be taken out of Hansel and Gretel, with curved roofs covered with brightly colored tiles and ornamented spires. The staircase at the entrance of the park is also designed by Gaudí. The dragon-like lizard at the center of the with trencadis-ceramics decorated staircase is the best known symbol of the park.
Serpentine Bench
A connecting flight of stairs leads to another famous feature of the park: the Gran Placa Circular. Originally intended as a market place for the residents, this plaza is bordered by what is known as the largest bench in the world. The colorful ceramic serpentine bench, designed by Jujol, twists snakelike around the plaza. The view from the plaza is spectacular, you can see as far as the Mediterranean Sea. The whole platform is supported by 86 huge columns, creating a hall beneath the plaza, known as the Sala Hipòstila.
Gaudi Museum
Between 1906 and 1926, Gaudí lived in one of the two houses that were completed. The house, known as the Casa Museu Gaudí, was designed by Francesc Berenguer. It serves as a museum and displays some of Gaudí’s furniture (including some from the Casa Batlló) and drawings. The park also includes the Casa Trias (not open for visitors) and winding roads with paths supported by tree-like columns.
I had a dinner planned at a local place called Cal Pep. It was suggested to me and was warned that it would be totally packed, but it was well worth the wait. (see the other post about the dinner tasting) You really want to sit at the bar and see the cooking going on behind. They made sure I always had a glass of wine in my hand while I waited. Then Chef Pep motioned me to a seat at the bar. I sat beside a gentleman from Germany and a lovely couple from Portugal. We had great conversation throughout the meal, and yes, once again my accent was a hit!
Day 3
I had purchased a 2-day bus pass and used it to go back to the Sangrada Familia early to beat the crowds to go inside this enormous work of art.
The Sagrada Familia, Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, is one of Barcelona’s most popular tourist attractions. Construction on this church will continue for at least several more decades, but it has already become Barcelona’s most important landmark.
Sagrada Familia
The modernist architect Antoni Gaudí took over as lead architect at the age of 31. From that moment on, Gaudí devoted most of his life to the construction of the church. Instead of sticking to the original plans, Gaudí changed the design drastically. The neo gothic style made way for Gaudí’s trademark modernist style, which was based on forms found in nature. When he died in 1926 only one facade (the nativity facade), one tower, the apse and the crypt were finished. Because Gaudí was constantly improvising and changing the design while construction was going on, he left few designs and models. And most of these were destroyed during the civil war in 1936.
Still, architects now have a clear idea of what Gaudí had in mind. The last version of his design called for a church 95m/312ft long and 60m/197ft wide. The church will be able to accommodate 13,000 people. When finished, the Sagrada Familia will have a total of 18 towers.
After spending several hours there, I took a cab to my over-the-top foodie experience at Cinc Sentits for an 8-course chef tasting with wine pairing. I spent four hours having some of the most extraordinary tasting sensations. (See additional blog about the chef tasting)
After winding down at the hotel for awhile, I went out exploring around the Barri Gotic. Since it’s the oldest part of the city, the streets in the Barri Gotic are narrow and are like a maze of shops, restaurants and tapas bars. And even late at night, it’s vibrant and lively with people everywhere walking through the narrow passages.
I ended up at another tapas bar. Imagine that! But I was thirsty for a glass of wine or two, so I made my way to the bar. I met a couple of gals from Washington D.C. who came in and sat beside me. We had great conversation and enjoyed some Spanish reds. We had a lot in common and said we would stay in touch. Most of the tapas bars have local wines as their house wine and some of the best.
Day 4
My last day in Barcelona was filled with art. First, I went to the National Museum of Cataluyna Art. It’s a beautiful stately building that sits on top of a hill.
The Catalonian National Art Museum is housed in the former “Palau Nacional” at the foot of Montjuïc and is regarded as the best Art Museum in Barcelona. It houses an enormous collection of Medieval Art stemming from the Romanesque and Gothic periods. Many of the frescos were collected from the Roman churches of the surrounding villages. Fortunately, this was before the churches came under large scale attack by a population incensed by the church’s political alignment with Madrid. Frescos and paintings are complemented with sculptures, wood carvings and other pieces collected from the churches at the time.
The museum also recently added a section dedicated to Picasso and is constantly expanding its permanent collection. A visit to the building is worth it alone, given its impressive architecture and spectacular location overlooking the city.
After going through the museum and seeing some spectacular sights overlooking the city, I headed to the Picasso Museum.The Picasso Museum is a key reference for understanding the formative years of Pablo Ruiz Picasso. The genius of the young artist is revealed through the more than 3,800 works that make up the permanent collection.
The Museu Picasso, opened in 1963, also reveals his love of Barcelona an intimate, solid relationship that was shaped in his adolescence and youth, and continued until his death. The history of the Picasso Museum in Barcelona is the chronicle of the artist’s firm wish to leave the imprint of his art in the city. Thanks to the wishes of Picasso and his friend and personal secretary, Jaume Sabartés, Barcelona now has the youthful work of one of the twentieth century’s most significant artists.
The Museum had a very unique special exhibit that with works by Picasso and Degas. Picasso really tried to emulate Degas work and it was so interesting to see both artists’ works side by side.
Then to cap off the last evening of my trip, I went to a restaurant on the Fisherman’s Harbor to have seafood paella at La Gavina. I had read a review in the New York Times that this was one of the best places for paella, and it did not disappoint.
Seafood Paella
I had the time of my life in Barcelona! If you’re in the mood to surrender to a city’s charms, let it be in Barcelona!
