Chapter Six

Barcelona was a great 3 day trip that we took from February 23rd to 27th! We did so many different things and I can honestly say it is one of my favourite cities I've been to ever!

We arrived on Saturday evening and immediately set out to explore Barcelona at night, first going to a local Tapas restaurant called Ciudad Condal that was really popular.

Day 1
On Sunday, we started our adventure with a train trip to Montserrat. This Monastery is situated just to the north of Barcelona and was a great day trip for us. We took the cable car up the mountain which provided breathtaking views of Spain. We only got to the top of the mountain by midday so we chose to do a quick hike to a lookout point. It was definitely not an easy climb, filled with lots of stairs and uphill hiking. We were fortunate enough to see some wild deer roaming in the mountain but they ran off before we were able to snap any pictures. Anywhere we took photos on that mountain gave us

amazing views of the scenery. After the hike we came down the mountain and spent some time at the Monastery itself, before returning to Barcelona. We went out for paella and sangria that night at a local restaurant.

Day 2
Day 2 of Barcelona meant we got to explore the actual city. We started off early in the morning by going to the local supermarket called Mercadona and getting fresh squeezed orange juice for only 1.90! It was very fresh and so good it needed no added sugar at all. We were staying quite close to Casa Batllo, Casa Mila and Casa Amatller so we walked over there quickly to see some of Gaudi's famous designs. Afterwards we walked to Placa de Catalunya for a quick break to fuel up with our orange juice and some snacks. Then we made our way down La Ramblas, a busy boulevard with lots of shops activities and great architecture. Off one of the side streets was La Boqueria, an indoor market at La Ramblas which dates back over 100 years! After we headed into the gothic quarter which was filled with stunning architecture and the Barcelona cathedral which was quite grand. After all this walking we were super tired and decided to head toward the beach - which turned out to be a great

decision. All though it was a little windy the sun warmed us right up and we had an amazing time sitting and relaxing by the waves.

Day 3
The third day was probably the best day we spent in Barcelona. we started off again with our local favourite of the fresh squeezed orange juice. Our first stop of the day was the Arc de Triomf which was quite a lot bigger than I had anticipated. It was built because Barcelona hosted the Universal Exhibition in 1888 and the city had commissioned a landmark to be built. Originally the Eiffel tower was supposed to be built, however the architects thought that it might be unsightly and that locals would not like the look of it. The Arc de Triomf was built instead and the Eiffel tower was proposed to be built in Paris in 1889.

We then took the metro to the famous Sagrada Familia. I did the 11:00 guided tour which was pretty well timed. We spent the first 10 minutes outside looking at Nativity Facade. It was meant to inspire the locals to continue to come to the basilica and reinstall their faith and belief in Christianity. This was the first part of the basilica ever built, even before the actual "inside" or place where people were

going to come for service. Just the Nativity facade was built so Gaudi the main architect would be able to see one part finished before he died. Gaudi devoted almost 40 years of his life to the Sagrada Familia and knew he would never see it completed because of the amount of work that had to go into it. The tour guide I had did say that they were hoping to finish construction in 2026, 100 years after Gaudi died.

The tour brought us inside and we had a look around at the towering columns and the beautiful stained glass windows. We then went outside and had a look at the opposite facade called the Passion facade which was completed just in 2018. It is a much somber piece of artwork and features scenes from Jesus' death to resurrection. After we headed to the museum under the Sagrada. There were lots of Gaudi's original models and drawings which the architects use

today in order to keep building according to his plans. Gaudi's tomb is also at the Sagrada Familia and you can view it from a small window above the shrine. After the tour I went back to the main building to just enjoy the architecture and at noon they started playing Ave Maria. The sound was so beautiful I had to stay a little longer to hear it, and I learned that Gaudi also built the Sagrada with the acoustics in mind!

After the Sagrada Familia we moved on to another famous Gaudi masterpiece, Park Guell. It is elevated just above the city which gives it amazing views if you climb high enough. The monumental part of the park is filled with Gaudi's work, and the rest of the park is beautiful scenery overlooking Barcelona.

We hiked pretty far up in Park Guell (because the view kept getting better and better) and found ourselves halfway to our next

destination. It is commonly referred to as the "bunkers". Old war bunkers that have been turned into a great 360 degree viewpoint of the city. It was definitely less crowded than some the other places we had visited and it was worth it for the amazing views. We stayed up there for almost 2 hours watching the sun set and soaking up the last bit of Barcelona!

Sadly that was the last full day in Barcelona and we finished it off with a quick meal at a local cafe and then headed back to Birmingham bright and early on Wednesday morning.