Day 179: Barcelona

Following festival fun at 3 am, we agreed that we would treat Barcelona Sunday like the Spaniards do: eating, lounging, and more eating. We slept in until 10am and didn’t get out the door until 12pm. Started our day with a delicious tapas brunch and walked around the Arc de Triomf. Coffee was necessary after Mary took two sleeping pills to sleep through Saturday night at the hostel.

Blessed with the perfect temperature to explore the city: 75 degrees. We walked from Plaça de Catalunya to the Gothic Quarter, passing the Barcelona Cathedral on the way. Next, we moved to Barceloneta beach, watched the waves, and ate paella with local drink Vermut. After, we bussed to the Basílica de la Sagrada Família which has been in construction since 1882. Construction has taken so long that both the designer and the designer’s son have died before it could be completed. One side looked new while the other looked like melted candle wax.

Our final stop was the National Museum of Art to enjoy the sunset and city views. We grabbed fantastic tapas and Catalan local paella for dinner and got to bed early for our excursion to Monserrat tomorrow.

Restaurants:
Casa Ràfols
Bodega Ibèria
Santa Ana

Food:
DIY Tomato & Garlic
Stuffed Pardon Pepper & Cod
Burrattatina
Ham Croquettes
Seafood Paella
Chorizo Sautéd in Red Wine
Potatas Bravas
Fideuà Paella
Cava Wine

Spots:
Plaça de Catalunya
Cathedral of Barcelona
Arc de Triomf
Barceloneta Beach
Basílica de la Sagrada Família
Plaça de Espanya
Museu Nacional d'Art de CatalunyaRead more