I’ve always heard how great Barcelona is so we decided to take a few days and check it out for ourselves. Seems like everybody else had the same idea as the city was packed with tourists! Our hotel, H10 Madison, was is the Barri Gòtic (Gothic Quarter / Old City) and we had a view of the Cathedral of Barcelona from our balcony and were greeted with a glass of Cava. After settling in and enjoying tapas, we head out to explore the city.
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| Had to sample the local pastries, coffee & hot chocolate to see how they compare to those in Portugal! |
The definite highlight of the visit was La Sagrada Família! To avoid the crowds as much as possible, we booked the first tickets of the day and I’m so glad we did as by the time we were leaving it was packed. The church is absolutely stunning on the outside and inside! Work on the church began in 1882 and the estimated date of completion is 2032. When asked when it would be complete, Gaudí said “my client is in no hurry”! We downloaded the app and audio tour before we arrived and it gave a great overview of the church. If you want a more in depth tour, I'd recommend taking one of their guided tours or hiring a guide. For us, the audio tour was perfect. It is no exaggeration to say these photos do not do it justice.
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| The 4 pillars with medallions for Matthew, Mark, Luke & John will eventually be the support for the final tower to be added to La Sagrada Família |
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| Monogram for Jesus, Mary & Joseph |
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| The Lord's Prayer in Spanish with "Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread" translated into 50 other languages. |
My fellow AOH, Julie, recommended a great spot for gelato and churros nearby so of course we had to try as we needed a pick me up after touring the basilica.
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| Of course we had to try the sangria too! |
I always try to take a class when I visit a city to learn a little something about the local culture and for Barcelona, we took a paella class. After meeting up with our group (11 Canadians, 1 German and us), chef Andre took us over to Mercat de la Boqueria to get the seafood from his favorite fishmonger before heading to the kitchen. Two very important things we learned...to make a proper paella, it takes about 1.5 to 2 hours as you cook in layers AND only tourists eat paella later in the day.
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| After a secret knock, the door opened for Chef Andre |
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| Given my history with sharp objects, LuLu was praying the entire time I was chopping peppers for the paella. Happy to say there was nothing sliced but the peppers! |
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The fruits (or veggies) of my labor  |
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| As Chef says, it's important to get the poop out of the prawns. My little friend before I cleaned him out! |
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| Chef says the liver from the cuttlefish is the secret to really great paella and is also what gives it the special color (not saffron).
  It is important to make sure the mussels are alive before they are cooked otherwise, you could spend the night in the bathroom or a week in the hospital. If the shell is closed, the mussel is alive but if it is open, you need to knock on the shell and if it closes, it is alive and safe to eat. After the mussel is determined to be alive, you have to clean the beard off before cooking. Since LuLu didn't want to clean the shrimp, she got to clean the mussels. |
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Paella is cooked in a pan called paellera. The unique design ensure even cooking of the dish. These pans are quite expensive but last forever. The large black pan is over 20 years old and cost $3,000.00!
One of my favorite things to do when visiting a new city is to take a loop on the hop-on/hop-off bus. Barcelona has a great hop-on/hop-off with two interesting routes. With the high temps expected, we got an early start and managed to snag seats on the upper deck under the back awning so we got a little protection from the sun but still able to get great pics.
Gaudi's work is all over town...here are just a couple examples.
We popped in to the Cathedral of Barcelona on our way back to the hotels. While it was beautiful, I think all churches will now pale in comparison to La Sagrada Família.
We came across an Indian Festival while wandering around the Gothic Quarter.
While I am glad we visited and had the opportunity to see so much of the city, I am just not sure Barcelona is the city for us. We found it to be similar to New York City in the crowds, pace and cleanliness (or lack there of). I know we were there during the summer when everyone else decided to descend upon the city but in comparison to the friendly, calm and laid-back style of Porto, Barcelona was just a bit much. We were shocked by how dirty the city was...trash was everywhere, there was a terrible stench from all the grates and graffiti covered much of the place (I'm talking straight up graffiti with profanity and not street art). In Porto, when you walk into a shop or cafe, you are greeted by the staff but we didn't find that to be the case in Barcelona even when we spoke first. Maybe we just hit the city on a couple off days and if we were there during the off season we would have had a different experience.
While I am glad we visited and had the opportunity to see so much of the city, I am just not sure Barcelona is the city for us. We found it to be similar to New York City in the crowds, pace and cleanliness (or lack there of). I know we were there during the summer when everyone else decided to descend upon the city but in comparison to the friendly, calm and laid-back style of Porto, Barcelona was just a bit much. We were shocked by how dirty the city was...trash was everywhere, there was a terrible stench from all the grates and graffiti covered much of the place (I'm talking straight up graffiti with profanity and not street art). In Porto, when you walk into a shop or cafe, you are greeted by the staff but we didn't find that to be the case in Barcelona even when we spoke first. Maybe we just hit the city on a couple off days and if we were there during the off season we would have had a different experience.
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