Spanish Life, Barcelona Tourist Edition

LOCATION:

Barcelona, Spain

 

Most of my time as a Barcelona tourist was spent hunting down Gaudi work and simply enjoying the sun, but I did manage to check out other parts of the city. One of the main pedestrian streets is La Rambla, and it leads down to the ocean. It is really crowded with tourists, performers, and vendors of all kinds, but also is home to one of the coolest open air markets I have ever been to - La Boqueria.

The market entrance.

 

Beautiful fruit everywhere, and so cheap!

 

Mmmmmm. Meat and cheese.

 

Yummy chocolates and candies!

 

At the end of La Rambla, just before the harbor, is a monument honoring Christopher Columbus. He can be seen pointing at the top - but not towards America! He is pointing out towards the ocean though which I suppose makes sense, even though Erin said there are some controversial theories around which way he is pointing and why!

Sort of cool, in the clouds.

 

The harbor turned out to be one of my favorite spots in Barcelona. It was such a great place to sit and people watch, listen to performers, and just relax and enjoy the sunshine.

This band was pretty good!

 

Another great band, though not by the ocean. We even bought their CD!

 

The apartment Erin, Joe and Jen lived in was in a great neighborhood - walking distance to everything, and right down the street from the Palau de la Musica - a really ornate concert hall. I didn't get a picture of it, but we did get coffee there on our last morning in Barcelona, and I brought a postcard I was mailing - which turned out to be maybe my favorite picture of the trip so far because it looks so fake!

Coffee with the Queen of England!

 

I am not sure what my favorite part about Barcelona was - the color, the relaxed vibe, the food and drink, or the access to other cool Spanish cities. Definitely adding to the fun though was spending time with Erin, Joe and Jen who were great tour guides, having lived in the city for a few months by the time I got there. We packed up early this morning though, and Erin said goodbye to the place she called home for her final semester of business school. Off to Copenhagen now, to start the month-long rail pass adventure!

 

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Spanish Life, Gaudi Edition

LOCATION:

Barcelona, Spain

 

I know it seems like I haven't spent much time in Barcelona, but I have, really! My first day exploring the city was a self-led Gaudi tour. The main attraction, naturally, was La Sagrada Familia. It is considered by many to be Gaudi's final masterpiece - he spent forty years working on it before he died. Construction began in 1882 and (as seen by cranes and scaffolding everywhere!) is still going. Current estimates have it being completed in 2020, but who knows. I visited Sagrada Familia the last time I was in Barcelona but the inside of the cathedral was not open to visitors then, so going inside on this visit was really something special. Gaudi himself only completed the crypt and the nativity facade - the rest of the cathedral is being constructed based on interpretations of his plans.

One of the facades, I remember cranes from 12 years ago!

 

A depiction of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus on the Passion Facade.

 

Strikingly different from the Nativity Facade on the other side of the cathedral.

Strikingly different from the Nativity Facade on the other side of the cathedral.

 

I climbed the nativity tower and was rewarded with stunning views of Barcelona!

 

The inside of the cathedral is just as striking as the outside, if not more so. The columns in the main cathedral interior are designed to resemble trees reaching to heaven. Because it is so new everything is pristine and white, which definitely adds to the spiritual feel. One of the other things I particularly enjoyed was seeing the semi-completed stained glass windows. Those already in place cast a rainbow of color onto the otherwise stark interior, which was a cool juxtaposition next to the windows yet to be filled in.

Gaudi's Forrest-like vision comes to life.

 

Looking up at the ceiling.

 

Some stained complete, some yet to go.

After leaving sagrada familia, my Gaudi tour continued and I didn't have to walk far to see his work elsewhere in the city. La Pedrera is dull in color compared to his other buildings, but is still very interesting, especially the funky balconies. Just a few steps down the street was another Gaudi building, Casa Batilo.

La Pedrera.

 

Casa Batilo, much brighter.

 

These balconies remind me of the ocean for some reason!

 

There are many more Gaudi buildings in Barcelona, but my final stop on the tour was the Park Guell, at the top of a large hill overlooking the city. The park is full of colorful mosaics and whimsical curves, and feels to me like a real-life version of candy land. While I was grateful for all the sunshine during my visit, it did make for a very crowded park. I only stayed for a few minutes, but found it impossible not to smile when looking at all the bright tiles.

The curvy benches surrounded the park, and all had beautiful mosaics.

 

Lots of swirls and bright tiles.

 

The ceiling of a covered area was very similar to the ceiling of Sagrada Familia.

 

This lizard greets everyone at one park entrance.

 

Gaudi influences can be seen everywhere in Barcelona, and I think certainly contributes to the overall fun and colorful vibe of the city!

 

 

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Spanish Life, Girona Day Trip Edition

LOCATION:

Girona, Spain

 

Erin and I decided to take a day trip to the nearby city of Girona to 1) activate our rail passes and 2) experience the walled city that received rave reviews from our friend Jen. We activated our month-unlimited rail passes with relatively few hiccups in the morning, so as far as I was concerned the rest of the day was a bonus. But when we got off the train in Girona, it's charms quickly cast a spell on us both. I wish I had counted the times we exclaimed "no way!" or "is this place for real?'

 

One of the few bridges that crosses the river through town.

 

Such pretty colors on the buildings!

 

I kept getting "Girona" confused with "Verona" because it felt very Italian and Romeo and Juliette-esque!

 

Surprise parks and green spaces around every corner.

There were steps down every corridor, leading to who knows where!

Hands down, the coolest part about Girona (in my opinion) were the walls surrounding the city. The walls were constructed while the city was under Roman occupation, which also explains why much of the city has an Italian feel. Most of the walls were destroyed in the early part of the 19th century, but there were about two kilometers still standing for tourists like us to explore. I have never seen a walled city before, so this was pretty cool. A side note on all the steps in Girona - Erin has been wearing a pedometer, which makes stepping kind of like a fun game. I can't remember the exact number of steps, but ten miles were trekked around Girona!

These purple flowers growing on the wall looked and smelled amazing.

Erin in the walls.

 

A view of one stretch of wall.

 

Good thing we did a lot of walking, because we also managed to do a surprising amount of culinary tourism in our four hours in Girona. First, let me explain the idea of a menu of the day. It consists of an appetizer, entree, dessert, and drink usually for less than ten euros. Yes! So after my spinach cream soup, pizza, and chocolate mouse, I was not exactly hungry. But in addition to its unique heritage, Girona is becoming know for its food scene - it is one of the only places in the world to have three restaurants with three Michelin stars each. One of these restauranteurs recently opened a gelato stand, so we decided to give it a try. It was more like soft serve and - while it was pretty tasty - I would have just as easily preferred a scoop of Ben and Jerry's. We also checked out a famous pastry stop to grab some goodies to go before sprinting back to the train station just in time to make our train back to Barcelona. Day trip success!

 

Another fun travel day with Erin!

 

 

 

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Spanish Life, Basque Country Edition

LOCATION:

Bilbao and San Sebastián, Spain

 

I can't remember if I first leaned about the Guggenheim Bilbao in an art class or in an architecture class, but visiting the museum has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. After hearing from Erin how wonderful the nearby seaside town of San Sebastián was, I decided to combine my visit into a 36-hour getaway from Barcelona. After landing in Bilbao, I took a bus to the museum and could hardly contain my giddiness as the silver curvaceous Ghery building came into view. Walking up to the museum, I was excited to see the famous flowering "Puppy" by Jeff Koons greet me at the museum entrance.

Puppy.

 

After entering the museum I promptly went right out the back door, and found more Koons work (Tulips, my favorite), a tall silver ball sculpture by Anish Kapoor, and a bronze spider by Louise Bourgeois. I did go inside for a few minutes (where I managed to sneak a picture of one of the few Warhol's I have ever seen in real life!) but to be honest the biggest draw to the Guggenheim Bilbao - for me at least - is the structure, rather than the art it contains. I don't know what it is about Frank Gehry's mix of curves and angles, but I could have spent hours looking at it. I have seen some of his other structures, the Experience Music Project in Seattle, and the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, but none made my jaw drop the way this one did.

Koons' Tulips outside.

Tulips.

Kapoor's Tall Tree and the Eye.

 

Bourgeois' Spider.

One of Warhol's Marilyn's.

 

Striking from every angle.

Bucket list item - successful check.

 

San Sebastián was about an hour away by bus, and it's a good thing I worked up an appetite at the Guggenheim because San Sebastián is know for its culinary expertise - the city has more Michelin starred restaurants per capita than anywhere else. Based on a recommendation, I headed straight for A Fuego Negro for the Kobe Beef slider. The most common thing in any restaurant here were pintxos (Basque-style tapas) and are essentially little bites of heaven.

Kobe beef pintxo.

 

This one is from Barcelona, but the same concept. Small bites of yumminess.

 

San Sebastián, more than anything else, was just a charming beach town. It was sunny and perfect the first day of my trip, so I enjoyed walking along the boardwalk and people watching. It has a bit of an upscale air to it, but also a calm and relaxing vibe which I really liked.

The cove, and beautiful beaches.

I also enjoyed watching the surfers, though the water was pretty cold!

 

The next day was a bit overcast, but I got up early and went for an awesome run on the beach. I didn't have my camera with me on my run, but found a cool sculpture at the end of the bay which I went back to check out later in the afternoon. It is called The Wind Comb, and is a collaboration between two Basque sculptors. The vision was to have a space where "sea, wind, iron and rocks could communicate" according to the artists. The wind and cloudy skies actually made for some cool pictures!

The sculpture was anchored on two rocks.

 

Loved the sound of crashing waves.

 

Really cool patterns in the rocks.

Sometimes cloudy skies make the best pictures.

San Sebastián and Bilbao were both wonderful, and I wish I had the time to stay longer. Alas, my time in Spain is limited, so back to Barcelona I go!

 

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