Good Gawdy Ms. Gaudi

For my third day in Barcelona I got up early and went to the Sagrada Familia. This work in progress is definitely a highlight of any trip to Barcelona. Originally designed by Gaudi before he died in the early 20th century, this monument is scheduled to be completed in 2026, which is the 100th anniversary of his death.

The pictures I took can't do this place justice. I am not remotely religious, but I definitely felt moved by the interior of this building. While the exterior seems a bit over the top and gaudy, the interior is mesmerizing. The use of light from the stained glass and the sense of scale was amazing. Along with the Vatican and the Duomo in Florence, this is easily one of my favorite cathedrals in Europe. It's modern aesthetic is more relatable, personally, than many older cathedrals.

The best picture I got showcasing the use of light. The color is all from light entering stained glass. It's amazing!

The interior columns are grand and spread out like branches. Minimalism prevails and angles and light are the main attractions.

Tree-like columns in more detail.

Looking towards the alter.

The exterior is kinda hideous and over the top.

More intense exterior

The passion side of the building. The statues here are more subtle and look like they've walked out of the wall.

After visiting the church, I took the metro back towards the Gothic Quarter to visit the Museo d'historia de Barcelona. The metro here is really great, but not very necessary for most sightseeing in the city center. Barcelona is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, and the metro is well used, clean and connects many parts of town.

The museum is a part of a larger network of museums in the city that preserve historically important parts of the community. At this location, an overview of the city's history was presented along with a walking tour over some of the ruins of ancient Roman Barcino. The walkthrough was one of the more impressive set of ruins and explanations of Roman life outside Italy I've seen. You can see an old laundromat, a vintner, a bath and other homes and workshops. 

Here I learned two particularly interesting facts. First, ancient Roman Barcelona residents drank nearly one bottle of wine per day (so, you know, less than now...). I also learned that amphora were placed in front of the laundromat and people were encouraged to urinate in them as they walked by. The laundromat had to pay taxes for the pleasure of collecting passerby urine. Why you ask? Well urine has ammonia and that was used to bleach clothes and sheets after it was allowed to decompose for a bit. Yippy!

After exploring the museum, I met up with Thomas and we got lunch at a little sandwich shop that I noticed on Barcelona's Eater 38 list (check it out if you need restaurant recommendations) called Conesa Entrepans. This cheap hole in the wall had some great sandwiches! I got a bacon and pepper sandwich and Thomas got a chicken and onion one. Yummy!

Roman Barcino ruins under the Gothic Quarter.

Simple & delicious sandwich from Conesa Entrepans.

After lunch, we grabbed a cab and headed uphill to visit Park Guell, a park designed by Gaudi in the early 20th century. Park Guell was meant to be a communal space for 61 English-style cottages and would feature a communal market space along with art and park space. Well, the housing development never seemed to take off, but now you can pay 8€ for the privilege of viewing some of the work. Ugh. Here you'll find the very famous statue of a lizard/dragon, along with some spectacular views down into the city and out into the sea. Maybe skip unless you're really into Gaudi.

Famous Gaudi lizard, El Drac.

I do really enjoy the use of color in much of Gaudi's work.

View out of the city from Park Guell.

Proof that we were here.

Everything Gaudi did is so organic, which is both cool and creepy at times.

I like the font he uses in lots of his buildings. It's playful and colorful.

After a short visit to Park Guell, we decided to walk back to our AirBnB. Today the weather has been less pleasant, it's been cold and drizzly at times. The trip back was a few miles, but we passed through the Gracia neighborhood which was full of cute streets with shops and restaurants. Many of the streets are pedestrian-focused, so it makes the walk very pleasant. After getting back to the AirBnB, we were both tired so we watched a movie (The Cured) and had some wine. Overall, a pretty full day of sightseeing and relaxing!

Gracia neighborhood street.

Barcelona seems to have a love/hate relationship with tourists...

After resting up, and polishing off a bottle of wine, we decided to hit the town again! Decidedly attempting to fit in better, we didn't leave the AirBnB until close to 9pm to go eat. We tried to go to a restaurant that was recommended by friends called Cuidad Condal, but the line was out the door. At least we figured out WHEN we're supposed to eat, finally. We settled on the nearby La Colosal instead. This restaurant is a cocktail and tapas bar (surprise!). The food was really good and the drinks were nice as well. Please enjoy the following dramatically lit pictures of food.

Raspberry mojito and a gin something or another.

Staple food of my trip to Spain, patatas bravas.

Burrata and arugula salad. Finally something not fried.

A mini Spanish tortilla.

After a couple drinks and dinner, we decided to go to some more bars and out dancing. I think we went to four separate places with weird names like gingin bar, punto BCN and la chapelle. It was still kinda early and a Tuesday so most places weren't too busy. 

The discoteca we ended up at was called Disco Arena. It was pretty empty but started to fill up around the time we left at 2:00am. Just like my trip to Madrid eight years ago, I'm still really impressed at how late these people go! I'm not a huge dancer, but after all the stress with leaving my job and lining up this travel since early December it felt good to just get a lot of energy out. After we had our fill, we were just a 15 minute walk back to the AirBnB. In a first, I logged over 10,000 steps on my fitbit before sleeping. :) Yay Barcelona!

Proof of Life. 

Disco Arena before it got more crowded.