Ahhh, España! It's so good to see you again. It's been 8 long years! I was a completely different person when I studied abroad in Alicante.... And who ever thought I would be rounding out the end of a 3 week trip with my papa when I finally made it back. I'm so happy we're here.
We had a relatively easy 5 hour train ride to Barcelona. We got off the train and walked to our hotel - the best hotel yet!!! Big rooms, a pool, good location, perfect! We dropped off our stuff then went straight to a tapas restaurant - one of the things we definitely needed to do in Spain! It was delicious, and I swear, that's how all meals should be. If anyone has ever eaten with me, they know there's a good chance they'll hear the phrase "can I try that?!?" At least once throughout the meal. I just love trying all different types of food - which is why tapas restaurants are perfect. We tried about 9 different dishes, all were amazing. Maybe I'll open a tapas restaurant when I get home - who's with me??
Anyways, after our bellies were sufficiently full, we hopped on the metro to the other thing I knew we HAD to do in Barcelona - see the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. And I'm SO glad we did - it was the most incredible structure I've ever seen in my life. I even think it makes up for not seeing the Sistine Chapel! *hides again* But seriously. It was amazing.
Construction of the church began in 1882, and as of 2010 it was only halfway done. So often people think it's being 'restored' when they see all the cranes - nope! They still have the coolest, tallest parts of the church left to build. Antoni Gaudí designed it, and it is just unreal. Especially the inside. The whole thing is so vertical, and lot of the design is based on flora and fauna, you can easily see that the giant pillars resemble trees, and the ceiling, a tree canopy. Pictures really can't capture it but I've included some.
We took a train to the Passeig de Grácia, one of the major avenues in Barcelona. It's home to lots of fancy shopping as well as some amazing architecture. One of these is the Casa Batlló, also designed by Antoni Gaudí. Again, check out the pictures, it stands out so much when surrounded by otherwise normal houses.
We stopped at a nice restaurant and ate some delicious carbonara pasta and pizza. We took the train back to our awesome hotel, and couldn't stop gabbing about how much we LOVE this city!