We began our first day in Barcelona, the capital of the Catalan region, with a driving tour of several sights, including the grounds of the olympics, the water front, and several monuments. Stopping first for some views over the city, which is densely compacted between the sea and the mountains, we also spent some time at the water front before traveling to Gaudi’s famous La Sagrada Familia where we were able to completely walk around the amazing basilica which has been under construction for over 100 years. Later we walked with a couple of friends to La Palau de la Musica, an incredible art nouveau music hall designed by Louis Domenich i Montaner and constructed between 1905 and 1908. Both buildings are UNESCO World Heritage Sights. After touring the building, we stopped for tapas at a neighborhood café before returning to our hotel.
On our second morning, we returned to La Sagrada for a tour of the interior of the cathedral. Later, we walked to the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, another Montaner design from the early part of the twentieth century and also a UNESCO sight. The hospital grounds, no longer operating, consists of several buildings connected under a campus by tunnels which are in the process of being restored as a kind of architectural and medical museum. Finally, we visited the Mirò Foundation which has an extensive collection by the famed Barcelona artist Joan Mirò.