In the winter of 2012 I went to Barcelona, the city of Gaudi. We visited the Sagrada Familia, Parque Guell, Barrio Gotico, among other things. It’s a city full of life!
Curiosities about the city:
Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya and the official language is Catalan.
There were no beaches in Barcelona until 1992. The seaside of Barcelona was full of local industries up until the city decided to host the Olympic Games and they created these artificial beaches
They are crazy about football, with one of the worlds’ largest and richest football clubs, FC Barcelona. The club’s Camp Nou stadium in Europe’s largest, with a capacity of 100,000.
Barcelona was a fun trip with Ricardo. We stayed in a hostel with a beautiful old facade, but inside was awful. It’s called AWA Happy Hostel Barcelona. It is on Rambla de Catalunya 52, close to Casa Batló and Passeig de Gràcia. I remember, however, having had a good time there on the balcony of the hotel, which has a beautiful view of the city, talking and smoking with Ricardo. I think this hostel is now closed.
On this trip I had a horrible hairstyle. I cut a fringe but it was too short. I hate the photos of this trip because of it. It was in Barcelona that I first went to Starbucks, strolling along the famous Ramblas and the surrounding streets, that stretches for 1.2 km connecting Plaza de Catalunya with the Christopher Columbus Monument at Port Vell.
We visited the Sagrada Familia, which is eternally under construction. The back facade is very pretty. It’s an amazing interpretation of Gothic architecture. We did not enter because the queue was giant.
The Sagrada Familia is the largest unfinished Roman Catholic church in the world and it was designed by Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Gaudí’s work on the building is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and in November 2010 Pope Benedict XVI consecrated and proclaimed it a minor basilica, as distinct from a cathedral, which must be the seat of a bishop.
We also went to the Gothic Quarter, Casa Batlló and Casa Mila, these last two being renowned buildings designed by Antoni Gaudí’s.
The Gothic Quarter encompasses the oldest parts of the city of Barcelona, and includes the remains of the city’s Roman wall and several notable medieval landmarks. El Call, the medieval Jewish quarter, is located within this area, along with the former Sinagoga Major. It retains a labyrinthine street plan, with many small streets opening out into squares. Most of the quarter is closed to regular traffic although open to service vehicles and taxis.
I really enjoyed the Parc de la Ciutadella, gave excellent photos because it is very beautiful, with a large fountain designed by Josep Fontse and a triumph arch.
There was one night when we went to Montjuic to see the fountain lights show, next to Palau Nacional and Plaza de Espana. The fountain, like most of the surrounding developments, was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.
We went for a walk near the Playa de la Barceloneta and the marina.
In our last day, we went to visit Parc Güell, very beautiful. It was also designed by Antoni Gaudi. The park was built between 1900 and 1914 and was officially opened as a public park in 1926. In 1984, UNESCO declared the park a World Heritage Site.
People had also warned me about the pickpockets in the subway there (there are even security guards on the subway who whistle to tell you when there are pickpockets nearby) and one time we were in the subway and a lady warned me that I was being robbed. I look back and I see a woman opening my backpack! When I looked at her, she ran away and did not steal anything. Uf, I was lucky!
Wanderlust World 