Days 11-17: Barcelona, Spain

Hola, Jennifer here :)

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I've been having too much fun in BARCELONA!!!

On Thursday, we left for a 5 day/4 night stay in Barcelona, Spain. Of the places we've visited so far, I can easily say that Barcelona has been my favorite. We did so much in such little time that the easiest way for me to document our trip is by simply posting photos + captions, so I apologize in advance for the lack of details. Plus, I think Barcelona is one of those places you must see/experience yourself!

La Rambla, Barcelona's famous tree-lined pedestrian mall, bustling with tourists and locals alike.

Entrance to La Boqueria, a large public market that offers a diverse selection of goods --  fresh seafood, exotic fruits, cured meats, etc. We grabbed lunch here a few times. (My sister would absolutely LOVE this market.)

One thing you must know about Barcelona is that many of its most remarkable structures and tourist sites have one thing in common: their architect, Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was a Spanish Catalan architect and a leader of Catalan Modernism. Much of his work is marked by his big passions in life: architecture, nature, religion. Seven of his works were declared UNESCO World Heritage Sites. During our time in Barcelona, we saw four of Gaudi's masterpieces (that I know of -- this is excluding his lamp posts in Plaça Reial), three of which we were able to enter.

1. Casa Batlló, locally known as Casa dels ossos (House of Bones) for its visceral, skeletal organic quality. It was originally designed for a middle-class family and situated in a prosperous district of Barcelona.

2. Park Güell, a garden complex distinguished by Gaudi's multicolored mosaic work. The park was initially created as part of a housing development project, which failed miserably.

3. Casa Milà, better known as La Pedrera. Architecturally it is considered an innovative work for its steel structure and curtain walls.

Panoramic view of the rooftop.

4. Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic church and Gaudi's magnum opus. Gaudi devoted his last years to the project, and when he died in 1926 at the age of 73, less than 1/4 of the project was complete. The church's anticipated completion date is 2026, but the pace of construction depends largely on funding -- private donations, entrance fees (YAY FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE GREATER CAUSE OF ARCHITECTURAL MAGNIFICENCE and God), etc. If you ever visit Barcelona, touring the Sagrada Familia is an obvious must. It will blow you away.

To give you an idea of how incomplete the church is, there will be 18 towers (currently 4) when completed.

A replica of the two main doors.

Nativity Facade.

At the top of one the four towers.

After we were all Gaudi'ed out, we moved onto other things. For example, the stadium of the legendary FC Barcelona team. I don't even like soccer and I've heard of them.

And even after that, we got to explore more of Barcelona...

Metropolitan Las Arenas.

Magic Fountain of Montjuïc. Legend has it that one drink from this fountain will ensure that you'll “fall in love with Barcelona and always return."

Don't even ask how I got up there. The struggle was real.

Oh, and this happened.

My first cable car ride.

Ascending to the very top to see...

...Montjuïc Castle, an old military fortress that dates back to 1640.

The castle had an incredible view of the port.

On our fourth day in Barcelona, we decided to hit the beach (Bogatell beach). I've never seen such beautiful water, other than in desktop pictures that come default with computers. I mean the water was all the way up to my shoulders and I could still see my own two feet. Oh, and don't even get me started on the water's temperature. Ughhhhh. Take me back.

Alright, so obviously we did a lot more than tour ornate buildings and chill on gorgeous beaches. Here are miscellaneous pictures to give you an idea of what else we've been up to...

Stracciatella and pistachio gelato. Me-oh-my.

Flatliner shots: sambuca, tequila, and TABASCO HOT SAUCE. Anyone that knows me knows very well how obsessed I am with hot sauce. These were sooooooo good.

Alfredooooo.

Les Quinze Nits Restaurant. Our wait was almost an hour...

...and this Tikki Masala Chicken was worth every minute.

La Rambla at night. I definitely digged Barcelona's nightlife.

"Authentic" Sangria.

Sunset on our flight back to Germany.

Some interesting things I've learned/seen in Barcelona...

1. Trust no one. That old lady with the headscarf begging for money is not as poor as she claims to be. Or maybe she is... but Rick Steves told us to avoid her.

2. The Spanish expressions used in Barcelona are different than the ones used in the Americas (i.e., Central America, Latin America). This fun fact has been pointed out by our professional translator, Peter (Spanish 4 and counting).

3. Never wear cheap Charlotte Russe sandals when traveling. You WILL be miserable by the end of the day. I already knew this, but I risked it because I wanted to look cute. Needless to say I was wearing comfy sneakers by the end of the trip.

4. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia and has two official languages: Spanish and Catalan.

5. It is tradition in Spain -- among other warmer countries -- to take a daily siesta, a short nap usually taken in the early afternoon after the midday meal. In fact, many of the shops in Barcelona had strange hours like 9-12h and 16-20h (Europe uses the 24-hour clock) for this very reason. The US should seriously and definitely consider this whole siesta thing.