Falling in Love with Barcelona

Ah, Barcelona.

As I type this now, I think of Freddie Mercury's City of Dreams in "Barcelona" and Frank O'Hara's excitement-casused stomach ache in "Having a Coke with You."  Well, Freddie and Frank, I get what you mean now.

On the Travesera de Gracia.

As we were strolling through mazes of crisscrossing alleys and streets, Eric confessed to me that he was falling in love with Barcelona, and I agreed to the same feeling.  There's something about the sunshine and shadows bouncing off the tall buildings, the little shops supporting ancient flats, and the metal-wired balconies that conveys romance.

The mannequins in Barcelona are so happy.

Barcelona's Arco de Triunfo

Catalan flag.

 

 

Arch in the Gothic Quarter.

 

Fountain in the Ciutadella Park

Recreational Lake in Ciutadella Park

No to rarism.  It's a serious issue here.

The room we rented through AirBnB was right in the middle of the action; we were within walking distance of most of the main attractions in Barcelona.  In fact, we never used the metro or a bus (besides to and from the airport) the whole time we were there.

The flat had an artistic charm to it that matched the city it is in.  Our two hosts painted the rooms in bright colors and decorated the walls with their own artwork.

 

Our two very sweet and helpful hosts.

It was in a perfect location with a great view of a pedestrian- and restaurant-filled street.  Two nearby shops we ate at a few times while were there was a kebob restaurant and an empanada shop.

Pretty profound for a kebab place.

 

La Fabrica makes delicious Argentina-style empanadas.

 

We also had churros con chocolate (translated into English as "heaven") a few times at two different places:  Restaurant Nervion and Granja la Pallaresa.

We randomly came across Restaurant Nervion on our way back to our room the first night.

Granja la Pallaresa was planned.  It's recommended by Rick Steves and many people on Trip Advisor.

I was pretty excited to eat here.

 

Looking at the hot chocolates side by side, you can see which of the two was better.  (The burger at Nerion was spot-on yummy, in their defense.)

 

One of the greatest attractions in Barcelona is actually a road, Los Ramblas.  Much of the road is filled with average but overpriced restaurants, gimmicky gift shops, and street performers looking for a sucker to toss them a euro.  Regardless of it being very touristy, it still holds that Barcelona romantic charm we love so much.

Columbus Monument towards the sea end
of Los Ramblas.

Just off of Los Ramblas is the Mercat La Boqueria, a famous indoor market of fruit and veggie vendors, tapas bars, and butchers.

 

 

While we were walking the tight paths between stalls, we say a familiar figure up ahead.  Senor Juan.

Rick Steves visits him each time he's in Barcelona.  He talks about the super smiley and incredibly friendly Juan in his TV series and in his book.  Here's a blog post about him by Steves.

The day that we visited Los Ramblas, we also visited two famous cathedrals in Barcelona:  the Barcelona Cathedral and the Basilica of Santa Maria del Mar.

The Barcelona Cathedral has a beautiful exterior and interior.  Both the inside and outside are filled with details of Christian stories, saints, and symbols.

 

 

 

The Basilica of Santa Maria has a humbler exterior and and slightly less ornate interior, but it's beautiful all the same.

 

 

As we were sitting in the basilica, Eric asked me how I felt.  I told him I felt gratitude.  As we sat admiring the stained glass windows and the soot-stained pillars while smelling the burning candles sending prayers up, it dawned on me how I wished for this for so long.  

It has been on my bucket list since I was little to visit Europe, and I've always wanted to visit the beautiful cathedrals in each country.  Sometimes, I'm just in the moment of what's going on, going with the flow, but when I take a step back to observe my surroundings, I realize how fortunate I am.  I never thought I would ever leave the United States.  I never thought I would ever see Europe.  It was all just wishing, but now it's reality.  An incredible reality I have trouble soaking in sometimes.  Adventure is out there, and we're out to get it.