Barcelona: Day 1

In mid-January, we booked a 3 night trip to Barcelona for early February! We continue to try to take advantage of the relatively cheap airfare we can get out of Stansted airport, and this was no exception. All 3 of our round-trip tickets to Barcelona were less than $300 total. Our flight went smoothly, and I was able to easily locate the ticket machines in the train station to purchase a T-10 ticket, which gives you 10 rides on the Barcelona metro system. We worked it out to need exactly 10 rides while we were in town for only 10 euros. Pretty good deal! The train took us to Passeig de Gracia, one of the larger train stations in downtown Barcelona, in about 30 minutes.

Casa Batllo in evening light

We exited the train station and I realized it was the wrong exit, because I couldn't see Casa Batllo. I had been planning to use Casa Batllo (one of Antoni Gaudi's creations) to orient myself. Luckily Paul was able to redirect us to the correct street corner (he is MUCH better spatially than I am, and knew the general position of the subway station underneath our feet and stopped me before I led us the wrong way!). From there, it was less than a 10 minute walk to our apartment in the Eixample neighborhood. The host met us at the apartment, which was sparse but a very comfortable home base for the 3 nights. Sparse is actually good with a toddler in tow -- less breakable objects to worry about!

The host also brought us a Pack-and-Play for Charlotte to sleep in. She did such a good job napping and sleeping on this trip; we were really proud of her. As an aside, we felt like this trip went much more smoothly than our trip to Nuremberg, for a few reasons. Charlotte is older now, and we were able to prep her for the trip better. We talked a lot about how we were going to stay at our "Spain house" and not sleep at our "yellow house" (what she calls our new home in England). We also got a book from the library about Barcelona -- from the "Bella and Harry" series -- which had great illustrations and taught her about the various landmarks in the city. She really seemed to connect the dots between what she had read in the book and what we saw on the trip, which was really fun to see. Paul and I also did a better job of being less rigid about our city-exploring plans, and let her down (out of the stroller) to run and play frequently when we were in safe spots. Better for everyone, when the alternative is her crying in the stroller and yelling "Get DOWN get DOWN!!"

Anyway, after dropping our bags, we headed back along the route toward Passeig de Gracia and found sidewalk seating for a cafe serving tapas. We enjoyed some delicious sangria and tapas, including some delicious sauteed mushrooms and a ham & cheese board. Charlotte enjoyed her Spanish grilled cheese (she picked off the Iberico ham... shameful!). We headed back to the "Spain house" and headed to bed pretty soon after.

The next day, we went out to search for breakfast. We found a creperie, which ended up being delicious despite there only being one worker (instead of the usual 4). We shared a Nutella crepe and a ham/cheese crepe, and I enjoyed a cafe con leche as well. We then walked a few more blocks to Sagrada Familia!

The streets of Eixample reminded us of the French Quarter of New Orleans in spots

Sagrada Familia was the site I was most excited to see in Barcelona, and it did NOT disappoint. It is a church still under construction (after well over 100 years!), which was not started by Gaudi but he ended up taking over the construction project. He died in 1926, and the work soldiers on. It's estimated to be finished in 2026, in time for the 100th anniversary of Gaudi's death. It is scheduled to have 18 spires when complete! A friend recommended we purchase tickets online ahead of time, as the wait for tickets (even in the off-season) can be over an hour. We had tickets for the 11 am timeslot, and arrived about 40 minutes early. We located a park across the street from the church's Passion Facade (west entry), which had a playground that Charlotte enjoyed while we passed time.

View of Sagrada Familia from the Passion Facade. It is hard to take a photo without the cranes, which are busy working to build more towers.

Running in the park west of Sagrada Familia. My jacket will look pouchy throughout our Barcelona pictures as I kept my purse under my jacket to prevent pickpocketing, a real issue in the city.

PIGEONS

As Paul says, it's not every day you play in a playground in the shadow of Sagrada Familia!

The Nativity Facade (east entrance), where we entered at our appointed time.

Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus
[Holy, Holy, Holy]

Elaborate carving of the Nativity on the east facade

When we entered the Cathedral, my breath was actually taken away and I got tears in my eyes. I wouldn't say I'm an overly emotional person, but the absolute shock of this building's beauty was something I've never encountered before. The awe I felt is probably only matched by how I felt entering St. Peter's Basilica in Rome -- and it is a completely different feeling. St. Peter's is amazing for the vastness of the building; Sagrada Familia struck me with lightness and LIGHT. The roof just soars. The stained glass is all geometric shapes, so not limited by trying to realistically depict any scenes -- allowing for pure bright and jewel tones. Oranges, reds, yellows, greens, blues filter through from up above. It was just truly amazing. Paul and I both felt it was the most beautiful building we've ever been in. Gaudi based his designs on organic forms, and you can feel how the columns are like trees, holding up the roof like you're in a fantastical rainforest. The pictures CANNOT do it justice, but Paul got some good shots anyway.

The Passion Facade, which has a more modernistic vibe. I preferred the sculpture on this facade to the Nativity facade; Paul felt the opposite. 

After reluctantly departing Sagrada Familia, we headed back to the apartment to allow Charlotte to nap while I hunted down some lunch. I grabbed some pollo con arroz (chicken with rice, with a curry-like flavor) from the takeaway restaurant next door, and strawberries from a little market. We ate, then headed out to explore. We walked down a broad street toward the Spanish "Arch of Triumph" and then into the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter), where the streets got quickly narrower. We found the location of the Picasso Museum, which we had read was free to enter on the first Sunday of the month (that day!). We expected a line, but my goodness -- it would have taken at least 2.5 hours of line waiting to get in, which just wasn't tenable with Miss Charlotte. We opted to explore around further, toward the Cathedral of Barcelona. We didn't enter, but enjoyed sitting in (and running around) the square in front of the church. It was also the Sunday before Mardi Gras, and there was a parade we watched from afar! I was starting to get tired and hungry, so we had a little snack before heading back to the apartment via the Plaza de Catalunya.

Eixample neighborhood

Spanish "Arch of Triumph"

Entering the Barri Gotic

Barcelona Cathedral

Playing on the letters that spell out "Barcio" (The Roman town that became Barcelona)

Chasing pigeons in Plaza de Catalunya

Looking north from Plaza de Catalunya

After resting a bit, we headed to a nearby restaurant that had been recommended by our apartment host. We enjoyed patates bravas (fries with a mild paprika sauce), paella, and a ham/eggs/potatoes combination as well as some Rioja wine. Charlotte was a bit wild, but settled down when I found her a local newspaper to turn pages and look at pictures. We didn't adjust too much to the Barcelona mealtimes -- we might have done so if we didn't have Charlotte, but waiting until 9 pm to eat dinner just wasn't going to happen. We headed back to the apartment and went to sleep.