Barcelona

I know I said I loved Madrid in the previous post, but I think I just loved the Spanish culture there as that was my first introduction to it. Barcelona was much better than Madrid in my opinion. It had more shops, restaurants, bars, beaches, sights, and the people were just all around awesome people. 

After taking a high speed train through the olive tree filled Spanish countryside, I spent the first of three days in Barcelona strolling the the bustling street of La Rambla and stopping for (a very long) lunch at La Boqueria which is similar to the market in Madrid but larger. Once again, I was the happiest man on earth sampling more jamón ibérico, pulpo (octopus), oysters, fried whole anchovies, squid, chorizo, and empanadas. 

Any trip to Barcelona must include some visits to any of the works of the famous Spanish architect Gaudi. To get my fix, I spent the morning of the second day looking at the unusual creations of Park Guell which was a private development and park that Gaudi designed in the early 1900s. As was clearly evident, Gaudi was famous for trying to imitate nature and for his hate of symmetry, leading him to use little to no straight lines in his designs. 

Later that night I got a full dose of Spanish culture by joining a paella cooking class and watching a Flamenco show while sipping sangria. After that, instead of getting some much needed sleep, I went out for more tapas and Spanish wine at an awesome little hole in the wall called La Pepita that had some amazing food. As is inevitable while travelling, I met some amazing people at this place. One of them was an Australian woman who has been travelling for two months and just finished a 40 day African safari...guess who just got an idea for their next adventure!

The highlight of the last day (if not the entire Barcelona stop) was Sagrada Familia. This is another Gaudi work and the church has been under construction for 136 years and is still going. The hope is to have it completed by 2026 which is the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death. As is true for many life experiences, words and pictures do not do this marvel justice. You just have to go see it yourself!

Overall, my experience in Spain was nothing short of amazing and made me fall in love with the country. Five days was certainly not enough time here, so I'll need to come back for a few weeks soon! Spain, see you again in August when I visit Seville.