Barcelona
Trip Start
Jul 13, 2009
1
15
16
Trip End
Aug 09, 2009
Where I stayed
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Anyway, Barcelona...it was great. Although I struggle to find a real need for tapas, I did enjoy it. Sometimes it was a little out there, as I think they just throw random things (mostly from the sea) together to see if tourists will eat it, but I enjoyed it for the most part. Discotecas? Yeah I did it one night. Not my scene let me tell you. I had a good time, I really did, but we didn’t get back until about 6am. You might ask me, “Is that it for Barcelona, tapas and nightclubs?” For some, yes. However, there is another dominating scene and his name is Antoni Gaudi, and his works are everywhere. The most famous, la Sagrada Familia is both puzzling and mind-blowing at the same time. Puzzling in the way that you are forced to ask yourself, why? Why would anyone create this? And after you have sufficiently not figured that out, you are taken aback in complete amazement. Gaudi started with the project in 1883 and worked on it until his death in 1926. So obsessed he became with la Sagrada Familia he lived like a recluse on the site for nearly 16 years. The church has yet to be completed, but work continues as my photographs (all showing cranes and lifts) reveal. Is there and end date in site for la Sagrada? No, but the money keeps coming in, and the towers keep going up, impressively so.
Although his most famous, it certainly isn’t Gaudi’s only mark on Barcelona, as his works are behind every corner, literally. Park Guell, Casa Mila, Casa Museu Gaudi and countless others are everywhere, and all just as interesting as la Sagrada. Ok, maybe not as interesting, but interesting never the less. Other sites I visited in Barcelona include the Magic Fountain (thank you Kellyn), the Barconleta, Castell de Montjuic, and of course La Rambla, which is the most famous street in Spain because it is always filled with interesting characters, mansions, shops, cafes, and of course tourists.
I will definitely be back to Barcelona in about 11 months. Why you ask? Well because I have decided to organize a quick, maybe two week, trip to Spain. Starting in the beginning of July the first stop will be Madrid, then Pamplona. That’s right, we are doing the Running of the Bulls. I have now given you a years notice, no excuses. If you want in, just let me know. Really.
