Barcelona

The last stop on this leg of the journey was Barcelona! It is hard to say what made our experience in Barcelona so wonderful, it could have been our unforgettable Airbnb host, the fact that I got to see Lorial again after being apart for a year, or the fact that the city offers such an amazing variety that there is always something new to explore!

We rented a room in a local’s home and he was such a kind and gracious host. He is Italian and of course made us a feast. We had wine, pasta, bread, and amazing Spanish tapas, all while brushing up on our Espanol! After letting our food settle we ventured out to see Segrada de Familia which is a large Roman Catholic church in Barcelona. The highly famous Antoni Gaudi designed the building. The construction still continues 90 years after Gaudi’s death. The construction of the building is expected to be completed in 2026. Once the building is complete it will be the largest religious building in Europe. The project solely relies on private donations and tourism, which is one of the reasons it has taken so long to be completed.

We also visited two of Gaudi’s houses that he created. In many of his works he tried to incorporate nature. I personally believe his buildings look a lot like sand castles but you can see his work is very details and has many different aspects of nature throughout.

Later we enjoyed a stroll through the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona and took a look at the beautiful Santa Maria del Mar.

Finally, we ended our day buying lunch from the local market and having a picnic on the Barcelona beaches!

That evening we went out and tried the typical Spanish dish, Paella. Tom loved it and I couldn’t get past the fishy taste. Which was fine, I just order more tapas J We even stayed out late enough to catch the beautiful Barcelona sunrise!