Barcelona: The City of Sunshine and Stairs

For a larger city, Barcelona has a very relaxed feel. It mixes the beach with a booming downtown shopping area. Mix in gelato on every street, and it literally has it all. My time in Barcelona was very relaxed and unstructured. Instead of planning everything out, I slept in, leisurely hopped onto busses and subways, and wandered into local restaurants for food. It was very different from Madrid!

Day 1: After hustling off of our bus and up 4 flights of stairs to our AirBnB, we walked around this bustling city. Soaking in the sights really works up an appetite, so we wandered into a German Restaurant called The Devil’s Kitchen. It was absolutely delicious and I would recommend trying it out! They had soccer games on and were extremely pleasant!

Day 2: After sleeping in and throwing open the windows to the blazing sun, the owners of the AirBnB, my travel companion, & I headed to the beach via subway. Sitting out in the sun and diving into the Mediterranean Sea (Which is much warmer than the Atlantic) is just the thing to do in Barcelona. It’s a busy beach, but still somehow relaxed! After the sun-baked us, we headed out for a sandwich at a small local shop. They literally cooked the bread in front of us. Barcelona’s food alone would have me coming back!

Day 3: I definitely got my leg work out in today. We marched up dozens of stairs to get to the entrance of Park Gruell. It’s an incredibly large park, with A LOT going on. Gaudi & Guell’s house cost more to see than we cared to pay. It looked pretty impressive and definitely like an artist’s house. It was decorated with a million and one colored tiles, huge colorfully tiled lizards were found on the inside and outside of the house, and it was held up by 86 pillars. I think it is definitely worth a visit! It provided a great walk around.

Now comes the cherry on top of the sundae. We walked to the Sagrada Familia. If you don’t know what this is, it is an amazing towering church covered in sculptures. It was actually designed by Gaudi, and when the funds ran out he dug into his own pockets to pay for it. It isn’t even complete yet! The end date is predicted for between 2020 and 2040. Unfortunately for us, tickets were sold out until 6:30. It was 4 o’clock. This is a site worth purchasing tickets ahead of time because you don’t want to miss it. When we arrived back home we booked tickets for the next day and barely got in! 

With time to kill, we went to Las Ramblas, the main street in Barcelona. Be wary travelers, it’s not only packed with tourists, but pickpockets as well. Our friends from our first hostel in Portugal had their wallets stolen on this street. Vendors and others would have all of their goods for sale on a sheet, when the police would approach, they’d quickly wrap it up and head for the subway as an escape route. It was definitely a new experience and worth seeing. Just hold your personal items close!

Day 4: The beach was the plan until our entry time to the Sangrada Familia, however sleeping in definitely got in the way. Our tour was at 4:45 and we entered around 4. I walked into one of the most phenomenal architectural buildings I have ever set foot in. The unbelievably high ceilings were illuminated by massive stained glass windows and pillars loomed over everyone in the building. Everywhere you looked was stained glass and the light coming in from them were fragmented everywhere.

We had tickets to go up to the Nativity Tower (There are two different towers in this church). It provides you with a great look of the city and the large sculptures of grapes and bread that decorate the upper level of this building. This was my #1 sight in the city of Barcelona, DO NOT SKIP IT!

After walking down all the stairs form the tower, my traveling compadre and I walked 40 min
utes uphill to the Castle Monjuic. I broke my sunnies somewhere along the way that day and managed to go from novice haggler to pro for a new pair. This was not for any other reason than I essentially didn’t have more than 5 Euros on me for the 15 Euro pair of glasses. Haggling is definitely a skill that would come in handy in this town. The small fee of 3 Euro to visit the castle was easily worth it. All around were old historic guns everywhere on the walls, seagulls pooping on aging tourist’s heads (I died laughing, hopefully Karma doesn’t circle around), and a different view of the city than we had seen before. 

As I stated earlier, we had a very busy day. Our final destination was the Magic Fountain, which is supposed to be as the name implies, “Magical and full of wonder”. Word to the wise, it only puts on a spectacular and colorful water show Thursday-Sunday. We went on a Monday. After playing several rounds of two-handed Euchre, we went home disappointed… but I was victorious.

Day 5: An early 7 am bus would take me to famous Pamplona for the running of the bulls. A 5-6 hour bike ride stood between me and a possible mauling!

Overall, Barcelona was one of my favorite stops in Spain. The people are friendly and there is always something to do. It mashes the beach with urban life well and has a relaxed feel. My piece of advice is buy tickets slightly in advance and purchase a metro card instead of constantly paying for subway rides. It’s cheaper, quicker, and more efficient. You definitely need to spend a few days in this bustling city and see what it is
 all about! Travel on, my adventurous compares!

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