Another weekend, another trip to one of the world’s coolest cities. This time it was Barcelona, and I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for my parents, who have always challenged me to see the world and have supported my many trips across Europe these past two months. Hopefully these blogs give them a way to be here with me, because I wouldn’t be here without them.
The first stop on the Barcelona agenda came on Friday morning. The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí’s most famous work, was unlike any church — or building, for that matter — that I have seen before.
The first thing you learn about Sagrada Familia is that Gaudí worked on it for the last 43 years of his life…and did not come close to completing it. Today, the church is still under construction, some 90 years after Gaudí’s passing. And it won’t be finished for another 12 years or more. So despite its fame, functionality (mass is held there), and size, a typical church it is not.
Before you can walk in, you are astounded by the outer layer of the church and its towers and façades. There are hundreds — and maybe even more than a thousand — of sculptures protruding from the church’s walls; they include everything from biblical scenes to colored balls to medieval-looking designs. Even with the towering cranes hovering over it, it is a magnificent structure, with some of the most unusual details you will ever see on a building, regardless of the purpose it serves inside.
Speaking of the inside, Gaudí put his mark there as well. Though it is not the biggest church I have seen on this trip — it might not even be the second- or third-biggest — the inner construction is still incredible and so obviously the work of Gaudí. The ceiling is many stories high, with spiraling staircases in each corner leading you to the upper balconies. There are sculptures protruding from the walls inside as well, because it wouldn’t be the work of Gaudí if it wasn’t over-the-top. But the pillars holding the church upright were the the most mesmerizing aspects of the inner-workings. They looked like they were made from ice; if the temperature inside was below-freezing, I would be convinced the pillars were made of ice. Though not as gaudy as the outside, the inside was far from ordinary.
We even got to see some of the restoration/construction!
After a quick nap following our intense visit to Sagrada Familia, Courtney and I walked around Barcelona, stopping only for bars, lunch, and crepes.
Our first stop came at the Dow Jones Bar (actually click that link, link-skippers) which, true to its name, sells its alcohol much like Wall Street sells stocks. If you order a drink, the price of that drink increases, while the price of every other drink of its kind decreases. For example, if you order a Heineken, the price of Heineken will jump 30-40 cents, while every other beer will see a price cut of five cents for every Heineken ordered. So, like on Wall Street, the idea is to buy low; simple in theory, but you may have to buy a couple of gross stocks before you find a drink that suits your taste buds and wallet. It’s a fun little game to play. Because Courtney and I are so likable, we received tax cuts free shots. Such is life for the charmed few.
Wall Street.
The “stock market” board!
Maximum and minimum (when it crashes!) prices.
Following our short visit to the Dow Jones, we walked a short distance to Rosa Negra, a recommended Mexican restaurant. Though the food would be highly regarded in Washington, for us Californians it was merely above-average. Courtney had been craving tacos for only, like, two months, so that made them a bit better. But the drinks…those were good. (Not as good as drinks at Señor Moose though, father.) Courtney ordered a strawberry mojito while I ordered its cousin, the margarita, in the same flavor. Both were delicious and had more than enough tequila to hold us over for a while.
Of course, no meal would be complete without dessert. And we found dessert only a crosswalk away, at a crepe shop. It was gooood; caramel and nutella have never been put together so deliciously.
Then we walked to the beach where we touched the Mediterranean Sea with our feet. And then we saw a very drunk young man peeing on the beach, the details of which probably don’t need to be shared here.
Next, we wandered until we found Icebarcelona, the coolest bar in the city (literally). For €15 a each, Courtney and I had a guava-tasting vodka drink (they called it a Sex On Ice) and we drank it in a small room made of ice. The room temperature was below freezing, the glasses themselves were made of ice, and we were given puffy jackets and gloves. It was a cool experience, pun intended.
Ice bar!
Ice bar…sculpture?
Big puffy jacket.
Glasses made of ice! Courtney may or may not have eaten part of her glass…
So cold…
After drinking in the ice box — we lasted only 20 minutes in the cold — we headed to a nearby piazza to see a flamenco performance. If you ever go to Spain, go see one. It only lasted 30 minutes, but for €10 we got to see authentic, passionate Spanish dancing and a liter of Spain’s famous sangria. It was quite the performance — the central flamenco dancer looked like latino woman from modern family — and Courtney and I left feeling very much a part of Spanish culture.
The stage. Pretty exciting, I know.
The lead dancer.
The whole gang!
Following the flamenco performance, Courtney and I went next door to get tapas and more sangria, continuing our submersion into Spanish culture. There, we ordered fried potato tapas with two mystery sauces that might have been the best thing we ate in Barcelona. It was accompanied by the best sangria either of us have ever had. Though it was called thai basil sangria, it tasted more like sweet orange juice. Not that we minded…
Thai basil sangria…so good.
Our favorite tapas!
We then went to the Dow Jones bar again. This time, we saw the market “crash” twice and were able to find steals all over the board; the biggest steal that we found was a Guiness for only €3.60!
Cheap (but still expensive in taste) Guinness!
The following day, we started a bit later than usual, opting to begin our day with lunch. We went to Barcelona’s famous sandwich shop, Bo de B. There really is no other way to describe it then this: the sandwiches are large and prepared fresh, and people wait in hour-long lines daily to get one. So yeah, it was pretty good.
After a casual stroll up La Rambla, Courtney and I headed back to the hotel for Courtney’s mid-afternoon nap and to prepare for the weekend’s grand event: the FC Barcelona soccer game!
After the nap — but before the game — Courtney and I went to Pippermint where the only thing bigger than our excitement for the game was their drinks. We only got a 2-liter glass — which was more like a vase — but there was an option to get a 13-liter bowl. Courtney had reservations about drinking that much sangria between the two of us…a select few call that being soft, the rest of the world calls that drinking responsibly.
The drinks are so big!
Even Messi comes here! (He’s the little one on the left.)
After the game, we celebrated our new favorite team’s win with a pitcher of strawberry sangria and a visit to Le Cyrano, the bar where you pour your own drinks. Unsurprisingly, college-aged kids made up the entirety of the bar’s customers. I took this opportunity to order a fernet branca, the drink that Alfred orders every year in Italy when he hopes to see Bruce Wayne away from Gotham and done with his role as Batman. Sorry for the nerdy-ness.
Fernet Branca.
The next day, our time in Barcelona came to an end. But before we boarded our Vueling flight back to Rome, Courtney and I ate at the Hard Rock Café (Florence, Amsterdam, Barcelona all checked off) and went to a nearby theater to see Hangover 3 to cure our third hangover of the weekend.
All in all, Barcelona treated us well, and I cannot wait to go back. (Which, hopefully, will be sooner rather than later!)
Adios and ciao!
It was too sunny for us…
UofW 