We woke up to blue skies our first morning in Barcelona, which made for a perfect view of Tibiano Mountain. I did NOT want to get out of our plush king-size bed, but I successfully rolled out just in time to share some freshly pressed coffee with James on our terrace. Even though I could have spent our entire first day just lounging in our room, leisurely napping with the french doors open and sipping wine on the terrace, we had some serious sightseeing to do.
First task at hand: Breakfast. Must find food.
We passed quickly by the La Boqueria yesterday, so we knew that was going to be our first stop of the day. We took the scenic route to get to the La Ramblas. From our flat in Poble Sec, we passed through the Ravel district to get there and along the way, we admired the authentic lifestyle of the people of Barcelona.
On our way we stumbled upon a hidden gem of a courtyard which turned out to be the Old Hospital de la Santa Crue, a building which dates back to 1401. It used to be a hospital and hospice facility, but now it's part of a local university and a peaceful hangout spot for an eclectic group of people looking to get some fresh air or eat lunch.
Once we arrived at La Boqueria, we took care of our hanger pains with fresh fruits, juices, and James sampled some of the special ham varieties that Spain is so well known for. That. Place. Is. Amazing. Fresh EVERYTHING! Meat, fish, fruit, veg, spices, cheese, bread... I want to live there. Actually in the market. Like permanently.
We spent an hour or so at the market before we set out to wander around the Gothic District. Soon after we came to the Barcelona Cathedral which was attracting many tourists and visitors.
Like most in Europe, the Cathedral is set in a massive courtyard which fills daily with locals and tourists. We were lucky to have a warm sunny day, so there was no shortage of people watching. There were even a couple of men playing Spanish guitar. James had told me the guitars were one of his favorite memories from his summer in Spain during college-- now I see why.
We eventually made our way over to La Sagrada Familia. Since we missed our scheduled entry time the day before, we were worried that we wouldn't be able to use our £35 tickets... but to our relief, and thanks to James' finesse, the lady at the box office let us in without any hassle. What a relief! I had read plenty of reviews on the cathedral and most people said that they don't reschedule if you miss you allotted time, so we lucked out!
CLICK HERE >> For pictures from La Sagrada Familia
CLICK HERE >> For pictures from Inside La Sagrada Familia
CLICK HERE >> For pictures from the Tower at La Sagrada Familia
The cathedral was amazing and beautiful. Even though I did plenty of research about it in the build-up to our trip, you don't get the full effect until you've seen it in person and gone inside. Wow. Seriously Wow.
We relaxed in a park outside of the Cathedral and got a game plan together. Getting off our feet made us want to take it easy for a while, so we headed back towards the apartment to get some more tapas at Lolitas. Then we took a short rest at the apartment before freshening up for dinner.
At 10:00 PM, we showed up at Can Culleretes for our dinner reservation--it's one of the oldest restaurants in Barcelona and it is as authentic as it comes. I struggled with the menu since I am finicky about seafood, so I ended up just getting garlic chili shrimp while James went all out and chose the paella.
Our second day in Barcelona came to an end shortly after dinner. We grabbed some gelato and made our way back to the flat. We were exhausted from sightseeing and we knew we had a big day and an early wake up the following morning.
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