Honeymoon in Spain – Barcelona
May 12
Barcelona, Spain
I’ll be honest. By the time we got to Barcelona, I’d given up speaking Spanish. Really, there was no point speaking the little Spanish I know (Castilian) because they speak a different sort of Spanish (Catalan) in Barcelona – a mix of French and Spanish. But it didn’t matter, because everyone seemed to speak English. Also, I trained myself to use the lisp (Barcelona as “Barthelona”), but it’s not as prominent as I’d expected.
The thing about Barcelona for me is that there are so many languages, and so many tourists, I really had no concept of where I was. I could have been anywhere in terms of the people. But the architecture is all Barcelona, thanks to Antoni Gaudi.
First on the agenda for Barcelona was to take in Gaudi’s masterpiece, the Segrada Familia. The story is quite interesting. Construction of the cathedral began in the 1880s – regarding the timeline, Gaudi said, “Don’t worry, my client isn’t in a hurry.” The project stopped in the 1920s when Gaudi was killed by a tram outside the cathedral (Gaudi was actually living in the building). He looked so disheveled, that the rescue workers didn’t recognize Gaudi and he was almost buried as a John Doe. Someone recognized him eventually and he was buried in the Segrada Familia. After his death, the project stopped. Construction picked up again in the 1950s and the structure is expected to be complete in 2026.
The cathedral is just mind blowing. And to imagine, as we saw it, it’s only half the height of the completed project. The incredible thing is that the design is almost completely taken from nature. There was a small, but super informative museum inside the cathedral that showed all the different pieces and where the inspiration came from. Another impressive element is that Gaudi used a lot of mosaic tiles. You can’t tell when you’re on the ground, but much of the spires are covered in mosaic. Incredible.
Mosaic Tiles on the Sagrada Familia
We were able to go into one of the spires. It was neat to be able to look out over the city and to be up close with the building and the construction process.
Top of the Segrada Familia
You take an elevator up, but a spiral staircase down. One word: Vertigo.
Weee!
After you’ve seen four cathedrals in eight days, you think you can’t see any more. Until you walk into the Segrada Familia. The thing about it is you feel like you’re in a piece of artwork, not another cathedral. It’s just stunning.
Segrada Familia
Continuing the Gaudi tour, we visited the home that he redesigned with no right angles on the facade.
The home was turned into a museum that takes you through the history of Gaudi’s design. Gaudi is beloved as much as he is hated for his extreme designs. One thing that I found fascinating was a model of a home before and after Gaudi resigned it.
Gaudi Before and After
The rooftop of the museum was true Gaudi … maybe a little gaudy, too. Had a great view of the city, though.
Gaudi Rooftop
Day one in Barcelona ended at a pier-side tapas restaurant where Joe and I got tipsy off sangria (Yes, really. Joe: “My head is all wobbly”). It was lots of fun.
May 13
Barcelona, Spain
Day two was spent wandering around the city.
Sites around Barcelona: Mercat St. Josep and the Mediterranean Sea
People ask if I got hit on by the Spanish men. Nope. Only by a socially awkward German tourist. So. We’re having lunch and there was a tour group at several tables near us. There was a man in a red hat who kept looking over at us. I tried to tell myself he was looking for the bathroom, but where we were sitting, this was unlikely. As the group gathered to leave, Joe got up to get a drink. While I was alone, I could feel someone staring at me. I looked up and Red Hat was standing over Joe’s empty chair smiling at me. Fortunately Joe came back to the table and Red Hat and group left.
Ten minutes later we’re standing on a street corner at a red light. Suddenly Joe grabs me and pulls me to the other side of him.
Me: ‘What was that for?’
Joe: “You didn’t notice Red Hat about to lay one on you!?”
What do you know? We met up with Red Hat’s tour group on a random street corner in Barcelona and apparently he was coming a little too close for Joe’s comfort (and mine had I noticed he was there!).
We visited the Cathedral of Barcelona, with the tomb of the Patron Saint of Barcelona, Eulia … quite a story she’s got. And got to go up on the roof. Okay, I take it back. The construction workers on the rooftop did hit on me. Lucky girl I am.
And there was one more Gaudi stop to make – Park Guell. This is a park that had originally been planned as a self contained gated community. The money fell through, so it became a park. To access the park, you take an escalator. No joke. In the middle of a quaint Barcelona neighborhood on a huge hill is an escalator leading to the park.
While we were venturing up the hill/riding the escalator, a group of English-speaking college kids came up and asked Joe if he spoke English and if this was the way to the park. His answer, “si.” Ha.
Anyway, the park was a MADHOUSE. Definitely the most populous attraction we went to during the whole trip. But there are lots of mosaic tiles and a wonderful view of the city and Mediterranean.
Park Guell
Woah. How did it become the last night of our trip? It was a wonderful whirlwind that I’ll look back at fondly the rest of my life. A honeymoon in Spain. Not everyone gets to be so lucky. I think we both learned a lot about ourselves, each other, a new and very different culture, traveling abroad, and that we can’t wait to do it again.
Joe (exhausted and sunburnt) dreaming of Picasso
