Barcelona: Day 1

Another day, another blog post of a trip that took place two months ago!

Specifically, it was over the four-day Easter weekend that the boy and I headed to Barcelona. Note: four-day weekends are fabulous. Don't get me wrong, three-day weekends are pretty great too. But three days off still feels more weekendish than like a vacation, whereas four becomes plenty to shake my brain empty of all things work-related and focus properly on gallivanting.

We arrived on a warm evening and found our Airbnb on Las Ramblas. This is probably the equivalent of staying at Navy Pier in Chicago or Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco. There were tourists everywhere. The Airbnb itself was fine enough but we quickly gathered our wits about us and ventured out for some tapas. We found an excellent spot in the Gothic Quarter, ordered a half dozen to share, washed it down with beer and called it a night.

View from our balcony

Gazillions of people on Las Ramblas, one of which is a Marilyn Monroe look-a-like outside the Erotic Museum.

The next morning was sunny and perfect for adventuring. After breakfast, we walked to our meeting point with Fat Tire Bike Tours. At first I thought this was related to the Fat Tire Brewing Company and I got really excited about the notion of seeing Barcelona and drinking Fat Tire beer at the same time. The boy burst my bubble when he enlightened me that fat tire was a type of bicycle and that both companies happened to be named after them.

I didn't have time to be bummed for long; our guide Adam's enthusiasm for Barcelona was infectious. After a brief explanation of the city's history (long story short: once independent, then became part of Spain, now want independence back) we took off through the winding old streets on our bicycles, marvelling at our surroundings whilst trying our hardest not to plow into unsuspecting tourists.

Hot wheels.

Barcelona Cathedral. Dedicated to young Eulalia, who was martyred at the tender age of 13.

Inside the cathedral.

Ooh, aah.

Easter Mass procession

Palace of Catalan Music. Often misattributed to Antoni Gaudi.

Supposedly the architects of the Eiffel Tower originally planned on building it here,
but the people of Barcelona rejected the idea and got their own Arc de Triomphe instead.

Ciutadella Park fountain, loosely based off Rome's Trevi fountain

A fun candid shot in the park.

Everywhere we went, we saw homages to the city's most famous artist, Antoni Gaudi. Gaudi was an intern on this project! Gaudi designed that house! Gaudi probably pooped there! In a city rife with art and beauty, I was rather surprised that one single artist was exalted to this extent.

Then we biked to La Sagrada Familia and I was like...ok, I guess I get what all this Gaudi fuss is all about.

I found it difficult to believe that construction on this building began in 1882 and is still far from complete. Then again, I suppose Gaudi had a point when he once famously commented that his client is not in a hurry.

Up until then I'd been contemplating whether or not Barcelona was the most beautiful city I'd ever seen. Such thoughts were confirmed when we ended our bike tour with a view of the city's sprawling beaches. Our tour guide told us about how in preparation for the 1992 summer Olympics, the city imported its sand from Egypt and its palm trees from Hawaii. And also how they attempted to build two great luxury skyscrapers overlooking it all...but didn't complete construction until after the games were long over. That's the outcome of result months and months of vacation for everyone yields, right? Just kidding please let me live in your country forever.

After biking all day in the glorious sun, we had worked up a great hunger and thirst. At Adam's recommendation, we headed over to Bar del Pla and relaxed with tapas and wine.

The weather was just too beautiful to stay inside for long. Bellies satiated, we strolled along the boardwalk and grabbed some gelato along the way as we watched the sun turn the sky into a cotton candy blanket.

W Hotel, known by the locals as 'Sail hotel'. Very reminiscent of Dubai's Burj Al Arab 

The evening concluded with a grand affair of wine and paella. Up until then we'd been dining in casual and trendy bar-like places. It was wonderful to sit down in a proper restaurant and treat ourselves to a classic local dish.

Perfection in a pan

The paella lived up to all our expectations and more. It was perfectly cooked and seasoned and was definitely worth the 40-minute cooking time. Whenever I reminisce about that meal, I do it with a twinge of nostalgia and a rapidly-forming pool of saliva.

Stay tuned for days two and three/four in Barcelona, coming very soon!