Gaudi, Gaudi, Gaudi

Our summer travel lineup has come to an end as we recently returned from Barcelona.  We are so fortunate to be here and to have the vacation time to travel all over Europe.  And I mean alllllll over.  In about 5 months we have been to Passau, Regensburg and a few trips to the Alps here in Bavaria, UK/Ireland, Prague, Annecy and Paris, France, Sardinia, Italy, Berlin, and now: Barcelona.  And wouldn’t you know it, just as we were leaving Barcelona our bodies finally caved in and became sick.  Nothing serious thankfully, just cold-like symptoms that took about a week shake.  Although we know we are incredibly lucky to travel so much, travelling this much can be really stressful and I know I am looking forward to several months straight at home.

Just like Paris is permanently branded by the Eiffel Tower in every facet, the city of Barcelona has completely adopted the brand of Gaudi the architect.  And sadly we had never heard of him before this trip.  He often uses colorful mosaics in his designs, and so much of the city is illuminated with glistening mosaics on building walls and roofs along with just about every single souvenir imaginable (even mosaic looking t-shirts!).  Everywhere you look, Gaudi designed it, Gaudi is selling it, and Gaudi is running this town – 86 years after his death.  Ok, the owl isn’t Gaudi, but whatever.

We arrived in Barcelona Friday afternoon and met Sandy and Gary (Julie’s parents) at their hotel.  They, along with other friends from Texas, were getting adjusted before setting sail on their Mediterranean cruise two days later- hence the reason we were in Barcelona.  We didn’t waste any time and headed straight for the most visited site in Barcelona – la Sagrada Familia Basilica.  This is clearly Gaudi’s most famous work, although he died in 1926 and it is still under construction until ~2026.  This is probably my favorite church of the many, many that we have seen here because it is so incredibly unique.  Just like some other tourists from Harlingen, TX told us, it feels more like an art project than it does a church.  But this was just the start of our Gaudi adventures.

We spent the evening visiting with all of our visitors from Texas at a hotel roof top swimming pool/bar (their hotel, we were too cheap to stay there).  A setting sun and a glass of sangria as we looked over the city made for an absolutely perfect evening.  But the real show came later that night when we went to the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc.  I heard this was a cool sight, but I really wasn’t expecting something that rivals the Bellagio fountain show in Las Vegas (apparently, what it’s based on).  I’ll let the pictures do the talking on this one.

On Saturday we stormed the city on one of those big, red, hop on/hop off tourist buses (or the HO-HO as Gary liked to call it).  Although we see these in every city we visit, this was a first for Julie and me.  We got a pretty thorough introduction of the city as we rode for over an hour until hopping off at one of the last stops- Parc Güell designed by Gaudi.  The park is very beautiful and brilliantly designed, except for all the tourists (like us) there!  The imaginative designs made it feel like a magical world.  Very cool, minus the crowds. 

We continued our HO-HO touring further out from the city and trekked our way to the highest point of Barcelona called Mount Tibidabo.  Here we found unbelievable views of the whole city and coast.  There is also a family fun park at the top of Tibidabo, which was quite the surprise, and so here we were able to enjoy some good ol’ Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.  After soaking in the sights and views for an hour we caught our bus back home to freshen up for dinner. 

Overall, I would say these tourist buses offer a great preview of a city (best for your first day somewhere new, or if you only have 1 day in a city and want to see it all), but they don’t provide the ideal way to fully experience a place.  For us, the experience of traveling is also about the unplanned stuff that you stumble upon.  You miss out on this experience if you only fly through the city on an upper decker bus.  Luckily, we still had two more days left!

On Sunday we strolled through the gothic district of Barcelona before wishing farewell to Sandy and Gary for their cruise.  We made the obligatory stop for churros and chocolate….yum!  Sorry Costco, you offer a good value but your churros just can’t compete with these.  And then the parents were gone….finally!  No, just kidding of course- we always really enjoy the chance to see our family. 

We spent the rest of the day exploring the city on foot, finding the best deal possible on our Gaudi lizard ornament, and taking breaks in cafes and parks.  Barcelona is one of these cities, kind of like Paris or Rome, where you feel like you can walk forever in any direction and always find something cool to see.  What really makes it special though is the combination of this city charm with the Oceanside/beach culture.  We topped of the night with some delicious Tapas.  I ordered two Budweiser beers just out of nostalgia- they were absolutely delicious.  Don’t tell Germany otherwise they might revoke my residence visa.

Our last day on Monday felt sluggish from the start.  We took some more strolls through the city and stopped at an incredible food market (puts our famous food market in Munich to shame).  Later we made it to the beaches which were really quite impressive considering the industrious activity nearby.  This is not your average stop in Galveston.  We soaked in some sun for about 30 minutes until realizing that today we both were just not feeling well.  So we took shade under a beach bar and had a few drinks along with quite tasty lunch.  Eventually we gave into our fate, went back to the hotel, and spent the evening watching trashy MTV show in English!  And although our bodies quit on us and kept us from exploring Barcelona on our last day, it was a lot of fun to taste trashy American television again while eating a footlong (I mean, 30 cm) Subway sub.  Sometimes the things from home really feel like home, especially when you are sick.  We caught the flight back to Munich the next day, ready to welcome our next string of visitors!