Barcelona

On Monday, we took a train to Barcelona from Córdoba. It was interesting to compare two Spanish cities to one another since these two were very different. The first obvious difference was the size. Barcelona is much larger than Córdoba which made it easier to communicate since more people spoke English (since there were more tourists). The second thing we noticed was the weather. Though not extremely different, Barcelona was a milder temperature than the 90s we were experiencing in Córdoba. Córdoba is a bit closer to the equator, but my guess is that the biggest reason is that Barcelona is a bit mellowed out by the Mediterranean since it's on the coast.We were a bit shocked by the heat when we arrive in Córdoba since we came from early May weather in the Midwest and London to the scorching heat of southern Spain while carrying our packs a half mile or so to our airBnB. Barcelona was very comfortable in comparison (but still beach warm). The third thing was noticed was that there is actually a second language other than Spanish used in Barcelona: Catalan. Though very similar, it threw us for a loop when we first arrived. Catalonia (Catalunya) is the furthest region east in Spain and is interested in secession. Read more if you're interested here.

Day 1 - Exploring the City

We've got a decent routine down at this point of finding somewhere for breakfast our first day in the city, centering ourselves in what we expect to be a cool area, and wandering. I like doing things this way (assuming we are spending enough time in one place) since it gives us an idea about how the city is laid out, where we might be interested in spending more time, what the food options are like, etc. We can plan out the attractions that we want to come back to later. This is what we did the first day in Barcelona. We scoped out the beach and decided we'd have to spend some time relaxing on the beach later. Then we went into the center of town and started exploring. We found our way to the Catedral de Barcelona pretty quickly along with some other cool architecture and public squares for people to gather, shop, or eat. We decided to come back to the cathedral the next day since it had a dress code that we weren't prepared for. We grabbed some food in one of the squares (paella and sangria: our official Spanish meal which we ate several times in Spain) and enjoyed the lovely weather, people watching, and some rest after our long morning of walking.

View of the Mediterranean

Day 2 - Beach and Cathedral

We grabbed a quick breakfast at our new favorite café that would become our regular breakfast spot (for 3 days) and headed to the beach. In an attempt to blend our ghastly skin in with the golden brown people of Spain, we spent some time tanning before heading down to cool off in the water. It was much colder than I was expecting for some reason, but felt nice after some time to get used to the chill. Once we'd had enough beach time, we grabbed some pizza and headed back to shower before going into town again. We headed back to the cathedral to get a look inside this time and made sure to dress appropriately (no knees or shoulders showing). We've certainly spent a lot of time on this trip, already, looking at churches (and will continue to do more) and while they are generally the same, it's interesting to see the different styles, sizes, art, etc. We also went to check out the Arc de Triompf which compared to the monument in Paris, is very obviously Spanish. I was craving noodles for dinner, so we went to "Udon" for a temporary break from the paella.

Catedral de Barcelona

Arc de Triompf

Day 3 - Sagrada Familia

We had a late train out of Barcelona to Marseille, so we had a little time in the morning to do more in the city. We first had to pack up and check out of our airBnB and we stored our luggage at the train station while we explored. We didn't really have a plan, so we headed back to where we had been exploring the other day in case we stumbled upon something new. We got hungry, so we went back to that same square where we ate the first day and found a new restaurant to try. We couldn't remember exactly where it was, so it took a bit of time of us wandering around recognizing certain things, but not knowing if we were actually going in the right direction. We eventually found it and had another delicious dish of paella and sangria. We had a little more time to kill so we found the train route necessary to see Sagrada Familia. It's a famous basilica that has been under construction for over 100 years. It's an amazing building to witness and it's apparent where the different stages of construction affected the consistency of the style. The oldest part of the building is very dark and gothic while the newer areas look brighter and more geometric. There are a lot of different controversies around the building. Read more about the history and continued plans for the building here.

Paella and Sangria!

Sagrada Familia

Random Notes

We bought a 3 day train pass which we weren't sure was going to be worth it, but the trains were extremely easy to use and very convenient. We used the pass a ton and beyond that, it's much more convenient to keep and use a single pass rather than paying for a new one each time. Highly recommended if you visit Barcelona! There are a few different day range options.

ALSO, I added a link to our photo library on the left side of the blog. There is a "Photos" section with a link that will take you to ALL OF OUR PHOTOS in case you aren't getting enough with just what's in the blog posts. Enjoy!

~Maureen