We said goodbye to Madrid and set off for our 6.5 hour drive to Barcelona a bit later than we had planned because we had been up at the trampoline park late the night before. One interesting thing about Madrid is that there are long, underground tunnels as part of the highway system. It seems like an efficient use of space and to move traffic, but for someone who doesn’t know where they are going and is depending on Google Maps, it presents a unique challenge; we you enter the tunnel, Google Maps mistakes that you are on the surface roads and begins to reroute continually and you no longer know where you should exit the tunnel. It definitely adds to the stress of navigating a new place. Luckily we chose the right exit, whew! As we left drove between Madrid and Barcelona, it was fun to see the landscape change again; at one point it looked like Utah with reddish soil and small, broad-based mesas. Later it became more forested with a dryish pine forest and layers of rolling hills. And we saw 5 more of the Osbourne Bulls on the way there.
As we pulled into Barcelona hours later than we planned, we were hit by the sheer number of people, busses, taxis, bikes, and traffic. Although not as large as Madrid, it felt much bigger and busier than it. We found out hotel, found the parking garage, got cleaned up, and met my cousin, Liv, who is living there. She met her Catalan beau while teaching English in Vietnam and after many adventures, they now live in Barcelona close to his family. It was so nice to have a chance to spend time with her after all this time. And we really enjoyed her partner. We met up each evening for dinner while they worked and we explored during the day.
The next morning we slept in and decided to head out and explore the city. As we began to walk, L noticed that her ankle was beginning to hurt her and it was not letting up. We decided to get some ibuprophen and ice and have her rest it with Darrell in the hotel. Meanwhile G and I walked through town, enjoying some of the beautiful architecture.
We found some bikes to rent with fun names and headed toward the beach via the Gothic Quarter, stopping to explore some skate shops. Biking in Barcelona turns out to be quite confusing and stressful, so G and I were happy to turn in our bikes and walk the rest of the way to the beach.
On the way we passed the “Harry Potter Experience” which my stepsister had told me about when we first arrived in Spain, but I had forgotten about since it was so far away in Barcelona. Tickets were available, so I let Darrell know to see if L felt up to it. G and I made our way to the beach and dipped our toes into the Mediterranean, a first time for us both. After relaxing on the beach and eating our snacks, we went over to see if the aerial tram was running up to Castle Montjüic, but it was not running, so we decided to wander the Gothic Quarter a bit. We enjoyed the narrow streets, small shops, surprises around the corners, and colorful characters. We found some great thrift shops as well, something we have sorely missed in Vigo. L decided she felt well enough to join us at the Harry Potter Experience, so they took a taxi down and we went in. We didn’t know what to expect with the exhibit, and it thread out to be quite fun. There were costumes and props from the movies, some behind glass and some we could interact with. And when we walked in, we received a bracelet that had a tag in it. We registered it with our name and image, and then we scanned it at points as we moved through the exhibit to participate in activities and earn points for our house. L was able to enjoy it without too much pain, but her ankle became more sore as we went through the exhibit.
We caught a taxi and headed to meet my cousin, Liv, at a Thai restaurant for dinner. Afterward she and I had a chance to take a walk together and chat; it was so nice to catch up a bit after so long.
On Thursday we had a day dominated by the work of Antoni Gaudi, the famous architect whose unique work reflects his vision of nature and a departure from straight lines. Our first stop was the Sagrada Familia, a church he designed and began to build in 1882. It is slated to be finished in 2026; they are working on the last towers, from what I could see. When we stepped out of the taxi, it was breathtaking to see my first view of this incredible church from Saudi’s dreams. I had seen many photos and videos, but they just cannot capture the grandeur or uniqueness of this masterpiece. I was also impressed with the sheer number of people at the church. Walking inside, my eyes were drawn upward with the soaring columns Gaudi designed to mimic a forest and from there fell to the beautiful stained glass that transmitted light like a rainbow with colors of light painting the interior of the church. We had a ticket that allowed us to go to the top of one of the towers, so we looked around for a few minutes before we had to get in line to go up in the elevator. The towers are impossibly high and thin, and this gal is afraid of heights. So once we got to the top, I tried not to look down. The views were beautiful, and it was fantastic to see some of the details of the mosaics on the building that are more difficult to see from the ground. Unfortunately the way down was by stairs, and while L bounded down with us calling after her to be gentle on her ankle, she found it was hurting once more when she got to the bottom. We rested a bit and took in the beauty and then headed out to a park across the street to have a picnic and enjoy the views of the Sagrada Familia and the antics of the pigeons.
L’s ankle was still hurting, so I called our next stop on the Gaudi tour, Parc Güell, and found that they had a wheelchair we could borrow so L could still enjoy it. Parc Güell was a neighborhood dreamed up by Gaudi, on a hill with views of Barcelona and the coast. While a few of his homes and other structures were built, it never really got off the ground, and eventually it became a park. Walking up to the park, we were greeted by a wall topped with mosaics and 2 buildings that look like they are straight out of a fairytale and completely adorable. Once we got the wheelchair for L, with G pushing, we wound our way up the trails. This duo provided a lot of entertainment for ourselves and others as they giggled, did wheelies, and carved up and down the hills. I think this is my new, favorite way to get more wandering time from my children. One structure was a colonnade that was made from natural, uncarved stones that were stacked and adhered together with soil-colored cement of some kind. It was topped with pots for plants from the same material. It reminded me of how we typically build to withstand time, as this structure seemed to be built with the assumption that it would degrade back into nature, a pile of rocks and soil eventually. Other structures were not so ephemeral, with a few buildings looking like whimsical gingerbread houses, as well as another colonnade with mosaics on the ceiling. There are trails throughout and at the top of one we came across a blues-singing guitarist who was busking and attracting birds to land on him and his guitar with birdseed. He was wisely wearing a baseball hat and had a stick attached to his guitar to land on to deal with the inevitable bird poop.
Afterward we headed to Liv and Cel’s apartment for a dinner with them. They live in an older part of Barcelona in an apartment that is at least 150 years old. We were welcomed with the smells of Cels cooking paella, which he explained is not really recognized as paella but instead it is "arroz con cosas" or rice with things when it is made vegan. It was a delicious meal and great conversation. And a rousing game of Exploding Kittens with a properly competitive group. A wonderful way to end our stay in Barcelona, but we were very sad to leave Liv and Cels so soon.
