Last weekend we had the wonderful opportunity to go to Barcelona with our friends and coworkers Steven and Haley. For the past three years that they have been working with us in Romania we have wanted to go on vacation with them and we finally got our chance.
We arrived in the evening and we were hungry so we went in search of food right away. We wanted to try authentic food so we looked only for local places, not tourist traps. We started at this little tapas restaurant, and since the waiter didn't speak much English (a good sign for us) we just let him pick out the food for us. He brought us these wonderful plates of meats, cheese, and seafood, and it was delicious! We also tried the local drink: Cava, which is their version of champaign.
We rented an apartment near the beach in a nice little neighborhood called Barceloneta. This was the view from our balcony.
We enjoyed being right by the harbor, it was a beautiful area. It was also very close to the historic part of town so we could walk to most sights.
We took a free walking tour of the city and enjoyed how learning about its history. This is the Barcelona Cathedral which is the centerpiece of the old town.
The streets and buildings in Barcelona reminded us of Paris, everywhere you look you see something unique and interesting.
When I found out that there are a few artesian gelato places in Barcelona I was ecstatic. Having just tried a lot in Rome I was missing it so it was nice to have some here too. Our favorites were Catalan Cream (their version of creme brûlée) and mojito, yum!
We went to a huge outdoor market which was packed full of colorful fruit and vegetable stands.
There were also many fish and meat stands. If you look closely you can see the hanging meat, it is Iberico Ham, a specialty of Spain. It is cured for 12 to 48 months still on the leg and served in very thin slices. We had it many times in our tapas and it was really tasty!
We went to another small place to try some authentic paella. We had one mixed paella with seafood and vegetables, and one with black rice, colored by squid ink with seafood. They were both amazing!
We had to make reservations at this place because it was always packed with locals.
We had really great weather so we headed to the beach for one afternoon. The water was freezing so we just enjoyed relaxing on the beach.
We went to the Picasso museum for free since it was the first Sunday of the month. Then we went and saw some more sights like this: the National Art Museum of Catalunya.
Something that Barcelona is famous for are all of buildings designed by Anton Gaudi. He had a very unique style which was very extravagant and imaginative. He often used broken tile to decorate his buildings giving them an otherworldly look.
We toured Guell Park which was designed by Gaudi. It was a really neat place with a really whimsical feel to it. There was tile everywhere making it a very bright and vivid place.
Later we went to see Gaudi's masterpiece - La Sagrada Familia. It was huge and unlike any other church we have ever seen. The facade was very cave like with statues blending in with the overhanging stalactites.
Inside the church was bursting with color from the stained glass windows that were on all sides.
The church is still under construction and won't be complete until roughly 2026. It was started in 1882! In the center there will be another spire that is much taller than the four on the front and back, at that point it will be the tallest church in the world. It was different but very impressive.
Back to eating, we found another hole in the wall tapas bar, they didn't even have a sign! There were no seats, people just stand at the bar and enjoy some amazing food.
Our weekend in Barcelona was so amazing! We enjoyed the company of our friends, the city, and all the good food! We are so thankful that we had this opportunity!
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