Barcelona is the city everyone mentions when you say you are going to Spain. We decided to start our trip in the North of spain and move South hoping the heat will dissipate a bit each week. We have four nights in Barcelona and will be meeting Brian and Kasey. Our lodging is in the neighborhood near the famous Sagrada Familia Cathedral.
Day 1 & 2 – September 4th 2022
The trip from Pensacola to Barcelona turned out to be one of the easiest international trips we have taken. Delta was on their game, leaving on time with no delays or cancellations. The flight from Atlanta to Barcelona was 8.5 hours compared to 10.5 to get to Athens. We had to do some paperwork before we left for the Spanish health/covid protocols. We took a cab to our apartment that we rented in the Sagrada Familia neighborhood. It’s a cute apartment and has a view of the famous church from the tiny balcony.
We didn’t want to waste a minute of our vacation. We explored the neighborhood, had a strong coffee, rested and then headed out for our 2pm pre-booked visit to the Sagrada Familia cathederal.
Being Sunday, the city was quiet and the crowds were not an issue at the Sagrada. It is highly recommended that you purchase tickets ahead of time for a specific time slot. The online ticket comes with an audio tour but requires that each visitor have a cell phone, headphones and have downloaded the app. The audio tour really helps to understand this unusual church and the vision of its architect Antoni Gaudi. The stained glass windows with afternoon light streaming in were breathtaking.
The rest of the day was spent walking and eating, a lot of grazing. First round of tapas was at Jamon y Vino near the Sagrada. All in all, it was a good meal with plenty of sangria, fried seafood platter, stuffed eggplant and local bread slathered with tomatoes.
Brian & Kasey arrived mid-day from Athens. We met up with them and meandered our way through the metro and than along the Ramblas towards Barri Gothic neighborhood. Trying to follow google maps directions while walking is not easy and we went in circles for a while.
Our second round of meals was in the El Born neighborhood at Lonja de Tapas. We had tried to go to the place next door (Euskal Extea Taberna) but they didn’t have space for 7 people. Lonja was just fine with interesting tapas (octopus on potatoes, jamon iberica, potato fritters, and cheap drinks). Our progressive tapas plan got more complicated as it got later because we could not find a table for all seven of us and split up into two groups. We finished our food tour at Taller des Tapas which was okay. Nothing to write home about. Thought we should take a cab home because the dogs were tired even though it was only 1.5 km according to google maps. Our cab driver decided to make it into a 12 euro ride by taking the long route. Tomorrow we have a Gaudi bike tour planned and tickets to a concert at the modernista concert hall.
We managed to stay out until well after 10pm – adjusting to the local time schedule and avoiding jet lag completely. All in all we packed a lot in for arrival day on another continent!