Barcelona!

Buenos Dias! We decided to take a four day excursion

to Barcelona over the May Day bank holiday. I had

the hardest time trying to pick out pictures because

Barcelona is so beautiful, so this is a long one!

The first thing we did was hit the beach for some

authentic sangria! Yum Yum!!

At the end of La Rambla, which is Barcelona's

main drag there is a monument of Christopher

Columbus. No, his finger is not pointing at the new world but

it is over one meter long.

We took a guided tour of the Gothic quarter. It was

very close to our hotel. We hung out there almost every night

and had wonderful food and drinks. This is the top of the Gothic

Cathedral.

This is what is left of the old Roman wall that surrounded

Barcelona. The Roman Empire annexed the

city in 133 BC.

These columns were in the middle of a modern housing

building and date back to the time of

Jesus Christ!

This is inside of Boqueria, Barcelona's most spectacular

food market. There is a specialty counter for every

kind of food imaginable and some things that we

did not think were food. Here is one of the counters

with the famous Serrano Ham.

Here is the olive counter. I have never seen so many

different kinds of olives in my life! The Spanish love their

olives. They are brought to the table with every meal

and even at bars as a snack.

After the Boqueria we went walking and found one

of Picasso's last works before his death. We did not

visit the Picasso Museum because the line was massive.

After we had a tapas tour we went back to La Rambla

for some cocktails. This is me with my first glass

of Spanish red wine. Yummy!

Derek went with his boring old martini.

Here I am sitting out at our favorite little wine bar
called La Vinya del Senyor, enjoying a glass of
Cava. A beautiful church named Santa Maria del Mar is right behind me.

We decided to go to one of the most famous tapas bars

in Barcelona - Cal Pep. There are no menus and if you don't know

exactly what you want and how to order it in Spanish

they will pick for you. These were some of the amazing selections

that our waiter picked for us. The plate on the upper left is tiny little fish

that you eat whole! Tail, head and all!


As we can see here Derek was not a fan! The waiter also served

him some secret, special, unlabeled liquor at the end of our meal.

I think he was trying to get us smashed. It was gross!!

The third day of our trip we decided to take a day trip

outside of Barcelona. The first place we visited was the Torres

Winery. We had a great tour of the vineyards and the actual

building where they make, age and store the wine.

Our next stop was Montserrat. Here we were able to

hike in the mountains and visit a Benedictine monastery

high in the Serra de Montserrat.


This is a picture of the basilica that houses the shrine

of La Moreneta, the Black Virgin of Montserrat,

Catalonia's patron saint. Legend has it that St. Peter left the

statue of the Virgin Mary carved by Saint Luke here at this place.

The monastery has stood in this place since the early middle ages.

After taking in the sites at the monastery we hiked up into

the mountains.

Our last stop of the day was in Sitges. Sitges is known for being

the prettiest and most popular resort town just outside of Barcelona.

It flaunts an excellent beach and a whitewashed and

flowery old quarter.

After our long day we decided to relax at our favorite little

wine bar again.

On our last day we decided to take the bus tour in search

of Gaudi. Gaudi was Barcelona's most famous architect. He was a

brilliant man who was the first to compose building of shapes

that could not be drawn by the compass and the T-square.

This building is the Casa Batllo.

This has been and still is my absolute favorite church in Europe,

La Sagrada Familia. Gaudi died during its construction

and building is still continuing to this day. Gaudi planned this to be the Bible

in stone. Almost every story from the Bible is depicted somewhere

in this building. Most say it is Barcelona's most unforgettable

landmark. I agree.

We ended the day with exploring Parc Guell. This is the entrance

with the famous lizard. Gaudi designed the whole park. It is visually stunning!

The park is built on a hill and as you climb you reach

different levels with interesting new things.

This is the park bench at one of the middle levels.

Hooray! We made it to the top! And you made it to the end of this

long post! What a fun and amazing place!

We miss you! Love,

Leah and Derek