No but really, we happened to be in Barcelona during the Festes de la Merce, a week long festival (although I think Spaniards party all year long) celebrating the patron saint of the city, Our Lady Mercy.
I'll admit Spain was not at the top of my list of places to visit on our trip. However, I'm so glad we added it to our itinerary because Spain was fantastic. The famous La Rambla was lined with tons of little tents selling handmade goods. It felt like the whole city of Barcelona was on that one street.
Of course we got döner kebab's for lunch and visited the L'aquarium de Barcelona.
We wandered the streets and came across the Cathedral de Barcelone. Inside there is an outdoor courtyard with a pond and swans. The chapel area was insanely beautiful with lots of ornate details in gold.
Out of all the sculptures of Christ we saw during this trip, I found my favorite one of a man (perhaps an apostle) holding Christ after he was taken off the cross, with Mary standing over him.
To end the night, we visited the St. Josep La Boqueria. A huge market of meats, fresh fruits, and veggies where we shared a delicious strawberry-banana juice.
The hotel we stayed at had only a sheet on the bed (no blanket/comforter). Well staying in hotels is great because you can crank the AC and sleep so well. Probably should learn Celsius since we discovered after freezing to (almost) death, I had put it down to about 13° Celsius... sorry about that Tanner.
Day 2: Made it out to La Padrera a building created by Gaudí. Unfortunately the entire outside was covered for construction and the cost to get in was almost 50€. Lame.
Now for the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família.
It looks like something made out of sand. Unlike ANY other cathedral out there.
This has got to be the #1 tourist stop in the city which equaled to a 45 minute wait just to buy tickets to go inside later that afternoon (get that, you have to pay to get inside a church).
In the meantime we saw the Arc de Triomf which was made out of reddish brickwork. Nearby was the Parc de la Ciutudella. It had rained on and off that day which made it muddy, we saw maybe 5 people in that whole park.
Went back to the Sagrada Família to actually go inside this time. On the outsides, one side tells the nativity story in carvings and on the other it tells the story of the crucifixion. Inside looked like a place the little mermaid would live. Pictures just don't do it justice.
(gotta laugh about the guys behind me)
The day was warm and humid, we were super hungry. What did we get for dinner?
McD's (I haven't been here for a number of years, and yet here I am on another continent eating it, sheesh). Best chicken sandwich and fries I've had since America. Weird to order through an electronic machine. Only saw a person when we picked up the food.
p.s. our story is drawing its end, sad face.
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