Barcelona #4

We disembarked the Celebrity ship this morning at 9a, caught a taxi over to our hotel, dropped off our bags, and embarked on exploring Barcelona.

This is our fourth time coming to Barcelona!

We grabbed a quick bite as we headed out into the city. We were walking into the sun so it was fun to take pictures of people with the sun behind them.

Lizzie had recommended the Mercat de la Boqueria so we walked over there. It was a feast for the eyes. The market is huge. And so crowded. And has so much available. And lots of dead animals, including a rabbit.

And lots of treats. And animals from the sea. It's really real.

Yes very real. These crabs were still alive actually.

We decided to get some fruit and ate it out on the street.

Then we hopped on the hop-on/hop-off bus, got seats in the top at the back, and did a two hour tour through the city. It was interesting how many sites of interest were built for the world fair in the 1920's.

We drove past the train station where we first entered Barcelona. Seeing it again brought back those feelings of coming into a new large city and it was all fresh and unknown. So fun.

We had dropped our bags at the Alexandra Barcelona Hotel in the morning. When we got back in the afternoon they had put all our bags in the room so we didn't have to haul them up. I'm afraid we are feeling old enough to appreciate not having to haul our bags around.

This room is so nice. It has a little cubby hole in the window and the molding is like nothing we've seen in a hotel before.

We went for a late lunch at Sense Seny, a tapas type place. Yet again a encounter a great water bottle. We enjoyed this meal.

We got a brownie to-go. I'm generally not a huge fan of brownies. However after taking one bite of this one, I could stop eating it. So light and crumbly and warm and tasty. It was down to my fingers haha.

Mitzi got a kick out of seeing me enjoy it so much. This was one of the few times, maybe the only time, I've enjoyed a dessert more than she has!

Last Day in Barcelona

We had breakfast at the hotel. I got this idea for a ham and cheese and egg sandwich on toasted sourdough bread. So so good.

As we walked toward the Sagrada Familia cathedral we passed Malvón with its Argentine empanadas. Thought we'd give them a try, they sure looked good in the display.

Turned out to be wonderful find. These are the most beautiful empanadas we've ever had, and the best tasting too.

We did a tour at the cathedral. It was surprising to learn that it was started in the late 1800's. That's not very old around these parts!

The black and white picture shows cracks and little monitors placed there so they can track the movement. It made me realize what a big job it is to make sure the building stays structurally sound. That's a lot of responsibility.

The building is so tall that most of the people on the ground outside are always looking up.

The inside was so large and vast and so unlike other cathedrals in Europe. We liked it and were also a little disoriented with it being so different.

The sun was low on the horizon and the way it shined through the stained glass was incredibly beautiful.

Beware of the couple taking pictures of eachother at the same time haha.

In the nave is this sculpture of Christ being killed. The tour guide explained that the fellow who created it wanted it to be as real as possible. So he had a real human put up on a cross. He studied it meticulously and replicated it, how it would have actually been.

According to the guide, they way the body hung on crosses was with their head back, knees forward, and feet up.

The other interesting thing is the face on the sculpture is not what is typically shown as Jesus' face. The sculpture used the face of the model. So it looks like some Spanish guy without a beard hanging on the cross. Not the typical look for this sort of sculpture, have to hand it to the sculptor for being bold!

After visiting the cathedral we caught a taxi over to Park Güell. Whimsical stuff. I find it interesting and creative, but not beautiful. That's just me. From the number of people who go there (the tickets were sold out), I'm probably in the minority.

The sun was just going down and it did make for a beautiful light.

As we walked back to our hotel, here's what it looked like in the streets of Barcelona.

We went back to Sense Seny for dinner.

When it was time for dessert Mitzi said she wanted one of everything!

It was super fun trying them all. There were 5 desserts. What a fun way to end our last dinner in Barcelona.

Tomorrow we embark on our last cruise of this epic trip. NCL Prima from Barcelona to New York in 11 days.