BARCELONA 💛
We parked quite a way out of the city at a new aire next to a train station & caught the early train with all the commuters.
First stop Sagrada Familia & we were able to go straight in. It’s an immense building – intricate turrets and spires accompanied by yellow cranes – they’re racing ahead with its completion, with promises it will be finished by 2026. Your speaking guide talks you through the building as you gaze up at the stonework, tree trunk pillars & take in all the colours of the stained glass windows as they change with the sun.
We caught the metro to the Mirador de Colom – you go up the centre of the column in a little lift & walk around the viewing ball perched on top of the column as it sways slightly in the breeze. You get views all over the port & back over the city, you even get to see Superman as he takes off from the top of the wax work museum.
We then walked up La Rambla to the Mercat de la Boqueria, waving at Marilyn Monroe in the Musea Erotic as we passed. With lots of food options at the Mercat, we were recharged and ready to continue our tour of the city.
We wanted to get our fill of Gaudi, so walked past Casa Batllo and Casa Mila on the way to Park Guell. There was a lot of building and remodelling work going on in the park, so we just went round the public areas taking in the views of Barcelona from the grotto-like terrasses.
We then walked the streets, paved with the famous Panots or floor tiles, taking in various sights to get us back to the station for our train back to the van. There’s so much more to see and do in Barcelona, that we’ll need to come back for a longer visit one day.