España

Spain has been on our (ok, my) to-do list for a while now.  However, traveling there presents some challenges.  Since its climate is similar to Italy, it is on our no-travel between the months of June and September list.  With so many other places on the list, Spain has been skipped during the cold months.  We finally squeezed Barcelona in during the long weekend in January when the weather was cool, the crowds minimal and the deals on flights/hotels generous.

I've heard many people say that they love Barcelona.  While it was a fun city with some interesting sites, I can't say that it was one of my favorites.  It lacks many spectacular must-sees (exception: La Sagrada Familia), it feels like a very modern city and its food is less than impressive. (Side note: I was so excited to speak some limited Spanish after my many years of the language, only to realize that Catalan is more prevalent...it's a weird mix of French and Spanish and all the signs are in both languages.)  On the flip side, it does have a wonderful public train system, some funky buildings unlike any others in Europe and a nice mix of beach and city.

Spain in January?  Works for me!

Due to the flight schedule, we had a quick trip to Barcelona, but we made the most of it.

On day one, we hit the Ramblas and rambled down the famous street lined with vendors and shops.  I wouldn't quite compare this grand boulevard to the Champs de Elysee or the Unter den Linden, but it did have some interesting human statues and a great market selling some of the nastiest animal parts that I've ever seen.  I may have even been hit with some fish guts as one vendor hacked his catch as we passed by.

Fascinating Market off Las Ramblas with some crazy meats!

We toured the older section of town and stopped by the Cathedral.  Luckily, we were there when the Cathedral did not charge an entry fee.  I still can't figure out who would pay to go in- the church is under massive construction and it looks like most of the art has been removed.

While pretty from the outside, there's not much art inside

We jammed as much as we could into day two.  The day began with a walk down the Passeig de Gracia to the famous modernista sites of Antoni Gaudi.

I was much more impressed with Casa Batllo than Casa Mila, although both were interesting sites.

Casa Mila

Casa Batllo

From there, we hiked over to La Sagrada Familia.  While the church is certainly a tourist attraction, it is captivating and every angle offers a new and different perspective.  A nice American from Phoenix even offered to take our picture.

Tough angle for our tripod- thanks American Man!

Close-up of some of the detail on the church

Next, we headed to Park Guell- a former gated community for the wealthy designed by Gaudi.  It's a fascinating place and completely free. We spent a good deal of time walking the ground, admiring the views and even trying out the ergonomically designed park benches.  I highly recommend this site to anyone traveling to Barcelona-  it's worth the slight adventure to get there (it's a little out the way).

Views of the park and city

Flowers in January!

Entrance to Park Guell

We made a compromise on the next two sites- I agreed to go to the aquarium in exchange for a trip to Montjuic, the site of the 1992 Summer Olympics.  The exchange worked wonderfully.

Here I am outside the Olympic Stadium where I remember watching the opening games on television.  I still have the Dream Team poster I bought at a school book fair in its plastic wrapping.  (Could it be worth something now?)

My Olympic Dream

We ended the day walking around the grounds of the Catalan Art Museum (Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya).

Sadly, the magic fountains were off in the winter.

Barcelona ended up being a brief introduction to Spain, but I'd love to come back (not between June-October) to experience more of the country.