We set off from Toledo after a stop at the grocery store to stock up on snacks and food for the next few days. We had a long drive of 720 km ahead of us and had wanted to get started earlier than usual. However, Keith and I got extremely distracted in our quest for milk and bread and stocked up on a few other "essential items". Strawberries were in season and a good price, so a flat of 2 kg got added to the basket. We thought perhaps chocolate might be good on the drive so picked up a bar and some mini napolitanas (like pain au chocolat). Also, we spotted jamón (ham) flavoured chips which we had mocked earlier but were actually quite curious to try. We found a small bag and added those to the basket. Then we thought we'd better get some drinks to go with all those snacks… We finally arrived back at the van with Anoop extremely curious as to how we could possibly be gone that long! We set off and drove for a couple hundred kilometres through very boring countryside. The only interesting thing to see was the occasional castle-like buildings which were perched on hills. We opened the jamón chips shortly into the drive as we were just too curious. They actually weren’t bad and we polished off the bag without any difficulty! We stopped for a picnic lunch after a few hundred kilometres and thoroughly enjoyed our cheeses, meats & strawberries. We continued on and the next point of interest was crossing the Greenwich Meridian. It was well signposted in advance so Anoop had time to get the camera out and take a picture as we passed the line. We stopped again a bit later for coffee and napolitanas. As we neared Barcelona and the hills around it, the sun disappeared and was replaced by clouds. We found our campsite without any difficulty and chose a nice flat spot to park. We were glad to have arrived! Keith and Anoop did a big batch of laundry after deciding that 7 euros for a load in the machine was a bit ridiculous. We hung it up under the awning since it was supposed to rain a bit and that worked extremely well.

February 16

We set off for the train station after stopping at the reception at the campsite to ask which train stop to get off at in town. The man behind the desk was most enthusiastic and said “You are going to see Gaudi, I hope” in a way that was not at all a question, but a statement. He then proceeded to circle all the main sights for us on our map and, noticing our backpacks, sent us off with a warning to watch out for thieves, especially if anyone approaches us. We arrived at the train station and picked up a ticket for 10 trips on the train since that was by far the cheapest option. The man selling tickets didn’t speak any English, but I managed to get them regardless and now knew what to ask for the next time when we ran out. We caught the train a few minutes later and after about 30 minutes it dropped us off at Plaça de Catalunya, a huge square right in the centre of town. We decided that our campsite was perfectly located since it was such an easy trip in to town.

We transferred to the metro and headed straight for the Sagrada Familia. Keith stood in line while we attempted to get tickets from a different machine which our book had mentioned. Unfortunately, all tickets were for mass only which meant waiting in a huge line. Luckily it was moving somewhat quickly considering how many people were in front of us. Gaudí started working on the Sagrada Família in 1883 and worked on it until his death, 43 years later, when he was run over by a tram. Since then, work has continued on the basilica and they hope to finish, except for the main entrance, by 2026 in time for the 100 year anniversary of Gaudí’s death. They have a long way to go! We entered the basilica at the Passion façade. This is actually the side entrance of the church, but since they need to demolish several apartment buildings to complete the main entrance, this will likely be the only entrance for a while. The four spires on the Passion Façade were finished in 1976 and are true to Gaudí’s design. The sculptures however are only an interpretation. He designed this façade to be grim and terrifying and we thought it did a fairly good job of that. The sculptures were done by Subirachs and tell the story of Christ’s torture and execution. We then headed in to the interior, not quite sure what to expect. We were amazed at how spacious it felt. Considering how many people had been in line with us and behind us, we didn’t feel cramped at all. The basilica can hold 8000 people at a time during mass and there were much fewer than that touring then! The choir area above the nave can seat 1000 people! The basilica has 56 huge columns which are made of 3 different colours of stone. Gaudí designed the columns to look like trees with branches at the top and overhead, a canopy with small windows to let in the light, as if in a forest. We thought it was amazing that the pillars started out as one shape at the bottom, such as an octagon, but by the time they got to the top, they might have only four sides! They really were amazing and we sat for quite a while staring up at the pillars and the ceiling. The roof and floor were only completed in 2010 so we were glad to see them finished. The stained glass was beautiful! I imagine that glass is stronger now than it was when stained glass windows were first made because these windows used much larger pieces of glass than we had seen before. It made them brighter since there was less lead in between all the pieces and they also were a lot taller and wider than many other windows we’ve seen. We went back in once the sun was shining and the colour coming in through the windows was incredible. After admiring the inside for quite a while, we headed out to the Nativity Façade. The Nativity Façade was completely different from the Passion Façade. It was much busier in terms of details and rather than the stark figures of the other façade, it was more flowing and incorporated many elements from nature. There were birds coming out of the stone, turtles supporting pillars & trees or leaf motifs everywhere. We really enjoyed looking at all the details and could have stood there for a long time trying to spot all the elements. This was the only part of the church that was essentially finished in Gaudí’s lifetime. We also visited the museum which had an interesting collection of models and displays. We saw the plaster workshop where they still make moulds. We also saw several displays of the evolution of Gaudí’s design for the basilica; originally it was much more gothic in appearance and by the time he had modelled it for the third time, it was as it currently looks. We had a quick look around the architecture school as well and after visiting both, decided we should pop back in to the basilica for one more look around. It was interesting to go back after having toured the museum because it gave you a better idea of how some of the elements, such as the pillars, were made and also of how he came up with the idea to support the roof etc. We loved the Sagrada Familia and look forward to visiting it again when it is completely finished!

We were all quite hungry at this point since we had been touring over lunch and decided to find somewhere for a quick snack. We found a place near the Casa Milà and decided to stop for a bit. We ordered coffee and a plate of snacks which was delicious. We had ricotta, sundried tomatoes, pesto, arugula, parmesan, cured ham, cantaloupe and bread to enjoy it all on.

Feeling recharged we set out to see some more modernism sights after deciding that we didn’t have enough time to see Casa Milà before it closed. We headed down the street, reading from our guidebook and passed by some very interesting houses. One was a brick building that had a piece of artwork above it called “Clouds and a Chair”. It took us a minute to spot the chair part, but Keith eventually spotted it. We enjoyed the Block of Discord which had three very different houses built by three different & competing architects. The first was Casa Batllò, another of Gaudí’s creations. This one has a ceramic-speckled façade and dragon-like rooftop and was quite fun to look at. The house next door combined several different types of architecture including Moorish-style designs and Gothic-style gargoyles and bay windows as well as the step-gable roof which was influenced by the connection to the Low Countries. A few doors down from that was another building with a mix of styles including Greek, Gothic and Moorish influences. We quite enjoyed walking down the street and eventually ended up back at Plaça de Catalunya.

We decided that we still had some energy left in us and decided to walk over to Plaça d’España to see the Magic Fountain display near the palace. It was a good couple km walk and we were glad when we finally got there. The road leading up to the palace was quite neat and lined with fountains on both sides. We caught an escalator up one level for great views down on the fountain that they had set up the light show at. Every 15 minutes or so they would play a different song and have the fountain shoot water and change colours until the song finished. We listened to a couple of songs and decided that was enough for us. It was quite pretty to watch and we certainly hadn’t seen one like it before, but it was really hard to beat the show in Strasbourg. We then headed over to a huge shopping mall and caught the elevator to the top for great views. We could walk the whole way around with views in every direction. The most interesting ones were towards the palace and the light show, and also down on the Plaça d’España itself. We eventually decided that we should head back to camp to get some rest for the next day.

February 17

We headed in to town to do one of our guidebook’s walking tours in the morning. We set off and soon found the street we were meant to be walking down. It was packed with people and we noticed that there were lots of tables set out the length of the street. As we got closer, we noticed that there were ladies seated at the tables making lace! Some of the pieces were just amazing and we couldn’t imagine how they kept track of all their bobbins! There were lots of tables and must have been more than 50 women working away. We were really glad that we had happened upon them since it was neat to see all the different pieces they were working on. We continued on our tour and ended up in the square in front of the St. Eulalia cathedral. We had aimed to get there around noon so that we could see the traditional sardana dance take place. While we waited for the musicians to strike up a tune, we browsed the small market that was also on the square. There was some tasty looking nougat at one table so we picked up a bar to sample later. We then headed in to see the cathedral, but mass was about to start so we headed back out again. The sardana dances had started and we watched a couple rounds. Mostly older people gathered hands in a big circle and did some footwork while raising their hands. It is a very traditional dance to the region and we liked the music that accompanied it. We picked up two cds for 10 euros of the group who was playing and look forward to enjoying them later. We then noticed a large group forming off to one side and these enormous puppet figures walking by. We wandered over to take a look at the parade which went on for a long time. The parade was in honour of St. Eulalia who is one of Barcelona’s patron saints and it just happened to be her weeklong festival when we were there. We couldn’t continue our walking tour since the parade was taking the same route and decided that we would come back and finish it as well as the cathedral visit another day.

We headed off to the Palau de la Musica Catalana, or Catalan Music Hall to see about going on their guided tour. We had checked out tickets to see if we could go to a performance, but there wasn’t much happening. We got tickets for the 2 pm tour and wandered back to the main street to have a picnic lunch. Afterwards we thought we should go for coffee & dessert and found a nice looking café not far from the music hall. We all ordered a different kind of coffee and they were presented quite nicely. I also ordered an apple tart while Anoop went for the Sacher torte. Keith got a super fancy coffee and opted out of dessert.

We then headed back to the concert hall in time for our tour. It started off with a video presentation about the history of the hall as well as the current functions that take place there. They explained how the stage worked and that the hall has very unique acoustics since there is so much glass rather than walls. We then headed in to the lower level of the hall and were amazed at the setting. It was just beautiful and unlike any other concert hall we’ve ever seen. Instead of rich velvet and luxurious wood, there were stained glass and stone statues. It was incredible! The chandelier in the ceiling was the highlight. It was made of stained glass and was quite large. It was rectangular, but in the centre, a section descended like a drop of water. It let in the light beautifully during the daytime. The ceiling was also decorated in many ceramic roses. The stage has an adjustable wooden platform that can be brought forward or back to fit the type of performance. Behind the stage were figures in mosaics with stone busts playing musical instruments. Above the stage there were stone carvings where curtains would normally be hung. We learned that the seats had been redesigned recently; they had added a type of material to the bottom of the seat so that even when the seat was empty, sound would be absorbed as if a person were sitting there. This meant that the performers could adjust the sound before the concert even started and that it wouldn’t vary depending on which parts of the hall were filled with people or not because it always sounded like it was a full house. We then headed up to the middle level which gave us better views of the decorations on the ceiling and upper levels. The pillars had neat chandeliers on them which were angled so as to provide light to the centre of the lower levels during evening performances. The tops of the pillars fanned out in peacock-like patterns. In the arches behind the seats there were names of famous composers done in mosaics. It was amazingly decorated and we were really glad that we had gone. On our way out, we stopped to watch part of a scene being filmed for a Bollywood film! Yup, they were filming a Telugu movie at the music hall and were asking people to stand aside as they filmed a scene. We watched for a few minutes before heading outside. We were curious what they were filming so Anoop approached one of the guys to ask. It had a very long name in Telugu, but we hope to find it when it comes out. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a big dance scene being filmed as that would be quite a hoot to watch!

We then headed down the street to the Picasso museum which was free on Sunday afternoons. It also meant that there were horrendous lines, but we decided to wait it out since it wasn’t open on Mondays. The line moved somewhat quickly as people left or were admitted and in about an hour, we were in. The museum showcased his early works which none of us were familiar with. For us, if we heard Picasso, we thought of his cubist works. However, he was an incredible artist from a young age (you should see his works from when we was only 15!) and painted in a variety of styles. We saw quite a range of his works which gave us an idea of his development as an artist. There was also a huge series of paintings which he based on Velazquez’ “Las Meninas” which we had seen in the Prado in Madrid. Now, having seen the painting in Madrid, we knew what the original work looked like. Picasso had done a huge series on the premise of “what if I changed this” or “what if this person stood like that” or “what if the light were here” etc. However, at this point, Picasso was definitely leaning towards cubism which makes the paintings extremely different from the original. We really enjoyed this part of the exhibit having seen the original and being able to compare the two vastly different styles of art. He also took a week off during this year of painting “Las Meninas” to paint the pigeons in the dovecote on his balcony. These were quite fun to see and we particularly liked the pigeons à la Van Gogh. The entire gallery was wonderful and well worth a visit.

We then wandered back through town towards La Rambla, the huge, mostly pedestrian street connecting Plaça de Catalunya with the waterfront. We picked up some yummy pizza on the way as a mini dinner. Our camping gas was running out in the van so we had decided that if we saw something good on the way, we would just eat that instead of risking a dinner that might not get cooked. We happened across the St. Eulalia festival again, with the large puppets but also with people in devil-like costumes sporting enormous sparkler-like fireworks. We watched for a while and then cut across when there was a break in the parade to continue towards La Rambla. Anoop and Keith picked up a kebap wrap with the most interesting fillings (corn, sauerkraut, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle…).

February 18

We set off for Casa Milà, Gaudí’s last major work before the Sagrada Familia. You enter the courtyard which is designed to allow lots of light into the apartment buildings. It had pillars, lots of curves and some faded remains of a painted ceiling. The whole building was designed to resemble a sea-side cliff from the outside. We headed straight to the rooftop where there were 30 or so chimneys and several stairway exits camouflaged by strange designs. The rooftop was very curvy with lots of steps to the various levels. We made our way around enjoying views and the weird chimneys. Some of them reminded us of the storm troopers’ helmets from Star Wars – perhaps they were inspired by Gaudí? We then headed down to the attic level. This was very interesting to visit because you could see all the arches supporting the roof. They reminded me of vertebrae with ribs coming down on either side and sure enough, later in the exhibit there was a snake skeleton as part of the items Gaudí was inspired by. The attic was used by residents as a storage and laundry area and also helped with ventilation. The attic had many displays of the architectural elements of some of Gaudí’s buildings as well as his designs for furniture and doorknobs. We then moved on to the floor below which was set up as it might have been when the building was first occupied. It was interesting to see the doorknobs in use and to see a building set up so differently from apartments back home. It was nicely presented and we enjoyed seeing all the room set up with period furniture. After touring Casa Milà, we had a quick bite to eat and then headed off to Park Güell.

The 30 acre garden was intended to be a 60 residence housing project. Since society people at the time didn’t want to be so far away from the centre of town, it never took off as a residence. However, it was a wonderful park. There were several areas with columns which supported walkways to head up to various levels of the park. These were made of stone and some of them reminded us of palm trees. We enjoyed exploring the areas under the walkways where there were built-in benches. We made our way over to the terrace which featured in nearly every postcard of Barcelona. The terrace had a great view over town, but the main draw was the curvy, ergonomic benches which were covered in mosaics. It was fun to wander around and get close ups of so many different patterns. We enjoyed the sun for a bit and then headed towards the main gate. On the way we passed another set of columns which supported an arcade. The arcade looks like the inside of a wave when the top is curling over. We walked through the “Hall of 100 columns” which had originally been intended as a produce market for the neighbourhood. The columns had colourful mosaics at the top filled with ceramics, broken bottles and other miscellaneous items. We continued down past two fountains. The first was also a much-photographed mosaic lizard which had a line up for photos with it. I waited patiently and managed to get a few pictures which have almost no people in them! Considering the hoard around me, I lucked out! We then continued on to the front entrance which had two houses on either side; they looked like they were made of gingerbread and would fit perfectly in Hansel & Gretel. The gates were made of wrought-iron and once again inspired by nature. We had a great time wandering the park and were glad for such a nice day to explore.

On our way down to the metro we passed a street performer who was standing so still he didn’t look real. We walked right by him and then did a double take because he looked like he was a statue. We headed back to the bottom of La Rambla to do the walking tour in our book. We saw the Columbus monument which marks the spot where Columbus landed after returning from America. The waterfront area had a nice walkway out to the shopping area and theatres, but it looked like a nice stroll even if you weren’t interested in the destination. We passed by more interesting buildings including a fan & umbrella store with a neat dragon on their sign. We also saw the Palau Güell from the outside and admired the intricate twisty wrought-iron on the gate. We ended up at the market which had a delicious selection of fresh fruit juice for only one euro. We decided we should sample them and each picked up a different combination. We decided to come back on our last day to get a picnic lunch since many of the stalls were closed already. We then passed by a recommended café & dessert place and thought we should stop. We got the crema catalane which was a crème brulée but with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg in it. We also got a traditional dessert which was similar to a ricotta cheese, but creamier, drizzled with honey. They were both delicious and we felt like it was a good dessert before dinner. Our last stop on the Rambla was a lamppost that had a fountain in the base of it. Apparently, if you drink from the fountain, you will return to Barcelona. We thought we’d better have a drink since we are all keen to see the Sagrada Familia finished!

February 20

On our last day in town we headed back to the St. Eulalia cathedral to see the interior before finishing off on our walking tour which had been interrupted earlier. The cathedral was open this time and we were able to see St. Eulalia’s tomb and the geese in the cloisters (St. Eulalia is the patron saint of birds). The geese were originally used to warn those inside of newcomers approaching because they would start honking. On the rest of our walking tour we saw an intricately carved overhead walkway between two buildings down a small street. We passed by the city archives which had a neat ceiling above the stairway and also contain the terms of Columbus’ voyage for Ferdinand and Isobel. We didn’t get to see the original, but saw the terms written up on a poster and translated which was easier!

We then headed back to the market to pick up our fixings for lunch. Keith and Anoop chose four types of olives to sample. We picked up a bean salad with bits of ham as well as more fruit juice. We also found a baguette to eat with our cheese and sausage which we had brought from camp. We then headed back to the waterfront to enjoy our lunch in the sun. Afterwards we wandered out on the walkway just to enjoy the sunshine. We then decided that we weren’t interested in seeing any more museums and since it was such a beautiful day, we headed back to Park Güell to see the views we hadn’t last time. This time we went to a different entrance and took outdoor escalators part way up since the street was so steep! We headed up to a viewpoint and had even better views over Barcelona than from the terrace. We spent some more time taking pictures of the benches with their mosaics and I went on a photo snapping spree while Keith and Anoop enjoyed some basking in the sun.

We then headed back to the Rambla for coffee & more dessert in the café we had been the other day. This time I had a tarte tatin (apple tarte), Anoop tried the crema catalana but on a ladyfinger base and Keith had a piece of blueberry cheesecake. It was all very tasty, but we decided that Anoop’s won that round. Afterwards we picked up groceries from the Carrefour nearby and headed back to camp. We had Italian style quesadillas with pesto, fresh mozza, tomato, cured ham and arugula in them. They were delicious and we were glad Anoop had been inspired by his lunch the day before. We loved our time in Barcelona and would definitely return.

The next day we had a relaxing morning and lunch in camp. Then it was time to head off to the airport to drop Keith off and say goodbye for the time being. We had tons of fun travelling together and were glad that we had been able to meet up with him on our trip.