Our last stop in the Iberian Peninsula was the Catalan funopolis, Barcelona. We stayed near the busy promenade known as La Rambla..
..and visited many of the city's groovy neighbourhoods including el Gotic, el Raval and Barcelonetta.
Barcelona is world renowned for its culinary excellence. Not only did we try some local tapas (e.g. Devil's Chorizo)...
..but we also visited the restaurant voted number 1 on tripadvisor out of over 3,000. It was scrumptious!
We took a stroll through the two oldest markets in the city: Santa Catarina and La Boqueria.
The city has a unique subterranean museum displaying the 2,000 year old Roman ruins.
Of course, one can't describe a visit to Barcelona without mentioning Antoni Gaudi. The loopy visionary who combined nature, religion and love for Catalonia into his architecture, has left several marks on the city. None is more impressive than the work in progress that is the Sagrada Familia.
After seeing scores of churches, basilicas and cathedrals so far on this trip, it was refreshing and motivating to find one so different. While most use gold and size to atomize the individual against the power of God and the church, this one seems to allow for a connection to religion, nature and the community. It therefore felt more sincere and welcoming than the dark and cold spaces found elsewhere. Ironically it is visited by far more tourists than worshippers.
The outside won't be done until around 2050, but the inside looks like this.
We walked through the Park Güell, also designed by Gaudi.
The view of the Sagrada Familia from the park.
Other highlights of our trip included the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Picasso Museum and seeing Cuban Jazz late on Saturday night.
But for Josh, the best moment was seeing the best football team, FC Barcelona. Although they played 2nd from bottom Sporting Gijon, after a red card to Barcelona's Gerard Piqué the game got interesting and the crowd woke up. It wasn't until the 79th minute that Seydou Keita scored the winner. While the whole team lived up to their reputation, Andres Iniesta especially was superb.
Click here for the match highlights
No comments:
Post a Comment