My Traveling Diaries | Barcelona, Spain
Barcelona is well known for it's beautiful architecture, design and colorful art. This gorgeous city is layers deep in historic and religious influence. On this trip to Europe we weren't able to spend as much time as we wanted in each location like Pisa, Florence and Rome, but it was still the perfect introduction the country's beauty, culture and people.
We were able to stay 2 nights in Barcelona, once at the beginning and once at the very end of our trip. Our first hotel, Hotel Colon Barcelona, was located in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona. Our room had lovely side view of the cathedral around the corner. The other hotel we stayed at was Hotel Barcelona Center which had gorgeous rooms, helpful receptionists as well as an amazing breakfast buffet for all guests.
It was a cold and dewy morning as we headed to grab breakfast. There was hardly a soul in sight. We decided to take some time to familiarize ourselves with the city. We walked through the Placa de Catalunya and passed by the Casa Batllo (House of Bones) and admired the Cathedral of Barcelona. There were only designated times that visitors were allowed inside the cathedral, so instead we decided attend the Gaudi Exhibition Center adjacent to the Cathedral.
This was probably my favorite area to hang out around! Everything you need is in the Gothic quarter. There were bands playing music and people dancing along. Street performers and vendors could be found on every corner making clicking noises to get people's attention. There was even a man with giant strings and soapy water making huge bubbles while kids would run around them and hysterically laughed as they popped and disappeared.
This was probably my favorite area to hang out around! Everything you need is in the Gothic quarter. There were bands playing music and people dancing along. Street performers and vendors could be found on every corner making clicking noises to get people's attention. There was even a man with giant strings and soapy water making huge bubbles while kids would run around them and hysterically laughed as they popped and disappeared.
Upon arriving we noticed that Barcelona had somewhat of an architectural theme on every block. We were quick to learn about the legendary Antoni Gaudi, one of Spain's most esteemed and influential architects equipped with a one-of-a-kind eye for design that was far beyond his time. His ability to replicate the beauty of nature gave life to his creations in the most fascinating and unique way. He had projects that he was apart of all over the country and it wasn't until later that we began to recognize his structures!
One another day spent in Barcelona we made touring the Sagrada Familia (translates to Holy Family) our number one priority. It was actually one of the last projects that Gaudi had help design and construct. He died before he was able to see the finished product but was buried in the crypt of this gorgeous temple. It has been built in sections and funded only through donations. The stained glass windows on the inside make this give a colorful and inviting feeling of peace. Every design as a specific meaning. The four colors on the glass represent the four seasons. The ceiling was designed to look like you'd be walking inside a Forrest of trees, which can be easily recognized by Gaudi's love of nature.
We loved discovering Barcelona and really enjoyed the people. We agreed that we would love to come back here one day; but this was only the beginning of our trip! We still had many places to go! We were going to board the Symphony of the Seas and travel to multiple countries and cities along the Mediterranean sea!
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