Spain: Day 3, Barcelona

Quite a bit of our day was spent taking the train from Seville through Madrid and then on to Barcelona.  The terrain changes so greatly in Spain (we caught glimpses of plains, rocky mountains, the Mediterranean, orchards), the train was such a comfortable, relaxing, and peaceful way to view it all.  We all enjoyed the long ride, recharging us for our next few days of long walks and touring of sight after sight.

After checking in to our hotel, we had the whole afternoon to explore and get our bearings in Barcelona.  We explored the Passeig de Gràcia, checking out the Block of Discord with Gaudí’s Casa Batlló and other Modernista facades, and then stopping for a delicious modern Catalan late lunch.  We then took our walk down to Las Ramblas and then on a Rick Steves self-guided walk through the Gothic Quarter.  Barcelona can be quite overwhelming and, again, we were out with the paseo crowds, so we were thankful for our trusty Rick Steves guidebook and the City Maps 2Go App.

{From top to bottom, left to right (like a book): art nouveau details, found throughout Barcelona; Ella, happy to be in Barcelona; we took a self-guided walk through the Barri Gótic (Gothic Quarter) that took us to this 12th-century church, Church of Santa Anna, hidden on a side street a few blocks off Las Ramblas; Modernista details on the Block of Discord; Casa Batlló (not on our Barri Gótic walk, this was actually closer to our hotel, along with the rest of the Block of Discord), our first glimpse of Antoni Gaudí’s work.}

{Els Quatre Gats (The Four Cats): Picasso’s old hangout and where he had his first one-man show.}

{The towers and aqueduct which flanked the gate of the ancient Roman city of Barcino; the Cathedral of Barcelona (another Gothic cathedral); heading inside the cathedral.}

{Gothic details inside and out of the cathedral—and an advent wreath.}

{Jonathan trying to figure out the guidebook again; a frieze designed by Pablo Picasso in 1960; a full view of the cathedral; and, we saw on our walk back to the hotel, another view of Casa Batlló—you can see better here how the roof resembles a dragon, which can be found throughout Barcelona as St. George (known as St. Jordi in Barcelona) is the patron saint of the city.}