For our second day in Barcelona, we didn’t have too much on the itinerary so we caught up one some sleep for most of the morning. When we did finally drag ourselves out of bed, it was off to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece of a Cathedral. It’s a kind of gothic style meets space ship aesthetic and unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. Unfortunately, it isn’t due to be completed until 2026, 100 years after Gaudi’s death, and we could definitely tell that work was still underway.
In many ways, La Sagrada Familia epitomizes Barcelona with it’s breathtaking facade yet clearly unkempt interior. With both, you are amazed, but are also disappointed by the lack of infrastructural necessities which would take them to another stratosphere of awesomeness. Or something like that.
Next up was lunch across the street at McDonald’s where we also had a quick Spanish lesson from Jen and Nick’s Spanish-English dictionary. We learned how to translate important phrases like “ excuse me sir, where can I find a nightclub that is not too dear?” and, “ I believe I’ve been swindled!”.
After lunch, we decided to seek out the Parc Guell, another Gaudi masterpiece. It was however, not on our trusty map and we almost gave up until Jen used her fabulous Spanish speaking skills to ask for directions. A couple kilometers and several hills later, we found it—totally worth the hike. The park is a bit hard to describe, but it’s got lots of cobblestone and masonry and mosaics and such. And a great view of the city at the top. There was a cool band playing up top as well. Culminating in a strange Parthenon like chapel. All for the price of free, how could you not like it?
Back down the hill and over the river and through the woods (ok, maybe not woods), we got back to the hostel for our now routine siesta. Later on, we went back out for tapas, a traditional Spanish style of eating where you pick several small dishes—anything from cured meats to omelets—to share. We topped it off with some Spanish beer and wine. Quite delicious.
Afterwards, we thought for sure we could get online at a nearby Starbucks, but apparently the internet is closed on Sundays in Barcelona. Seriously, the guy looked at us like we were crazy. The internet? On Sunday? What are you, nuts? Go figure.
