Day 11 of our big Spanish adventure began with another train ride to our final stop, Barcelona. In case you haven’t been reading along, we’d already traveled to Madrid, Segovia, Ávila, Toledo, Seville, and Granada. Unfortunately, Barcelona was the only city in the Northern part of Spain that we were able to visit during this trip, but we certainly made it a priority to make sure we had time in this vibrant and lively city.
Since our train from Granada to Barcelona took about six hours, we decided to upgrade to first class for the journey, something we’d never done before. Because COVID-19 precautions had derailed onboard meal services (see what I did there?), all that the upgrade really gained us was more comfortable seats, extra leg room, and a WiFi network that we struggled to connect to. Still, it was a very cheap upgrade that we didn’t regret.
Like all of our other train rides in Spain, this one took us through the beautiful Spanish countryside as we traveled from South to North. As we approached Barcelona we were even able to enjoy a stunning stretch of tracks with ocean views from one side of the train. I cannot stress enough how much I recommend using the Renfe AVE high-speed trains to travel through Spain. The price is right, the ride is comfortable, and, for the most part, the window views are quite enjoyable.
After our arrival in Barcelona, we used the metro to travel from the train station to our hotel. Barcelona has a great metro system that is, like that in Madrid, safe, clean, and easy to use. We bought tourist passes for the 36 hours we’d be in the city. Our choice for a hotel room was the king suite with balcony view at DO Plaça Reial. This beautiful space was hands down our favorite room during our Spanish trip and quite possibly our favorite of all time. The design fit our aesthetic perfectly; the room was massively spacious, with high ceilings and oversized doors and windows; the bathroom felt like a private spa retreat; and the amenities provided were top quality. Our private balcony that overlooked Plaça Reial was the icing on the cake. This was one of those rooms that looked exactly the same, if not better, than it did when we booked it online. You won’t beat the location right off Las Ramblas either. There was also an historic elevator that transported guests to the rooftop lounge and pool. I’d highly recommend this hotel, this room in particular, to anyone spending some time in Barcelona.
After check-in at the hotel, it was time to get out and get something to eat. We hadn’t eaten much all day, so we quickly got dressed and refreshed and made our way to Bar del Pla, a tapas bar recommended to us by a friend. Serving traditional catalan tapas, this restaurant is located in the neighborhood known as El Born. El Born is a trendy area with plenty of restaurants, cocktail bars, nightlife, and shopping. The biggest difference between tapas in Barcelona and those in much of the rest of Spain primarly comes down to one thing: price. Like almost everything else, tapas are more expensive in Barcelona. We tried the roast and calamari croquettes, patatas bravas, veal tacos, and crispy oxtail with foie.
Barcelona Sunset Sail
Although the weather forecast called for rain, we got lucky, and our evening plans for a sunset sail through the Barcelona harbour persisted. There was little to no wind, so our boat skipper never actually got to raise the sails, but we still enjoyed the evening. Along with only one other couple from Germany, we motored down the coast of Barcelona from Port Olímpic to Port de Barcelona and back. The sun setting in the West was largely blocked by the clouds, but the rest of the sky was filled with beautiful pink and blue colors. It was so much fun to “sail” through Barcelona’s main port and marvel at the luxurious mega yachts, googling each of their names to see who owned them. We laughed so hard when we realized that the most impressive of them all was owned by Walmart heiress Nancy Walton, an ironic connection to our Mizzou roots. With such a small group on the boat, we were able to spend plenty of time together on the bow, enjoy plent of cava, and make plenty of lasting memories.
After our sunset cruise, we returned to our lovely hotel for the evening. As we are known to do, we sat on our Juliet balcony with a bottle of cava and enjoyed being in the Plaça Reial with one another. It was a beautiful evening.
Barcelona quickly became Emily’s favorite city in Spain for breakfast; it was basically the only city we visited that had options! We ate at Milk Bar & Bistro, where we both enjoyed our fancy pancakes.
By now you can probably guess what we did next. In our typical fashion, we got to know Barcelona by taking a free walking tour. Offered by Sandeman’s New Europe, the tour walked us around the Gothic Quarter and El Born district. Our guide was truly one of the most eccentric people I have ever encountered, which worked well as he narrated some of the city’s many horrific and grotesque historical moments from its medieval past.
Next we had to take a quick detour from our plans in order to get return testing for COVID-19. At the time of this trip, a negative COVID-19 test (PCR or antigen) was required within 72 hours of departure for reentry into the United States. We had a lot of anxiety about finding a testing center abroad, cost, wait times, and accuracy of testing, but the process was actually quite easy for us. We selected the testing center from a list provided by American Airlines that accepted walk-in visits. After a quick registration, we each got our nasal swab and were on our way in about 15 minutes. Less than 30 minutes later, we received an email with our negative test results in an official attachment that could be easily verified by the airline. Piece of cake for us!
Barcelona Cathedral
Now back to our previously scheduled list of things to see and do! We stopped for a quick bite to eat at an awesome french fry fast food joint called Las Fritas, an awesome stop for a greasy, quick afternoon snack. From there we made our way to the Barcelona Cathedral. This one might just be my favorite of all of the beautiful cathedrals in Spain, mainly because of the rooftop walkways and views of the city of Barcelona. From the roof, you can look out across the entire city, catching glimpses of everything from the Sagrada Familia to the ocean. The interior is impressive as well, with the ancient gothic stonework and architecture that gives the cathedral a very dark and gloomy feel. In the cathedral’s cloister, there are 13 geese that represent the age of St. Eulália, for whom it is dedicated, at which she became a martyr.
The Paella Club Cooking Class
Emily and I have always talked about taking a cooking class while abroad on vacation, so when we came across The Paella Club class, we jumped at the opportunity. What a great decision that turned out to be! This was one of the highlights of the trip for both of us. We were greeted at the door by chef Alex who got us settled and promptly handed us a glass of cava. From that point on, he never left our glasses empty! Luckily for us, Spaniards tend to each their meals much later, so our 5:00 PM booking was quite an unpopular time to book. This meant that there were only four people in our class and made the experience even more personal. Emily and I chose to cook the seafood paella while the other group prepared the vegetarian version. Ingredients were pre-chopped and measured, so we only had to focus on the cooking instructions (Emily) and drinking more cava (Steven). Chef Alex was so much fun, and we thoroughly enjoyed learning how to make this special dish from him. When it was time to sit down for the meal, we were given a wonderful cup of gespacho that Chef Alex had prepared prior to tasting our own paellas. The food was fantastic, but it was the experience that definitely make The Paella Club a must-do while in Barcelona.
Once we had completed devoured our seafood paella and bid Chef Alex and The Paella Club farewell, we made an attempt at visiting a shot bar that I remembered from my time in Barcelona during college. Well, the bar was closed, but I still got to reminisce about my wild night there some ten years ago.
From there we decided to go to (you guessed it) another rooftop bar for some drinks. Why reinvent the wheel when you know what you enjoy, right? The Iberostar Hotel on Plaza de Cataluña has a bar called Sky Bar. We walked right in and got a table without a reservation and were able to enjoy the awesome city view along with a bottle of cava.
Park Güell Tour
The next morning in Barcelona was a pretty rainy one, which was unfortunate because we had booked a guided tour of Gaudí’s Park Güell. The tour started from Park Güell, where we spent about two hours walking through the park before loading up in a van and heading to La Sagrada Familia. Gaudí’s park was designed to be an idealic neighborhood for Barcelona’s elite just after the turn of the century, but it never amounted to much. The unique architecture and whimsical mosaic decoration of Park Güell are very innovative and orchestrated, particularly for that time in history. I really enjoyed seeing the park as part of a tour and getting to learn much more about it than we would have had we just self-explored. Gaudí’s ideas are the epitome of form meeting function, and our tour guide, a former history professor, was a weath of knowledge on the topic. Also, the heavy rain held off all morning, allowing us to see the whole thing and stay mostly dry.
La Sagrada Família
Our tour continued on to La Sagrada Família next. Once again, it was very nice to have a guide for the basilica, particularly for organizing our entry, which can be quite confusing. The information that our guide gave about La Sagrada Família was very detailed and informative, but I don’t think a tour is necessary in order to fully enjoy this spectacle. During much of the time that our guide was explaining the deep, rich symbolism behind Gaudí’s wildly impressive piece of art and architecture, I found myself gazing around in awe. Particularly inside the basilica, where light enters from every direction through colored glass windows of various shapes and sizes, one can spend an eternity marveling at Gaudí’s masterpiece. In fact, I was actually not very attracted to the building’s exterior, but after entering, I found myself captivated by what I was seeing. There truly is nothing like La Sagrada Família on this earth, and I am already anticipating visiting again once it is finally completed.
It’s safe to say that after such a busy morning, we’d worked up an appetite. Cerveceria Catalana was exactly the place we needed to fill us up, Barcelona style! This tapas restaurant served some of the most delicious food that we tasted in Barcelona. With a daily menu full of seafood tapas, we felt like we couldn’t go wrong with whatever we ordered. We also enjoyed delicious dessert tapas. Be warned, though, it is not a cheap tapas restaurant, and there is usually a wait to get a spot even though the place is rather large. Still, it is absolutely worth it, so make it a priority to stop here for some delicious seafood in Barcelona.
Next we made our way back toward Las Ramblas to check out La Boqueria market. This is a great market because even though it is right in the middle of a very tourist-heavy part of Barcelona, it feels incredibly authentic and sells a wide variety of goods. In particular, we loved the colorful fruit juices that came in variaties and combinations that we’d never seen before. The seafood looked remarkably fresh, making us wish we had a kitchen to cook up a meal of our own. We bought some saffron, an important and pricey ingredient in paella, to bring home for ourselves as well as some friends who also love to cook.
Later in the evening we got out to walk around Barcelona and experience some of the events that were going on due to the celebration of La Mercè. This Roman Catholic feast day celebrates Our Lady of Mercy and includes fireworks, parades of paper mache giants, and human towers called castellers. Unfortunately, COVID-19 precautions made it difficult for us to attend a lot of the festivities that were occurring, but we did get to enjoy some fireworks from the city streets.
On our final day in Barcelona, we began the day at Billy Brunch with a nice courtyard American-style breakfast. After two weeks abroad and quite missing her pancake and egg breakfasts, Emily was ready for this! She had the pancakes with fresh fruit and fresh-squeezed orange juice, and I went for the avacado toast with an Aperol Spritz. This place was great, and I’d recommend it for breakfast or brunch.
There remained one part of Barcelona that we hadn’t explored yet, so we made our way to Montjuïc. This large hill in Barcelona sits right next to the harbour which made it the perfect site for an old fortress that still exists today. The Telefèric de Montjuïc is a cable car that is easily accessible from the metro station below the hill and offers a fun ride up to the entrance to the Castle. From this Castle of Montjuïc one can see over the entire city, all the way to La Sagrada Familia and beyond. Opposite the city view is an equally impressive one of the sea and harbour, with its shipping barges and luxury yachts stationed below.
We continued on down the hill of Montjuïc until we got to the Palau Nacional, home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia. This building was the main site of the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona. It is surrounded by large fountains on several levels of steps, where different street performers can be found singing or playing instruments. We sat on the main steps and listened to a musician sing “Eres Tu”, which gave me wild flashbacks to high school Spanish classes.
Next we visited Poble Espanyol, an outdoor pseudo-museum created for the 1929 International Exposition that showcases the different architectural styles found throughout Spain. While we thought the admission price was a bit hefty, we did think Poble Espanyol was very neat. What really impressed us the most was the amount of activities there were for children to take part in, which is not always easy to find during international travel. Being able to walk around the Poble Espanyol and recognize architecture from the various places we’d visited throughout the previous two weeks felt like a fitting conclusion to our time in Spain.
As our time in Barcelona, and in Spain, was coming to an end, we walked back down Las Ramblas one last time to fully enjoy the pedestrian street and its famous performers. In a crazy strike of fate, we bumped into the same group of guys that we had met on our tour of the Alhambra in Granada earlier in the week. We chatted for a while and updated one another about our continued vacations before parting ways, as it was unfortunately time for us to catch our train back to Madrid.
After yet another train ride back to Madrid, we spent the night in a simple hotel near the train station. The next morning we departed Spain and returned to the USA. Our time in Spain had come to an end, but being able to spend two whole weeks in one amazing country gave us the ability to learn and discover so much that we will never forget.