We were sad to leave Granada, but excited to travel up to the northern part of the country and visit Barcelona, which was our last stop in Spain. We arrived in Barcelona in the morning, so were able to take advantage of another free walking tour that afternoon. For those unaware, Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya, the region in the northeastern part of Spain. We learned a lot about the Catalan culture on the tour and continued to experience the Catalan influence throughout our time in Barcelona. Many people in Barcelona believe that Catalunya should be separated from Spain, as they have their own language, history, and politics. It was interesting to see that most stores in Barcelona will list things in 3 languages, the first being Catalan, second is Spanish, and third will be English.
Spanish Inquisition Stairs / Where the King & Queen greeted Christopher Columbus:
Beautiful architecture:
The only Pablo Picasso piece that is free to the public:
Wall effects of World War II bombing:
After the tour we decided to go to the local market and grab some food. Up to this point on our trip, we had been able to make breakfast and lunches, but had not had the opportunity to cook dinner. Since our Barcelona Airbnb had a decent sized kitchen, we decided we would stay home and have a nice, home-cooked meal for dinner, so we made some Grilled Chicken salads.
Barcelona has a number of beaches, and the next day was supposed to be our nicest day in the city (79 degrees), so we took advantage of this and had a very relaxing day at the beach. We spent most of our time at one of the local beaches, Platja del Bogatell. It turned out to be a beautiful day, and surprisingly the water wasn’t too cold.
On our way back from the beach we stopped at a local gelato shop that came highly recommended from a Barcelona local (Gocci de Latte). Definitely a must try if you’re in Barcelona and craving some local Italian gelato. After our gelato stop, we went to check out La Boqueria Market. This market was similar to the market we went to in Madrid, with the same vibrant colors that stood out across the different vendors, yet much bigger. It was definitely a fun and unique experience exploring the market and trying some of the delicious juices, as well as the popular pimientos de padron! (Also known as shishito peppers)
So many peppers! (And yes, that’s a “no pictures allowed” sign…)
The most colorful salts I’ve ever seen:
Fruit Juices:
Pimientos de Padron (Shishito Peppers):
During our walking tour on the day before, we had stopped for a short break at this local restaurant, La Castanya, and were very intrigued by the menu and restaurant setting, so decided to come back for dinner. We sat at the bar, which was a special treat, as we were able to watch the chef make a lot of the food right in front of us. Very cool experience and overall, absolutely delicious food with amazing presentation.
Croquets – 1st one is a Chicken Marsala Croquette, 2nd one is an Ossobuco Croquette:
Caprese Salad:
Unfortunately we didn’t try the desserts below, but it was pretty awesome watching the chef put them together. And yes, that is an iron he is using on the dessert jar!
The next day was spent being tourists and checking out a couple of the main sites in Barcelona. We spent the morning checking out the Picasso Museum, which we really enjoyed. Once again, we got our handy audio guides, and were able to check out various Picasso paintings that were donated to the museum by his wife. Most of the paintings in this museum were from Picasso’s younger years, and reflected a few of the stages he went through in the first half of his life.
We spent the afternoon visiting La Sagrada Familia, the basilica in Barcelona that was designed by the famous architect, Antoni Gaudi. If you’ve never seen this incredible structure, we highly recommend it on a future visit to Barcelona. The exquisite detail throughout both the inside and outside is beautiful. They are continuing to build this basilica and we were surprised to find out that it’s supposed to be completed by 2026. It seems they still have a lot to do, but their plan is to finish by 2026 since that will be the 100th year anniversary of Gaudi’s death.
After a mini siesta, we headed out for a quick bite to eat at another local restaurant, El Xampanyet. It is very fast-paced, loud and gives you a very authentic, Catalan dinner experience, which we thoroughly enjoyed. After dinner we checked out this local bar, which Andrew had frequented back in his early 20s when he traveled, known as Chupitos. They’re famous for their hundreds of types of shots, so we experienced a couple, and were able to watch them create a few others.
We spent the rest of our night at Opium, a local beach club/lounge.
On our last full day in Barcelona, we decided to go out for lunch and do the Menu del Dia experience that we had tried when we were in Madrid. As a reminder, most Spanish people have a larger lunch (Menu del Dia), and then end up doing a late dinner with just a few tapas.
We went to Goliard for lunch, which again came highly recommended by a Barcelona local, and once again, the food did not disappoint. Andrew and I agreed this was the best meal we had in Spain. Very authentic, as the menu only came in Catalan. However, the server was extremely nice and walked through the entire menu with us, taking the time to explain in English what each item was. Can’t wait to come back and try this restaurant again!
El Primer Plato (First Course) – Fried Mushrooms & Pesto Ravioli (we shared):
El Segundo Plato (Second Course) – Steak for Andrew, Chicken for me:
Goliard was located in the Gracia neighborhood, so we decided to check out this area and make our way up to Park Guell, which is a local park showcasing a number of Gaudi’s buildings. Andrew begrudgingly did the hour walk from our lunch location to the park, but it was worth it when we were able to witness some of the amazing views from the park. From the higher elevation you could see the entire city and it was stunning.
One of the best, last minute decisions we have made thus far, was deciding to spend our last night watching FC Barcelona play Atletico Madrid at FC Barcelona’s home stadium, Camp Nou. We were so happy we decided to go and were able to see players like Messi and Neymar Jr. live in person. Even though Messi got injured in the beginning of the 2nd half, it was still incredible to witness the world’s greatest soccer player in action.
A few shots of Messi in action:
Andrew in his element!
Going to the game was the best way to end our time in Barcelona, and Spain in general. We enjoyed our 2 weeks in Spain, venturing into many areas of the country, learning vast amounts of history surrounding many of the major sites, and trying many delicious tapas along the way.
Hasta Luego Spain – Hallo Munich!
Andrew + Allison Around the World 