Barcelona

So we went to Barcelona. Myself and Emmet. No kids!! Once I got over the initial separation anxiety from the kids and then, what Emmet referred to as moderate turbulence (I was preparing for my oxygen mask to appear in front of my face!) coming into Barcelona, I  was smitten. Neither of us had been before and I was so excited as I had heard how beautiful Barcelona is. Before going the two things that I was aware of about Barcelona were the impressive architecture by Antoni Gaudi, the figurehead of Catalan Modernisation and the copious tapas bars and restaurants that had to be tried! Yes food is always the incentive with me.

We started our trip with a tour bus guide of the city, this was a really good way of getting our bearings and establishing where we wanted to go on foot. The Sagrada Familia being one site that was a must see. The photos here don’t do it justice, it was magnificent and hard for me to decide what was the best angle to shoot it from.

Gaudi Park ( official name Park Guell) was the next stop. The climb up to the park was spectacular and the view of Barcelona was incredible.

I felt like a kid in a sweet shop, there was too much to see, it was hard to decide which direction to go in and what to photograph. So I’m sharing with you a sample of what we saw!

Our time there flew by and indeed we both had a sense of there being a lot to do and see but not having enough time to experience everything. Well we did only have five days there!

Before we went a lot of people were saying to us, oh you have to see this and you have to go there. When we did get to Barcelona all the recommendations disappeared from my head and I seemed to spend the trip wandering around awe struck and looking up all the time at the incredible buildings.

So it was by complete chance that we stumbled upon the Boqueria Market  just off La Rambla. This market dates from as early as 1217 and has undergone many changes since then as you can imagine. You cannot visit Barcelona without seeing this market, the colours and smells are stunning and the jubilant ambiance was tangible. I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to buy everything I saw however, Ryanair luggage weight restrictions were bearing down heavily on my mind!

So I mentioned earlier the copious tapas bars and restaurants that had to be tried and believe me we tried many in the five days we were there. It’s such a civilised way to eat! We went from the tourist attraction ‘recommended by the guide books’ to the ‘where the locals go’. All different but all amazing. However, I did have a favourite but unfortunately I don’t have the name of this particular establishment. However, I do have photos of my food though. And yes I was getting lots of odd looks from people as I snapped each dish as it was brought out.

So the one thing that struck me about Barcelona is that I most definitely have to return. On our last day we tried to get as much sight seeing in before we had to catch our flight home. I remarked that I had sense off ‘leaving the party too early’ in order to let the babysitter go home!! There is so much to see and do and I’m just giving you a glimpse of our experience there.

Hope you enjoy the pics. I will be posting recipes next but felt I had to share this first.

Rhoda  & Emmet :O)

Click on an image to scroll through gallery of photos

Sargrada Familia

Sagrada Famillia

Sagrada Familia

Trencadis Lizard, Park Guell, Barcelona

Pavilion at the entrance of Park Guell, Barcelona

Pavilion at the entrance of Park Guell, Barcelona

One of the entrance buildings, Park Guell, Barcelona

Blue, blue sky, Park Guell, Barcelona

Viaduct in Park Guell

Chilis, Boqueria Market. Barcelona

Tasty crabs, Boqueria Market. Barcelona

Lobster, Boqueria Market. Barcelona

Too much choice, Boqueria Market. Barcelona

Best ice cream ever, Boqueria Market. Barcelona

My favourite, chocolate, Boqueria Market. Barcelona

A nice glass of rosé with hummus and pitta

Cheese and walnut toast with fried chilis

Artichoke and parma ham

Arc de Triomf, Barcelona

Interesting Mural!

Parc de la Ciutadella, Barcelona

 Some Spanish humour!