A Good Ole Barcelona Stroll (+ La Sagrada Familia)
If you follow me on Instagram then you got the scoop – a few weeks ago Dan and I snuck off to the land of sunshine, SPAIN, for a week of sightseeing and sangria. Our first stop, Barcelona, did not disappoint. The city is easy to navigate, reasonable and packed to the brim with things to see, eat and do.
After tasty and highly caloric pastries and coffee we made our way to La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi’s famous masterpiece that has been under construction since 1882 (!). You know the one – it looks like a drizzled sand castle. The most contemporary, beautiful and dreamy church I’ve ever visited, I felt as though I was dropped right inside a painting.
This is one of those places that’s too massive to capture. The size and height are simply staggering. I did my best to capture the smaller details but quickly resolved to just enjoy the experience and solitude.
We opted to spend a few extra bucks to climb up, up, up the winding stairs of one of the towering pillars. We choose the pillar that housed the nativity facade for it’s perspective of the city. From the top the sweeping Barcelona views were lovely but being up close and personal with the ornate statues that coat the exterior ended up making it truly special.
Then it appears that Dan and I made a deal and shook hands…?
Beautiful, right?!
Afterwards we wandered the streets of our Airbnb neighborhood ‘El Born’ (definitely recommended as a place to stay in Barcelona by the way!) then headed to Santa Caterina Market for eats.
Our favorite tapa? Patatas bravas- oven baked potatoes sliced with zesty seasonings and covered in sauce made of olive oil, red pepper, paprika, chili, and vinegar. Also yummy – anything seafood! Baby octopus and squid, I’ll take it!
Lunch concluded with melt-in-your-mouth AND die-and-go-to-heaven chocolate delights from Bubo, recently voted as the best chocolate spot in Barcelona.
Later that evening, while drinking wine on our little patio and let out a shriek, this little blog of mine reached 2,000 Bloglovin followers! Woohoo, welcome new friends and thank you to my older buddies for following along with my journey abroad! Although I feel a world away from the one that I know, I’ve found an amazing amount of comfort in documenting this crazy expat chapter and having all of you tagging along with me. Hugs, dear friends!
P.S. Are you a Londoner? I’m heading your way next week! Let me know if you have any recommendations or would like to meet up! 😀 Tweet me @OverseasEscape