It was going to be hours before our hotel room was available, so as we do, we left our luggage and started walking. It’s great to familiarise yourself with the immediate area. Ruthie commented that it felt quiet, which it did, until it didn’t. If shopping for brands and labels is your thing then Barcelona is your city. The strip went on for ever with security guards and queues to get in at some stores. There were also many stores selling soccer jerseys and merchandise at inflated prices. This is understandable as Spain had just won the FIFA world cup. 

You soon get the feeling that Barcelona is all about Antoni Gaudi, architect and designer. We stumbled on his residential house and there were queues to go through it.

Lunch was made up of our first tapas and Sangria in Spain. Very enjoyable and I’m sure there’ll be more to come.

There is a lot of refurbishment and  beautification going on around some of the main areas but overall it seems a clean modern city. The problem with walking a distance is that you generally need to walk the same distance back. The heat was unforgiving (red alerts were being sent to our phones.) I think the Spanish are onto a good thing with their Siesta time, except that is when we’re in desperate need of a hydration stop.

Another day, another Gaudi stop. Today we are going to his cathedral masterpiece, Sagrada Familia. Construction began 144 years ago and is projected to finish in 2033. It’s possibly taken this long as it has been built for the people by the people. Tourism alone brings in €134.5 million with no goverment or church donations used for the construction. Added to this Gaudi’s stop, start and continuously experimenting with design and materials, there never seemed to be a hurry to complete the project. I’m not sure if it will ever be completed as they are now adding viewing platforms to the towers which I’m sure weren’t part of Gaudi’s original design. As we approached the cathedral, Ruthie was a bit underwhelmed. It looked like it was melting, just as we were in the heat.

We began our guided tour and as we got closer the wow factor kicked in. There is so much detail in the exterior, telling the religious story. 

What I really liked was that when we got inside, it was really minimalistic. The whole place just opened up. There are no roof trusses, the columns rose to project like huge trees. The stained glass windows vary in colour from wall to wall and change throughout the day as sunlight passes through. It’s very difficult to get a building recognised by UNESCO and Barcelona has nine, seven of which are Gaudi inspired. He really was an extraordinary visionary. 

Another day, another Gaudi experience. Gaudi was commissioned to design and plan  a housing development of 60 as a garden suburb. The project failed but not before a few Gaudi designed houses were built, leaving a lot of open space around them. It was opened as a public park in 1926 and is one of the 7 Gaudi things recognised by UNESCO. Walking amongst the cool undergrowth of the gardens, you could feel the drop in temperature, probably to the low 30’s, phew!

Later that day we visited La Boqueria market. This is the biggest fresh food market I’ve ever seen. The produce looked amazingly fresh. Many of the stalls had long benches with stools where you could sit, order a drink and sample the delicious looking produce. Ruthie was keen to sample the oysters while enjoying a champagne.

We then proceeded to a Tapas with history walking tour. There wasn’t a lot of history told and to be fair not enough tapas but there was no shortage of Sangria. The Tapas we did try was delicious. We particulary enjoyed trying a dish made with squid ink. Remarkably it didn’t taste fishy at all and was yummy. An Iberian Pork dish was memorable too as were white sardines. We enjoyed laughs with the mix of company who came from the UK, USA and Wales. 

It’s time to leave Barcelona and start to head to northern Spain. This involved catching a train to Pamplona for an overnight stop and the start of what we call “free range touristing”.Our hotel there was smack bang in the old town. It’s a very happening area. In fact, the running of the bulls which happens in July, went right by the front door. No bull. We had a dinner of croquettes and Spanish omelette and really enjoyed the vibe is this lovely Spanish town.