Barcelona, Day 1After arriving at BCN, and proceeding quickly through immigration, we took a taxi to the hotel. (I would have taken public but it was a Sunday morning with absolutely no traffic).
The hotel let us check in early. I nice thing about staying at a DoubleTree is that they provide you with hot cookies - unless you keep kosher
.
I personally hated the layout of the room - shower in one spot and bathroom in the other - but the DW loved the design and decor. The alcove with the street view was a nice touch, though.
From there we went straight to Casa Mila / La Padrera, designed by Gaudi. And as we'll soon see, Gaudi's work dot the city and represented about half our activities. Casa Mila and a few others are literally 3 minutes walk from this hotel, making the transit easy.
Casa Mila from the outside
Courtyard of Casa MilaThe inside is pretty boring - to us at least - the room or 'La Padrera' is where it's at. You get some great views of the city, and of signature weird/unique Gaudi architecture.
From there we walked about 20 minutes to La Sagrada Familia - a church also designed by Gaudi.
We didn't pay to go in, but I liked how they close the streets surrounding the structure so you don't need to compete with vehicular traffic to see the sight.
I was able to crop out the construction crains, but Gaudi died before completion of La Sagrada Familia. He left behind copious notes and the structure will be completed in 2026 on the anniversary of his death. I guess I'll have to go back
There is a metro (L2?) right by the site so we purchased some T-10 cards... A few notes.
- Unlike London, credit cards with PINs are required (I had my Alaska AIrlines visa - luckily I set the PIN before departure!)
- Because the city is relatively small, it's not necessary to purchase a T-10. It may be more cost effective to do one ride at a time. The day passes or 2 day passes are more expensive than the T-10 (which is about 9.5 Euro).
We got off near the Gothic Quarter and got some cool snapshots and then went to the Picasso Museum. For reference, the Picasso museum is free from 3 - 8 PM on Sundays and the entire day the first Sunday of the month. I'd suggest getting there as early as possible during/right before the free period on a Sunday as the line is about an hour wait.
[
The line!Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed within the museum. It's also pretty large (it looks smaller on the outside). We were definitely happy and thought it was worth the wait. Unfortunately Guernica is on display in Madrid (!) - oh well. I think a highlight of the museum is the World War I display.
I probably wouldn't have paid for it, but it was free, so why not.
Though we didn't purchase anything, the gift shop is a fun stop afterwards.
From there we walked to Restaurant Maccabi. (Sorry no pictures of food) but the first night we ordered:
- The cod
- Hummus plate
- Hamburger
- Flan
We ate there 3 times and the desserts aren't their strong suit. BUT, I found the food to be really flavorful, fresh and large portions for the cost. The service was also prompt and friendly.
Total Steps Taken:18,873Up Next: Barcelona, Day 2
