@memejs Enjoying following you thru the rest of Spain even if you don't get to BCN before I leave. But there are 6 days ;-). And your starred attractions of Barcelona are all places we plan to visit. One question: is it a typo where you meant to say at Hospital Sant Pau that you would have liked it even without a guide? The website indicates English guided tours only at 11 am so we will probably see it without a guide. Just wondering.

@alison Yes, you're correct, that was a typo. The guide gave some good background on the hospital, it's patrons, and the uses of the rooms, but I think you can enjoy the beauty of the buildings without a guide. There's also a good photo exhibit of the history of the hospital in one of the buildings.

SEVILLA (continued)

The next day was Sunday and I took a bus to the north part of the city to go to services for a branch of my church. I should note that the buses in Sevilla are really easy to use. There are screens that clearly show the route and tell you which stop is next.

On this day I was determined to find a restaurant on a main street or plaza and just sit and relax and people watch as I ate. I didn’t care if it was a tourist or expensive restaurant, I just wanted that relaxing yet entertaining experience. I found a place on a narrow but bustling street behind the cathedral and ordered three tapas right away (torta de patata, mini hamburger, and I can’t remember the third). The tapas were huge, bigger than any portions I had received previously! I guess I should have just ordered one at a time until I was full. It was nice to just sit for a while, but in looking over my ticket to the Alcazar I discovered that I had less time that I thought. I realized I needed to be inside the Alcazar and at the Cuarto Royal 15 minutes before the time printed on my ticket. So I asked for the check and rolled up the mini-hamburger in a napkin (I was too full to eat it right then anyway) and was off. So much for that leisurely dining experience!

Once again I was glad that I had bought my ticket ahead of time. The line to purchase a ticket to the Alcazar was really long and tickets to the Cuarto Royal were sold out. I was able to breeze through the line and presented myself where I needed to be right on time. The Cuarto Royal is a separate entrance ticket, and like I said, it’s good to get it ahead of time. An audioguide to this part of the palace is provided with the ticket. If I’m remembering correctly and not getting my buildings mixed up, this is the oldest palace still in use in Europe. None of the royal family live here permanently, but they do occasionally stay here for short periods of time. The furnishings are nice, but nowhere near as grand and impressive as what I saw in the Royal Palace in Madrid. I’d recommend getting a ticket to the Cuarto Real, mostly because it’s not that much more than the basic Alcazar entrance and because without the Cuarto Real you don’t get to see too much of the interior of the palace. However, even without the ticket you get to see some of the most impressive features that Alcazar has to offer. The Hall of the Ambassadors is especially beautiful, as is one of the courtyards. For me though the real highlight was the gardens. They are huge and there’s so much to explore. My only complaint, and it’s a small one, is that a number of the fountains weren’t running.

I knew the gardens were known for the peacocks that live there, so I went in search, which isn’t hard to do when you know what a peacock sounds like. I found a couple in one corner of the gardens. The small crowd of us there were anxious to see one of the birds fan its tail feathers, but after watching the ferocity with which they chased each other around, I wasn’t about to try too hard to provoke them. The only time I saw one of the birds fan its tail is when it was back behind a hedge and gate, so no amazing photos of a peacock in the Alcazar gardens.

I could have stayed in the gardens for the rest of the day, and I did stay a good while, but then I moved on so that I could visit the Cathedral before it closed.

Sevilla’s cathedral is the largest in Spain and third largest in the world. It’s also home to the tomb of Christopher Columbus. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. There’s a big choir (structure) in the middle of the cathedral, so you can’t see all the way from the nave to the altar. I think that without that view it was hard for me to get a sense of how large the cathedral actually was. There’s also a big iron gate in front of the huge gold altar, so that obstructs the view somewhat. The Cathedral is definitely worth a visit, but I wouldn’t say that it was a highlight for me. I also climbed the Giralda tower, which provided excellent views of the city.

It was a warm day. The previous day I had seen a gelato place that served the ice cream shaped like flower petals, so that was my next destination. I got mango and coconut and not only was the gelato beautiful presented, it was really, really good. I can’t remember the name of the place, but it’s a chain with an Italian name. I hated to miss out on any of the warm daylight, but I was feeling a bit under the weather, so I went back to my hotel to read and rest for the remainder of the evening.

On my final morning in Sevilla I went back to my favorite, Bar el Comercio for toast and chocolate. After breakfast I went to el Palacio de la Condesa de Lebrija. This was the home of a countess who was a collector of Roman and Moorish antiquities. It was beautiful; I’m so glad I visited! A few of the floors were reassembled Roman mosaics and there was lots of gorgeous tile. The guide gave a lot of good information on the art and on the Countess’s life. There are a couple of other similar houses in Sevilla that I didn’t have a chance to visit (Palacio de las Duenas, Casa de Pilatos), so I’d be interested in hearing a comparison from someone who has been to all three.

Next it was time for more gelato! The gelato I had gotten the previous day was so good I just had to make time for more. This time I got chocolate hazelnut and coconut, and it was even better than the first cone.

I knew I had a long bus ride coming up, so I wanted to pick up some food at the grocery store to eat during the trip. My phone told me that the nearest mercado was across the river in Triana. Triana also happens to be the ceramics district, so I had to stop in at Ceramica Santa Ana to feed my obsession. So many beautiful things! And the prices weren’t bad either. I picked up a few things, including a sort of large vase that I worried about transporting along the rest of my trip. I’d hand-carried ceramics through Asia and Europe before, I could do it again.

The last site on my list was the bullring. There were free tours starting at 3pm. I showed up about an hour early to scope things out and good thing I did because a line was already starting to form. The tour was really interesting. I don’t have any desire to see a bullfight, but I learned a lot of facts I hadn’t known before, i.e. bullfighting originated as military exercises, the best bullfighters are treated and paid like celebrities.
I really loved Sevilla. Up until this point it was the highlight of my trip and I’d strongly recommend it as a destination to anyone traveling in Spain.

GRANADA
I took an ALSA bus to Granada and the trip was comfortable and scenic. My first impression of Granada was that it was a big city. I found out that population-wise it’s smaller than Sevilla, but in scale it feels larger. My home for the next nights was the pension El Hidalgo. The people at reception were very helpful and friendly. My room was tucked away, so I expected it to be quiet, but I later realized that the entrance to the patio was right outside my door, so I heard people going in and out quite frequently. Also, people would often use the patio to smoke, and the smell would seep into my room, which I found annoying. So another budget accommodation that was fine but nothing special.

I should mention that I found my lodgings on Booking.com and all had ratings of 8 or higher. My reviews of the lodgings so far have been ambivalent at best. I certainly wasn’t expecting luxury, but since I had been so careful to book places with high ratings I guess I was expecting to be just a little more comfortable.

The next morning I started off my first full day in Granada with a walking tour with Walk In Granada. The group was pretty small and our guide, Nacho, was EXCELLENT! We walked around the royal chapel and cathedral, the Albaycin, and ended at Mirador San Nicolas with its fantastic view of the Alhambra. It doesn’t sound like much, but the tour was very thorough without feeling the least bit tedious or boring. Walking around the city with Nacho was like getting a tour from a very interesting, very well informed friend.

In southern Spain you hear and see a lot of references to Ferdinand and Isabella, los Reyes Catolicos. Of course I was vaguely familiar with them as the people who had financed Columbus’ voyage, but in Granada I learned so much more. I’ll only write one thing here: Ferdinand and Isabella are kind of the founders of Spain. Before them, what we today know was Spain was a number of largely independent kingdoms. When Ferdinand and Isabella married they consolidated their power and then went about consolidating even more power by defeating the Moors, who controlled southern Spain. They also drove out many Jews and Muslims through the Inquisition. I didn’t really get a good feel for how Spaniards today view los Reyes Catolicos. Obviously they are important to the country’s history, but they did a number of pretty terrible things.

After the tour ended, I made my way through the narrow streets of the Albaycin, to the market area near the bottom of the hill. This neighborhood is full of restaurants and shops with a Moroccan feel, since the Moors that used to populate southern Spain originally came from Morocco. I ate lunch at a restaurant here, and it was one of my favorite meals of the trip.

Next I toured the Royal Chapel, where the tombs of Ferdinand and Isabella, as well the tombs of their daughter Juana (la Loca) and Phillip, are located. The church is small but pretty, the tombs are grand, and there is a nice exhibit of the royal art collection. I opted not to pay to go inside the Cathedral because I was told that between the two, the Royal Chapel was more interesting.

The morning’s tour had been so good that I went back for Nacho’s evening tour of the Sacromonte cave district. Several others from the morning tour did the same thing. Sacromonte used to by the gypsy district, but over the decades most of the gypsies have been rehoused (both willingly and unwillingly) and now the caves are mostly occupied by something of an international bohemian community. Nacho kept saying that the people living in Sacromonte choose to live there for cultural reasons. I’m sure that’s true for some, but I also got the feeling that it’s kind of a slum for marginalized people. The caves aren’t natural; they are dug out of the hillside. Some have electricity and, of course, satellite and internet, which always manages to be present no matter how poor a district. The lower part of the district is commercialized, with restaurants and venues for flamenco shows. I wish I had had the time to see a flamenco show here and compare it to the one I saw in Seville. Nacho explained that flamenco has always been more commercialized in Seville, i.e. shows and performances; in Granada it’s more of a family and friends, in a home kind of thing.

After the tour ended I went back to the Albaycin and the Mirador San Nicolas to watch the Alhambra light up as the sun set. I stayed there for quite a while, sitting on the wall. There were lots of people there and it was a festive atmosphere.

Once I was finished I did something stupid, and I knew it was stupid. I opted to walk back to my hotel rather than taking a taxi back to the hotel or at least to the Plaza Nueva. I was being cheap. The Albaycin is made up of windy narrow streets and passageways, and though there were plenty of people around in the vicinity of the mirador, the crowd started to thin as people took various turns to find their way down. At one point I realized the man behind me was following me; I just had that gut feeling. Luckily I soon came upon a square with a couple of restaurants. I pretended to examine the menu of one. I had hoped the man would turn down the street leading down the hill, but he just stood near the entrance to the square. So I went to look at the menu of the other restaurant. Finally he turned and walked down the road. Not wanting to follow him down that road, I waited for a while and then took another road, more remote than the one the man had gone down. At this point I was nervous and really cursing myself for not taking a taxi. I didn’t know the most direct route down into the main part of the city, but I walked quickly and tried to stay on well-lit roads and within the sound of others’ voices. I was really relieved when I eventually made it down. Luckily nothing actually happened to me and this was the only time I felt threatened or in danger while traveling on my own.

HI there, enjoyed reading this report. I posted an inquiry a few days ago about my trip itinerary. I would appreciate your opinion as we booked our transportation to seville and from cordoba, we have 5 nights and divided them between seville 3 nights and cordoba 2 nights. However I have been doing some reading and it seems like one night would be enough in cordoba as there is not much to do.
We are still thinking of doing more traveling and diving them to 2 nights seville, 2 nights granada, 1 night cordoba. But I feel that this is not fair as it only gives a day and a half to each city.

Any tips or suggestions would help.

GRANADA (continued)

The next day was Alhambra day. Months ago, the first thing I did after purchasing my flight to Spain, was buy tickets to the Alhambra, both a day entrance and a night entrance. Now I had studied the Alhambra in high school and college. I’d seen gorgeous photos of the buildings and grounds. I read many times that this was THE place to visit in Spain. And so of course I went with impossibly high expectations. I really, really enjoyed my time there, but if the description that follows sounds less than gushing, just know that when you go in with sky high expectations it’s really hard not to be let down, just a little, in some way. Also, I kind of hit a wall in my trip at this point; I was tired and I’d already seen so many beautiful things. When you’re traveling sometimes it’s easy to start getting a little ambivalent about the next greatest thing.

Anyway, my ticket was for 8:30am, the very first entrance of the day. I walked up the hill and through the Justice Gate and eventually found my way to where I was supposed to line up. But I was the only one there. I had given myself plenty of time to get there, since I didn’t know exactly where I’d be going, plus I wanted to be near the front of the line. By the time 8:30 rolled around there was a line of people waiting for entrance to the Nasrid Palaces, but I was the very first one in line and the first visitor inside the Nasrid Palaces that day. There were still custodians and workers cleaning as I made my way through the rooms. I just love Islamic art and architecture, so the tiles and the carvings on the walls and the ceilings, especially the ceilings, wowed me.

But there was one thing especially that I was looking for: the Court of the Lions. I had seen amazing photos of this part of the palace, and I was anxious to see it for myself. Honestly, the real thing was a bit underwhelming. A custodian was still cleaning the court and there were buckets and caution signs sitting around. Most of the court is roped off, so you can’t walk around inside the court or get close to the fountain. And the fountain doesn’t shoot up; it’s just a simple small gurgle. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still beautiful just….expectations.

I took my time wandering through the rest of the palace and was eventually spit out into a garden. After walking around for a little while, I decided I did indeed want the audioguide I had seen being sold earlier. I paid for the audioguide (6 euro) and sat on a bench to review the audiotour of the Nasrid Palaces. I really don’t think I missed anything by not having the audioguide along with me in the palaces. Had I had it, I probably would have been going along at the same pace as all of the other people with the guide, so in one sense it was an advantage for me to go just a little faster and have a pretty peaceful experience there.

Getting all of the information afterward was just fine with me. The audioguide, I should mention, is very well done. You basically get an iPhone and earbuds, and along with the narration, you can look at various photos of close-ups, professional photos, and the Alhambra at different points in history.

I’m also very, very glad that I opted for the early 8:30 entrance time. Although there’s a specific time you need to enter the Nasrid Palaces, there’s no limit on how long you can spent inside, so as the day goes on, the palace fills up with more and more people. Later in the day I saw the long, long lines of people waiting to enter and I couldn’t imagine how crowded it must have been inside….well actually I could imagine it, because the rest of the complex was pretty crowded. I had planned to spend all day at the Alhambra, so I took my time seeing everything there was to see and used the audioguide to narrate me through the experience. (For those who haven’t done much research on the Alhambra, much of the complex is free and open at any time, but there are certain portions – like the Nasrid Palaces – that require a ticket with a timed entrance. These usually sell out days or weeks in advance, so it’s best to buy your tickets as early as possible).

After thoroughly exploring the main part of the complex, I headed over to the Generalife palace and gardens. I found the gardens disappointing. They’re beautiful, but they’re very…manicured. They don’t invite you to sit and rest and relax there; I felt as if they were designed just to move people through. Of course I realize that they may have looked and felt different in the past and of course they’re designed to move people through now, when the Alhambra is a highly-trafficked tourist site. I just expected to like the Generalife gardens even more than the Sevilla Alcazar gardens, but in the end I prefer the Alcazar gardens.

Also, at the time I was in the Generalife I felt sure that tour groups were invented by Satan himself. I can’t tell you how many tour groups would just march into a room and dominate it. Or how often a group of people would be taking turns to stand in a spot to take a picture, and someone from a tour group would just plant him/herself right in front of everyone else. It was infuriating! (Also, I write this now, and I realized at the time, that I was being hypocritical because I had been part of a tour the day before.)

By the time I had finished exploring the Generalife it was mid-afternoon. I had planned to spend the entire day at the Alhambra, but I was incredibly tired and I had taken my time to explore the site leisurely, so I didn’t feel any compunction about heading back to my hotel. I bought a few sweet and savory pastries on my way back and had a nice nap.

It was hard to pull myself away from the bed, but I had to; I had tickets to the night entrance to the Nasrid Palace. I had a cheap chicken shawarma sandwich for dinner and then made my way back up the hill to the Alhambra. Once again I was early, but this time I wasn’t worried about being first in line. Since I had been inside the palace earlier that day, I wasn’t too concerned with seeing every nook and cranny. My focus this time was on getting some good night photos. The night tour was cool, but I’m still not sure if I feel that it’s necessary. Would I do it again? Sure. But if you can’t get tickets to the night tour, I don’t think your life will be incomplete  As I write this I haven’t yet gotten to looking at my photos from this night (I took A LOT of photos, it’s taking forever to get through them), so I’m not sure how well they turned out.

The plan for the next day was to just take it slow, and that’s exactly what I did. I didn’t even leave my hotel until 10am. I made my way to the Bib Rambla, specifically a restaurant there famous for its churros and chocolate. I sat on the terrace and had the best chocolate of the trip there. (I could take or leave churros, they’re just friend dough, but oh how I love that thick, rich chocolate!)

I was feeling extremely tired, a little crabby, and a little lonely, so I spend the next few hours sitting in the sun, buying a couple of souvenirs, and eating gelato. In the late afternoon I took a bus to the airport and later that night flew to my final destination, Barcelona.

I am really enjoying your report and it will help me with my upcoming trip. Thank you for your great tips!

Looking forward to your portion on Barcelona! I will be there in September for 5 nights!

Thanks for the trip report!

BARCELONA

Finally we get to Barcelona! Oh my gosh, I fell in love so hard with this city. One reason for that is not only is it a beautiful and interesting city to visit, but I could totally see myself living here. Sevilla was beautiful and I loved visiting, but I wasn’t ready to pack up my house and settle there. For Barcelona, I would totally do that.

I had an uneventful flight on Vueling into BCN. Once I had retrieved my bag I followed the signs to the Aerobus kiosk, bought a roundtrip ticket, and was on the bus in no time. If I remember correctly, the cost for the roundtrip ticket ended up being $10-11. It was all very easy. I got off the bus at the last stop, the Placa Catalunya, and grabbed one of the waiting taxis to my hotel, EddyRooms. The hotel probably isn’t anything special by many people’s standards, but because I had been staying in such budget accomodations, it felt like a little step up. It’s amazing what some colored paint on the walls and an antique or two in the lobby will do! I was happy with the location and found everything to be clean and comfortable. The only weird thing is that I never officially checked in or out. Since I didn’t arrive at the hotel until close to midnight, the employee who let me in showed me my room and said that his colleague would officially check me in the next morning. I usually left relatively early in the morning to go sightseeing and came back in the evenings, and I never saw any employees. There’s really no obvious front desk, since the rooms are divided between two floors of an old townhouse. When it was time to check out, I couldn’t find anyone, so I just left the keys in the room.

The next morning I made my way to Placa San Jaume for the Barri Gotic historical walking tour. I had booked this ahead of time through the Barcelona Tourism office. Our group was maybe 10 people and Jordy was the tour guide. He gave a very good tour that took us to the cathedral, Placa San Felipe Neri, and several other sites. The sites themselves weren’t super impressive to me, but everything on the tour combined to give a really good history and background on Barcelona – from its Roman origins to its real boom/coming of age at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries. I’m glad I started my time in Barcelona with this tour.

After the tour was over I went back to the cathedral. Jordy had given about 15 minutes to go into the cathedral on the tour, but I wanted to spend some additional time there. One interesting thing about this cathedral is that in the courtyard there is a caged area with 13 white geese. This is a reference to Santa Eulalia, who is the patron saint of Barcelona.

After the cathedral I made my way to La Rambla. It was busy and crowded, just as I expected it to be. I walked down a ways and eventually found La Boqueria market. I loved the market! So much fresh fruit, as well as lots of other things. I bought an array of tapas from different vendors, some cherries, and a fresh juice and had a sort-of picnic lunch on a bench behind the market. The market was very crowded but I loved the energy.

Next I wanted to see the ocean, so I walked up through the Barceloneta neighborhood and to the beach. There’s something so invigorating about the sea. I’d been going non-stop for a week and a half at this point, and I arrived to Barcelona very tired, but something about the water rejuvenated me. Lots of people were stripped down to their swimsuits (although most were sunbathing, the water was cold), but I still felt the need for my jacket and scarf. Still, I sat on the beach a good long while, and it was marvelous. I walked all the way up the beach because I wanted to see Frank Ghery’s fish sculpture, which I really liked. It’s an arrangement of reflective pieces of metal that looks like a fish with scales from a distance, but up close it looks more like a wave.

The next few hours involved lots of walking. I made my way back to the Barri Gotic to explore and also in search of gelato. But before I could find a gelato place I liked, I found a little store selling small chocolate-covered churros, as well as larger churros stuffed with dulce de leche or nutella. The churros I’d had previously were just friend dough, but these churros were more like the ones we’re used to in the US: sweet, covered with sugar. The churro stuffed with dulce de leche was seriously one of the highlights of the trip; I’m STILL thinking about it! I made my way into the El Born neighborhood, which I really liked. It has something of a hipster feel to it, with lots of cool bars and restaurants as well as boutique-like shops. I think I’d like to stay in this neighborhood if (WHEN) I come back to Barcelona.

By now it was after 5pm, so entrance to the Santa Maria del Mar church was free. I preferred the churches I saw in Barcelona to those I saw in southern Spain. The churches and cathedrals in the south tended to have lots of heavy, ornate gold altarpieces. The churches in Barcelona were mostly just stone and stained glass, which I prefer. There was to be a Vivaldi concert that night and tickets were still available; I seriously considered buying a ticket, but ultimately decided against it. However, as I sat to rest and meditate in the church, the orchestra began to rehearse. For me the rehearsal was just as good as the concert would have been…better, in fact, since it didn’t involve me staying out until late.

I really wanted to eat at a nice restaurant in El Born, but I don’t know, I guess I chickened out. As I walked around looking for a place I felt awkward about asking for a table for one in these little restaurants that were perfect for couples. Usually I have a “go for it” attitude, especially when I travel, but I guess this night I had expended all of that energy. So I just started walking back to my hotel, looking for something that felt right along the way. Eventually I was close and I still hadn’t found something, so I took the easy way out and asked for a table at a touristy restaurant on the Passeig de Gracia. And then I did the other unthinkable thing…I ordered a hamburger! I never really fell in love with Spanish food, and a burger is what sounded good that night.

I had been walking literally all day long, so I could barely get myself on my feet and out of the restaurant once I had finished eating. But I did, and I hobbled my way back to my hotel for a good night’s sleep.

Enjoying your report. Will be in Madrid and Andalucia in September. Where did you pick up your Alhambra tickets? Did the Alsa bus have a toilet?
Thanks!

Sounds like you had THE Barcelona experience. Could easily settle down here myself ;-)

And next time in El Born, I can highly recommend the veal burger with foie and porcini mayonnaise in laid-back Tapeo. http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapeo-del-b...n-foie-en.html

El Tapeo was our great food find in Barcelona a couple of years ago, sit in the bar and watch the fun and the chefs: http://www.tapeoborn.cat/tapeo-del-born.html
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...Catalonia.html

Thanks for the latest installments. Still enjoying them.
It is a pain when travel fatigue sets in. I am learning it is pretty much inevitable, but hard to guess when it hits, and how to plan an itinerary to adjust to it.
I am in Granada first city, so know I have to adjust for jetlag. I want to do both night visits to Alhambra - and the Generalife, but as I arrive on a Friday it would mean going that first night and the second night as by October, these are the only nights open. I think that is unrealistic (for me)so will have to choose. After what you have experienced, it seems to be a tough day to do both day and night visit on the same day.
I am glad you were able to bounce back in Barcelona.

Still enjoying your report. We, too, plan on seeing the Alhambra during the day and at night all on the same day. We will be going to Malaga for 2 nights after Granada, so hopefully being by the sea will refresh us.

@KarenWoo - I picked up my Alhambra tickets at the Coral de Carbon, which is just a few blocks from the Plaza Nueva. We had stopped there on the walking tour to talk about the building's historical significance and the guide mentioned that you could pick up Alhambra tickets there, so I knew to come back later. I'm pretty sure my bus didn't have a toilet and there were no stops either.

@kimhe - Hopefully I'll have an opportunity to go back and use the suggestion to eat at El Tapeo!

@quiltingmamma - Thanks for your comment. Sometimes I worry that I'll come off sounding whiny or difficult when I talk about not having the time of my life every moment or not being absolutely thrilled with everything. I realize that traveling is a huge privilege. But like you say, fatigue is inevitable, and I want to convey that. Thank goodness for the memories that gloss over the hard stuff and just leave the good feelings! Also, it's totally doable to do a day and night visit to the Alhambra the same day. I was able to give ample time to both and still feel like I could spend some hours away in the afternoon without missing anything. The fatigue I felt was a build up of a week's worth of long days, not really the effect of being on site for many hours. There are plenty of pretty places to just sit and relax and there are some food and drink kiosks to get a bite to eat.

I have 3.5 days in Granada so can balance out events. Also, with early darkness, evening hours in October are 8 - 9:30. Guess still time for a nap before, but also means I can be done before a 'normal' bed time.
@KarenWoo, bus 'facilities' depend on the type of bus you use - which depends on the price you pay. From what I have read, Supra+ was wifi, leather seats and a toilet.

Nice report

BARCELONA (continued)
Day two in Barcelona ended up being one of my favorite days of the trip.

The first order of the day was moving hotels. In the process of planning I had changed my trip itinerary slightly, and because my original hotel booking was nonrefundable plus didn’t have availability for extra days, I needed to two book separate lodgings. So I took the metro to the Gracia neighborhood and checked into Jam Hostel.

A note about the neighborhood and the hotel. I didn’t get a chance to explore Gracia as much as I would have liked, but I liked what I saw a lot. It has a bit more of a “real life” neighborhood feel. However, because it’s further away from the main tourist sites, it’s not as convenient to pop back to the hotel for a rest in the middle of the day. Each metro ride costs a little over 2 euro, so if you’re making multiple trips per day that can really add up (although you can buy a 10 trip card which reduces the price slightly). I wouldn’t hesitate to stay in Gracia again, but it is good to have realistic expectations. I also really liked Jam Hostel. It was run very efficiently and the premises were very clean and comfortable. Like the Mayflowers hostel in Cordoba, the atmosphere was friendly but it definitely wasn’t a party hostel, which is perfect for me.

Once the hotel switch was complete it was time for all things Gaudi. I made my way to the Casa Batllo. I had already purchased my ticket through the Barcelona tourism website. The ticket was for this specific day but didn’t have a specific entrance time. When I arrived I got to skip the line, exchange my voucher for a ticket, and enter the house. An audio/video guide is included in the price of admission. Like the one at the Alhambra, the guide is an iPhone-like device with headphones. The guide was really cool. Most of the rooms in Casa Batllo are empty, but you can hold the phone/guide up and move it around the room and on the screen you see how the house would have been furnished for the Guell family. Gaudi designed much (all?) of the furniture in the home, so there’s a good record of what it would have looked like. I loved the house. I don’t know that I’d choose to design my own house in that exact style, but I still found it beautiful. I chose to tour Casa Batllo rather than Casa Mila because I had read that it was more interesting inside, and I’m happy with my choice.

Right next door to Casa Batllo is Casa Amatller. I hadn’t planned to tour this house, but after seeing a poster with some gorgeous photos of the interior, I plunked down my admission fee. Casa Amatller was designed by Puig i Cadafalch for the chocolate baron Antoni Amatller and his daughter Teresa. I have a love/hate relationship with my experience here. I thought that I was going on the English guided tour. I wasn’t necessarily looking for a guided tour, but it was 11am and the sign said that the English tour was at 11. I joined a group of about 6 elderly Spaniards and one woman who spoke English. We were all given videoguides, but there were a couple employees with us who made us all stay together as we moved throughout the house. The videoguide had an explanation of each room plus some additional material that talked about the family’s history and…I don’t really know what else because the majority of the people in the group moved from room to room really quickly. They’d basically move on the second the main narration was finished. I wanted to listen to all of the info on the guide, but the employees wouldn’t let me hang back too long. When I complained that we were moving too quickly, they just shrugged and said that’s what happens when you’re with a group. So I was really unhappy with the tour experience. The house though, was amazing. Unlike Casa Batllo it still has almost all of its original furnishings. The one bright spot to the group moving so quickly is that most people cleared out of the rooms quickly, allowing me to get some good photos of empty or nearly empty rooms. (And just to clarify, I wasn’t lagging because I was taking a million pictures. I was taking pictures as the narration played, which I prefer not to do. I didn’t even get to listen to all of the narration material for each room.) I’m still disgruntled about this whole thing because I think it could have been a really awesome experience. Anyway, I’m not sure what to suggest because I’m not sure what tour I was on. I paid the rate for a guided tour, but I had a videoguide.

The tour ends in a gift shop, right next to a café. Each person on the tour got a little piece of chocolate and it’s probably the best chocolate I’ve ever had! I would have bought tons to bring home but it was $$$. I did buy a bar of drinking chocolate that I’m excited to use.

Next I wandered up the Passeig de Gracia. I was drunk on gorgeous architecture and for a minute thought seriously about touring Casa Mila too, but the long line and 34 euro entrance fee quickly burst that bubble. I’ll save Mila for next time. I ate lunch at a little sandwich and burger shop called Foc i Oli that a friend had recommended. It was excellent – one of my favorite meals of the trip. I had a sandwich with chicken, arugula, Camembert, Dijon mustard, and apple; I’ve actually recreated this at home and it’s what I’ll be eating for lunch today.

On to the Sagrada Familia! I had a ticket for a 5:30pm entrance and I arrived there well ahead of time (as in hours ahead of time). I spent about an hour walking around the church taking photos of the exterior with each of the two camera lenses I had with me and then sat across the street in the park to relax before going inside. I also visited the official gift shop, which had some good stuff. I wanted to take home a Christmas ornament from Spain, and I bought one here.

Once I was allowed to enter I didn’t see the place to pick up the audioguide (not that it was hard to find, I was just so distracted by the building I wasn’t paying good attention), so I went inside the building. The orange light streaming through the stained glass windows took my breath away. I know Gaudi’s style isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for me the Sagrada Familia is the single most amazing man-made thing I’ve ever seen. I wish I could put into words the wonder and joy I felt inside; I’m close to tears even now thinking about it.

Unlike many large churches and cathedrals, which are dark inside, the Sagrada Familia is white and bright. The stained glass windows on one side are made with cool colors – blues and greens – allowing the cool morning rays of the sun to shine through. On the other side are warm colors that allow the afternoon and evening light to shine through. Gaudi was very religious and felt that nature provided a connection with God, so the pillars of the church resemble trees and there are lots of curving, organic lines. I’m not Catholic but I am religious, and even through the site was packed with people, I felt a very special feeling in this place.

After taking it in for a while I went back and found the audioguide. I took my time listening to portions of the guide and then stopping to take photos or just sit in that area of the church. I especially liked the Passion façade. The stylized, angular figures are very expressive. It was also really interesting to learn about the history of the church – that Gaudi always knew it wouldn’t be completed before he died, that various architects have overseen different parts of the church but have tried to stay true to Gaudi’s vision, that the church is supposed to be finished in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.

By the time I was finished at the Sagrada Familia both of my camera batteries were about to die, so I went back to the hostel to charge them, picking up some fresh apricots from a fruit stand along the way. Once I was in the hostel’s common room, updating my journal and reading, I felt reluctant to go back out. I had planned to go see the magic fountain at the Plaza de Espana and I had to make the call as to what I’d enjoy more: seeing a site or just enjoying some time to relax. In the end I decided to stay. I regret a little that I never did get to see the fountain, but I guess it’s just another reason to go back.

Sunday morning I went to church and then left the service just a little bit early to get to Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, a hospital constructed around the turn of the century in the modernist style. I was afraid that I was going to be late and miss my guided tour, but luckily I arrived just in time. The hospital is comprised of a number of gorgeous buildings and some very well manicured grounds. It's no longer in use as a hospital; instead, a number of charitable organizations use the buildings as their headquarters. The guide was young and did a very good job; I liked that we were given little bits time on the tour to look at each space independently, and then, once the tour was over, we were free to stay on the grounds for as long as we liked. I liked the guided tour and am glad I did it, but I think you could wander around this site on your own and still have a very good experience there.

After I was finished with the hospital I wandered the surrounding streets to get some cash from an ATM and then bought bread, cheese, fruit, and chocolate to take to the Citadella park for a picnic.

The park was full of people, as I expected it would be. It's a popular place for locals and tourists alike on a Sunday afternoon. I sat on a bench in front of the fountain to eat my picnic lunch and then moved to some shade on the grass for a catnap. I could have stayed for much longer and been entertained by drum circles in the park and various street performers lining the space between the park and the Arc de Triomf, but I wanted to explore Montjuic.

I had written down that the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya was free on Sunday afternoons, but I obviously had the wrong information because the museum was closed when I got there. I was disappointed because I had been excited to see the museum, but the views were still great. Part of me wanted to buy an ice cream bar and just sit on the steps leading up to the museum and enjoy the view, but the curious part of me that wanted to go explore won out. Behind the museum I discovered the botanical garden. I spent a little while sitting in a portion of the garden, enjoying the small of the herbs.

After a while my curiosity got the best of me again and I set off walking. I really didn't know what I was looking for. There are lots of signs pointing to different sites, but I wasn't sure what everything was and what I'd regret not seeing once I had access to the internet again and learned about what all there is on Montjuic. (After getting home and doing some reading about Montjuic, I'm satisfied I caught a glimpse of the main sites.) I did a fair amount of wandering before I wound my way down the hill. Being up on Montjuic gave me an appreciation for just how large and how hilly the city is. The hilly park surprised me because I didn't find it too hilly in my walking...but then again by this point I was taking the metro pretty frequently.

I was exhausted by this point but determined to stay out and about because I really wanted to see the Sagrada Familia lit up at night. I grabbed a slice of pizza for dinner and spent about an hour and a half reading in the little park across from the Sagrada Familia. I waited for the sun to set, waited some more, and I was literally walking to the metro stop, having given up, when the lights came on. Honestly, it wasn't that impressive. Even though it was past 10pm, the sky was still not that dark, plus I was too close to get any great shots.

The next day was my last full day in Barcelona. I was up fairly early for my 8am entrance to Parc Guell. It's not too far from Gracia, so I walked. It was a steep climb! I liked Parc Guell, but it was much, much smaller than I had anticipated. Only a couple of the buildings of what was supposed to be an upper class residential neighborhood had been completed. Since it is such a small area, it got very crowded very fast. I'm really glad that I was there at the very beginning of the day. Once again I was torn between sitting and enjoying the area and exploring on foot. I did sit for a while, but soon I was off again, climbing up the hill and then down, walking along through a new-to-me neighborhood and eventually to a metro stop. Along the way I came across the Casa Vicens, Gaudi's first house, currently under restoration and opening this October. It looks amazing.

There were two things I needed to eat again before I left Barcelona: fresh fruit juice from the Bocaria and that amazing dulce-de-leche stuffed churro I'd had a couple of days before. Getting the juice was no problem, but where was that churro shop? I had originally come across it by accident, so I had no idea how to find it again in the winding passageways of the Barri Gotic. I gave up and drank my juice only to, of course, happen upon the churro shop as soon as the juice was finished. For the record, it's called Xurreria dela Banys Nouse and the address is Banys Nous 8.

High on sugar, I made my way to the Palau de Musica, for a highly anticipated tour. The tour doesn't consist of that many rooms, but what you do see is top notch. Sitting in the theater feels like sitting in a jewel box. There was a flamenco group practicing, and we had time to sit on both the ground floor and the balcony to watch them (or in my case, look at the amazing theater ceiling and walls. I was trying not to be annoying with my picture taking here, but now that I'm home I wish I would have taken more.

A couple of days earlier I had seen a piece of artwork in a shop in El Born that I loved. It was a little bigger than what I ideally wanted, but since it's a limited edition print, that was the only size available. I decided to wait and think about it. I decided that I definitely did want the print, so I found the shop again and, thankfully, the print was still there. Definitely my favorite souvenir purchase of the trip.

After that I met up with a women I had met on my walking tour in Granada. She's Polish but is currently living in Barcelona. We walked through El Born, to Citadella park, and then to a cafe in Barceloneta. We walked a lot about culture in Barcelona, what she found difficult, what she liked, our various cultures and upbringings. It was fun - something I never would have done had I not been traveling alone.

I've always been terrible at making journal entries for my final day of a trip, so I don't have recorded where or what I ate for dinner that night. What I do know is that I went back to the Passeig de Gracia after dark to photograph Casa Mila and Casa Batllo at night.

The next morning I caught the metro to the Placa de Catalunya and then the Aerobus to the airport. My travel home was almost uneventful. I had selected and was very much looking forward to window seats. However, when I got on the plane, my seat assignment put me in the middle of the middle row. I was so deliriously tired that I was *this* close to having some sort of breakdown. I *needed* that window seat so that I'd have something to lean against and fall asleep. I pulled together every ounce of self-control I had and nicely mentioned to the flight attendant that my seat assignment had somehow been changed between checking in online the previous night and now. The flight looked pretty full, so I didn't think there was anything she could do, but miraculously she found a window seat for me. I don't think I've ever been more grateful to a human being! I had to endure a similar situation for the second leg of my flight. In the end I did get window seats on both flights, but I'm pretty annoyed with Delta for changing my seat. The explanations the gate agent gave didn't seem very plausible to me (something about a mechanical adjustment, but why would that happen to just me on two congruent flights?)

Anyway, it was a fabulous trip, one of my very favorite. I can't sing Spain's praises highly enough. I'm still working through the over 1300 photos I took and having so much fun reliving the trip as I do so.

Now I have to decide how to use the $1,000 flight voucher I earned.

I could use to it take several state-side trips to visit cities I've always wanted to see.

Ideally, though, I'd like to do another international trip - something a little more off the beaten path - but I don't know that I'll be able to save up the money needed for a big trip before the voucher expires. Any suggestions for where I could go next June-August, for airfare around $1000, that wouldn't be too expensive? I'm going to have fun researching possibilities!

[QUOTE] Before this trip I read the Young Adult novel I, Juan de Pareja - based upon the real-life slave/assistant to Diego Velasquez. I highly recommend the book. Velasquez is highly revered in Spain, and it was nice to have a little background on him."

Just finished reading this book as we are planning our trip to Madrid in May. Thanks for an excellent trip report and reading recommendation!