Blazing Through Barcelona: Thanksgiving Trip Part Four

December 1: Goodbye Madrid, Hello Barcelona!

There's no time for rest when I'm in charge of travel planning! After knocking out Rota, Madrid, Toledo, and Segovia, it's about time we swap up our location and head towards the coast: Barcelona here we come!

Estación de tren Madrid - Puerta de Atocha - Almudena Grandes

Our train departed Madrid at 6:30 am, giving us three hours to nap, play games, and buy snack machine treats for breakfast! Five crowns, Quixx, and lots of laughter kept us going! Mom and Jamie took advantage of the nearly empty cabin car by stretching out for a nap across several seats, while I did catch some Z's halfway through the ride myself!

Señor Piña Terraza Gótico

Training is so much more convenient compared to flying! We arrived at the train station just 20 minutes before it left the station, enjoyed the sunrise along the journey, and then arrived pretty close to the city center of Barcelona!

After finding another luggage locker to store our things, we headed to Señor Piña Terraza Gótico for a delicious breakfast before our day's adventures truly began! Ryan cashed in on the unlimited mimosas, while the rest of the gang slurped coffee and Coke Zeros!

Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol

During my trip planning, I knew we had to make a point to find local artists! Lucky for us, Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol hosts local artists every Sunday from 11:00 am- 2:00 pm. We walked past on our way to breakfast and saw a slew of artists setting up booths; so we knew we had to stop by later to check it out! Ryan, Mom, and I all walked away with art! Ryan and Mom purchased acrylic paintings of La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell, while Bryan and I found a tiny little lady selling watercolors! What a gem!

Jardins de les Tres Xemeneies

At 12:30 pm we made our way across town to the Gardens of Three Fireplaces, where we met Max, our segway tour guide! After a short training session in the skate park, we were off to see the city in a new and unique way! Bryan and I knew this would be a hit after enjoying our segway tour in Bergen, Norway, and Max did NOT disappoint! He was down-to-earth and knowledgeable about all the sights around Barcelona!

Columbus Monument: Monument a Colom

As mentioned in our earlier blog about Sevilla, the Spanish love to honor Christopher Columbus and they have done so in Barcelona with a giant column dedicated to his voyage to the Americas.

El Cap de Barcelona: La Cara de Barcelona

We also enjoyed seeing the Head of Barcelona, a sculpture created by Roy Lichtenstein in 1992 in honor of Barcelona's hosting of the Summer Olympics! Max was quick to point out that the artist used his traditional comic-book dot structure and included a face like Picasso's and tilework like Gaudi, to highlight some of Spain's most loved artists.

I'm not sure this was the most educational tour we have done, but it sure was one of the most fun! Just look at our gang zipping around the city! We sure had a great time!

Pla de Palau Lampposts Antoni Gaudí: Fanals de Pla de Palau Antoni Gaudí

Before Gaudi made a name for himself across Barcelona, he began as just any other architect looking for work. As we drove around town, Max pointed out several light posts that were designed by Antoni Gaudi in 1878. We learned that Gaudi had a thing for dragons, and thus all of his works include a small hint of this mythical creature. In the top decoration of the light posts, you can see a dragon head welded into the design.

El Born Center for Culture and Memory: El Born Centre de Cultura i Memòria

Giving our shaking legs a break, we stopped at the Cultural Center of Memory, where we got to see excavated city ruins from the 1700s. Max's fun fact here was that these Roman ruins were the setting for the 2022 video game-turned-movie, Uncharted.

Gothic Quarter: Barri Gotic

We also drove through Barcelona's Gothic Quarter! Filled with sandstone buildings, unique fountains, and tiny cobblestone streets, this was an interesting trek on board our segways!

The Parliament of Catalonia: Parlament de Catalunya

While driving by the Catalonian Parliament Building, Max took a few minutes to explain Catalonia's desire to become a separate nation. About half of the population in the Catalonian region want independence, while the other half enjoys the luxury of being part of Spain. During the drawn-out debates on the topic, Catalonia set up their own Parlament in Barcelona. While still part of Spain, Catalonia has an extra police force and governing bodies for the area.

El Born Center for Culture and Memory

Cascada Monumental

Ciutadella Park is home to an impressive fountain called the Cascada Monumental, which Antoni Gaudi partially designed! Can you spot the dragons?

We enjoyed a short break off the segways here in Ciutadella Park, where we could see children playing, people dancing and others enjoying an afternoon in the sun! If we had more time, I would have loved to sit and enjoy alongside the locals; the scenery and vibes here were well worth a visit!

Parc del Mirador del Poble-sec

After walking around the park and stretching our legs, it was time to CLIMB! We headed up Montjuïc, a hillside overlooking all of Barcelona! We could see clear across the entire city and were beyond grateful for the segways' hard work getting us up there!

Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc

The Piscina Municipal de Montjuïc is a sports venue in the Olympic Ring in Barcelona. Located close to the lookout point, this venue consists of two swimming pools: a pool for diving and a 25m outdoor pool. Max explained that this was the location of the diving events and the water polo preliminaries for the 1992 Summer Olympics. What a view for those divers and water polo competitors!

Like all good things, our Segway tour had to come to an end. If anyone is looking for the best way to see Barcelona while saving your steps for other ventures, Sun & Segway is the place to go!

Barcelona AirBnB off La Rambla

With the afternoon already well underway, we were able to check in to our Barcelona Airbnb. I didn't realize the killer view I had booked; our apartment overlooked a busy street filled with music, dancing, and street performers! The best part was that we could enjoy all the excitement from our balconies!

La Barceloneta: Ciutat Vella

But you know we weren't calling it a day while the sun was still up! No way!

After having a breather in the apartment, we headed back out and towards the beach! We made our way to the La Barceloneta neighborhood, where we enjoyed the sunset vibes of the Mediterranean coast!

Icebarcelona

It was about time for a drink, but not just any drink. This time around we were going for a nice COLD drink at IceBarcelona! Located right by the beach, IceBarcelona allows you to drink inside their decorated freezer at -10 Celsius (about 14 degrees F.) We donned their parkas, put on some gloves, and headed inside for a drink- the cup was literally made out of ice!

We lasted about 45 minutes inside the freezer, but during that time our group busted out some dance moves and enjoyed a tasty drink in our frozen glasses!

I visited IceBarcelona during my college spring break trip in 2014. It was pretty cool to come back 10.5 years later with my family and realize how full circle my life of traveling has become! I also realized that my blogging journey actually started on that trip! For those who want to enjoy a little cringe-worthy reading, go back and read my first-ever blog of my week in Madrid and Barcelona! Ha! How times (and blogs...and fashion choices...and ME) have changed since my first go at this whole documenting of my travels!

Carabela Cafè

After IceBarcelona, the group split for dinner; Kelly, Jamie, Mom, and Dad visited Carabela Cafe for a Tex-Mex dinner! They also visited Barcelona's Christmas market!

Kælderkold Craft Beer Bar

Ryan, Bryan, and I were ready for some more chill time at the bar, so we visited Kælderkold Craft Beer Bar, which had a few sours on tap for me!

Suki Ramen Sapporo - Barcelona

We then hit up Ramen for dinner. For Bryan and I, this took no convincing; the pictures of the food looked amazing and the atmosphere reminded us of our "other home!" Ryan took us at our word, and we made sure to order him a plate of gyozas and tonkatsu (pot stickers and fried pork) to meet his needs! This food hit the spot and filled our souls with the taste of Japan! Spain is nice and all, but their cuisine can't come close to touching the magnificence of Japanese food!

Christmas Market in Placa Nova

Like the other part of our group, we also visited Barcelona's main Christmas market in Placa Nova. This Christmas market was slightly better than Madrid's, but still lacked the food options and drink options of a traditional German Christmas Market.

Barcelona's markets did have unique figurines for sale: the Caganers. For those who don't know, Spanish homes typically display giant nativity scenes of the entire town of Bethlehem. Each year, they visit a Christmas market to buy new additions for their family's set. I guess the closest comparison would be to the handpainted Christmas villages that we display in our homes in the States.

Anyway, in Barcelona, it is common to add one figure squatting to poop....and it can be a little boy, Santa, or even an American president. There were entire booths selling these el Caganer figurines for tons of famous sports players, Spanish officials, American politicians, worldwide celebrities, and everyone in between!

From what I've read, the Caganer figurine symbolizes fertility, good fortune, and even a touch of humor to the traditional nativity scene decorations! I also read that the figurine is meant to be a little "Where's Waldo" game for children when searching the Bethlehem scenes at other homes. (So maybe a tad bit like the Elf on the Shelf craze that has American parents dreading the month of December?)

Enough talk of pooping statues in nativity scenes! After a long, but successful, first day in Barcelona, it's time to call it a day and prepare for tomorrow's full itinerary!

December 2, 2024: Gaudi Day

If you know anything about Barcelona, you have heard of Antoni Gaudi. During yesterday's segway tour, we learned a little about the architect's lesser-known works, but today's schedule is fully dedicated to the man's impressive works around the city!

Basílica de la Sagrada Família

First up, Basílica de la Sagrada Família. This iconic church started construction in 1882 and is still under construction. Gaudi dedicated his full attention to the basilica's construction in 1915 and continued his work until his death in 1926. While not complete YET, this church is the most visited monument in Spain and is the second-most visited church in Europe after St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It may be #2 to the Vatican in visitors, but once complete, it will be the tallest Christian church in the world.

The Nativity facade was constructed between 1894 and 1930 and is the only part of the Sagrada Familia that Gaudi saw built during his lifetime. This facade is dedicated to the early years of Jesus' life and fits right in with our Christmas vibes of the trip!

While the exterior is impressive, the interior is breathtaking! We purposefully visited during morning hours, when the light hit the rainbow of stained glass and reflected colorful sunlight into the basilica.

Gaudi designed the interior to feel like you are in nature. He wanted natural-looking columns and the ceiling to resemble a forested tree top. The structure inside is sturdy but appears free-flowing and more natural. We all agreed that la Sagrada Familia is, by far, the most unique church we have visited!

Another fun fact: the true front entrance to the cathedral has yet to be built. Right now, visitors enter from the right-side Nativity facade. During our tour, we got to see the left-side facade as well. The Passion Facade was started in 1954 and completed in 1976 based on concepts left behind by Gaudi. The Passion Facade represents the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Christ and, according to Gaudi, this facade was to be “hard, bare and as if made of bones. ”

This more modern-styled facade is strikingly different when compared to the Nativity Facade. Reminding us of a more Cubist style, made famous by a fellow Spaniard, Picasso, this facade has a skeletal feel, with pillars resembling bones and expressive sculptures re-enacting the last week of Christ's life. 

Gaudi thought of everything when building this church, including the families of those building it. Between 1908 and 1909, Gaudí built the Sagrada Familia Schools on the land designated for the Gloria facade (which has yet to be built as of our visit.) This school was intended to educate the children of the workers and children living near the church, so while the parents were on-site working, the kids were on-site learning!

I've never visited a church that shared grounds with a school, let alone one with a wavy roof! Another fun fact: Gaudi realized the bricks had to be placed vertically, instead of the traditional horizontal way, in order to sustain the wavy-roof structure!

The final part of our tour was of the church's museum. We were even able to spot the "dragon" inclusion- he snuck in a lizard and a chameleon to the facade's Nativity facade during his lifetime!

Gaudi is buried in the crypt of La Sagrada Familia. We could see his tomb from up high, as the crypt is not open to the public. Gaudi was hit by a trolley and received poor hospital care when he was mistakenly taken as a homeless man. Someone eventually recognized him as the famed architect but by then it was too late to save his life.

With his death, construction slowed. The hopes were to have the Basilica completed by 2026, an entire century after his death, but between Spain's civil war and the COVID-19 pandemic, this dream has been pushed out a little farther. The plan is still to have the entire exterior facade completed by 2026 in Gaudi's honor, but additional work will still need to be done before it can be finally completed. The best guess for completion is 2030, as of now.

Chill Bar

Right around the block from the basilica was Chill Bar, and chill we did! Burgers, salads, nachos, and burritos gave us the energy we needed to continue our day!

Park Güell

Next up was Gaudi's Park! Commissioned by the businessman Eusebi Güell, Park Guell was designed to be a modernist, high-end living community surrounded by nature. While only a few model homes were built (and now are included as part of the museum grounds) this park shows Gaudi's style and futuristic design.

The Greek Theatre: Teatre grec del Parc Güell

Built between 1900 and 1914, the park was supposed to house 60 private homes that overlooked Barcelona's cityscape. By 1904, Guell and Gaudi realized that people weren't interested in expensive homes this far out of the city, and the plans started to shift.

While the living community failed, Gaudi continued to work on the public parts of the living space: the gardens. What is now known as Gaudi's Greek Theater, is a giant open space for those living in Guell's community to gather, host events, and overlook the stunning landscape. Gaudi took this dream and ran with it. His world-famous bench weaves back and forth encouraging groups to sit together and chat. He also implemented his classic tilework along the bench, leaving behind his fingerprint for lifetimes ahead.

The push towards a living community ended with the start of WWI, but Gaudi's hard work wasn't forgotten. The park was inaugurated as a public park in 1926 and is one of the most-visited tourist spots in Barcelona.

Casa del Guarda

Like all of Gaudi's work, he sneaks in "dragons," and Park Guell was no exception! The dragon head can be seen in the tilework alongside the giant lizard welcoming visitors to the main Greek theater!

Bar-Restaurant Piranya

On our way down the hillside, we stopped in Restaurant Piranya for a to-go mojito. While unclear on the set price, it was nice to have a walking drink as we made our way back to the city center.

Kafenion Barcelona

By now it was 3:00 and our morning energy was waning! The Kimble crew stopped at a Starbucks, while Bryan and I walked a block over to another small coffee shop, Kafenion Barcelona. This was probably the best coffee we had on the entire trip! With enough seating for 15 people inside, this tiny shop packed a punch in their espressos!

Casa del Llibre

Bryan and I were excited to find our Catalan copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone! I also sweet-talked him into buying another Spanish copy with a new cover design...while he argued we already have a Spanish copy, I argued that we live here and it gives us permission to have two copies of the same language in our collection!

We both left very happy! And so did Kelly and Jamie; they picked up a Spanish copy of the Bible. I love how "our people" collect books!

CocoVail Beer Hall - Craft Beer Barcelona

With some time to kill before our next ticketed entry, it was time for a beer. We go from coffee to drinks really fast- like a true Spaniard!

CocoVail Beer Hall was the perfect spot to rest and sip. With picnic tables, Happy Hour beer pitchers, and college flags covering the walls, we were happy to sit back and relax!

Casa Batlló

Originally built in 1875 as an apartment building, Casa Batlló is now famous around the world for its skeleton-faced balconies and dragon-scaled rooftop. Bought by the Batlló family in 1903, they wanted spectacular renovations and hired Gaudi to make this place truly one-of-a-kind.

While working on La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, and several other projects at the same time, Antoni Gaudi found time to design the remodel of Batllo's apartment building. Most of the design elements were focused on the ground floor, where Batllo's family would live, as well as the main stairwell, the rooftop (shared space), the first-floor patio, and the building's exterior.

Our favorite of the redesigns was definitely the roof! A fantastical, curving dragon spine can be spotted along the rooftop edge proving to all those walking by on the street that this place was another of Gaudi's designs!

While on the rooftop, we enjoyed a drink sitting around the space that was shared by all apartment tenants in the 1900s. We also marveled at the detail work surrounding the 27 chimneys! Gaudi wasn't going to let tacky chimneys dot his rooftop paradise, so they were restructured and clumped in groups before being covered in Gaudi's signature tile-work.

At the end of the tour was an immersive video of Casa Batlló's family, its residents, and the artwork that lives on through the building's walls.

Back on the street, we enjoyed the light show projected on the building's facade! It was kind of like a mini-Disney production!

Just look at that street view! Can you imagine walking by this place in the 1900s to lit-up balconies and impressive artisanship? This home-turned-museum truly is an impressive work!

La Pedrera - Casa Milà

After completing the renovation at Casa Batlló, Gaudi earned another commission by designing Pedro Milá's home as well. It helps that the Batlló family and the Milá family were close friends; when you do good work, word spreads!

Home to four older ladies who refused to sell their apartments until after their death, Casa Milá is a lesser-visited home. While not a full-blown museum like Casa Batlló, Casa Milá hosts exhibitions & concerts and plans are in place to convert it into a museum after the last remaining tenants vacate.

Don Kilo Italian Restaurant

With a full day touring Gaudi's Barcelona, it was time for a delicious dinner of Italian food! Pizzas, pasta, and wine- what more could a person want?!

Two fun-filled days in Barcelona have come to an end. Tomorrow we head out of the city for a day trip around Catalan beaches and small towns, so stay tuned!

--Katie