Barcelona is a lively city full of history, fun tapas bars, gorgeous beaches, and some of the coolest modern architecture that we have ever seen. From Roman times to Columbus to Gaudi, the city is a treasure trove of historical sights and interesting architecture.
Corinthian columns from the Roman Temple of Augustus where Romans founded Barcino around 15 B.C.
Via Augusta, a 2000-year-old Roman road lined with tombs leading into the port town
Monument to Christopher Columbus, who came to Barcelona in 1493 after his American journey
Cathedral of Barcelona dating from the 14th century with a 19th century Neo-Gothic façade
Sant Sebastià Beach in the Barceloneta neighborhood
Font Màgica (Magic Fountains) music and lights show in the Montjuïc neighborhood
With so many neighborhoods with distinct personality, a person can spend a long time here and still not see everything. Although we tried to see a wide range of sites in the city, our focus was definitely on the architectural works of Gaudi. After seeing numerous European cities with lots of history and old cathedrals, we were excited for something completely unique that can only be seen here. Of course the food in Barcelona is also a highlight. After so many great food experiences throughout Spain during this trip and our past vacation, we were excited to share our love for Spanish cuisine with a visitor. Yay! We finally had our first visitor during our second loop around the world.
We’ve been bouncing around faster this year and without much advance planning making it hard for friends or family to meet up. Jimmy’s mom, Olga, has been wanting to visit us abroad for awhile, so we made sure to finish our time in Europe in Barcelona because that was a place she wanted to visit.
GAUDI AND MODERNISME
Antoni Gaudi is considered the father of Modernisme, which was an art and architecture movement in the late 19th and early 20th century. Gaudi was inspired by nature and religion to create his beautiful yet functional buildings.
Our first stop was at Casa Milà, one of Gaudi’s trademark works built between 1906 and 1912. Originally built for the wealthy Milà family, Casa Milà is now an exclusive apartment building with certain floors open to the public with exhibits to learn more about Gaudi and his concepts. The undulating stone façade and wrought-iron balconies on the front were unconventional at the time. This rough look earned the building its nickname, La Padrera, or “open quarry”.
The attic is composed of 270 parabolic arches of varying heights that allowed for the varied topography of the rooftop terrace. As mentioned previously, Gaudi drew from nature for inspiration as is evident by the rooftop that looks like rolling hills and the attic that looks like the ribs of an animal.
The undulating, jaw-dropping rooftop terrace is quite possibly the most impressive aspect of the whole building and makes you feel as if you have stepped into another world.
The sculptures on the rooftop are not only beautiful but also functional. The stepped roof has six skylight/staircase exits with some of them covered in broken pottery and marble and 28 chimneys in multiple groupings. The chimneys have been nicknamed “the garden of warriors” because they look like helmets protecting the skylight domes.
One of the chimneys is covered with glass pieces, which supposedly came from the celebratory bottles from the inauguration party.
He even designed arches that highlighted his other works in the distance, including his magnum opus, the Sagrada Familia.
The Sagrada Familia was the highlight of our second day of exploration. We have seen a lot of cathedrals and nothing is quite like this modern one. The cathedral is awe-inspiring even though it is still under construction.
Elements of nature are even more obvious in this Gaudi design. The side doors are covered in leaves, lizards, and insects.
The lower spires are topped with wheat and grapes symbolizing the holy communion.
Inside, the columns look like trees from the rainforest complete with branches, leaves, and knots.
Gorgeous stained class windows let in light through blues, greens, and other cool colors in the morning and reds, oranges, and warm tones in the evening.
The Holy Family (or Sagrada Familia) is to whom this church is dedicated, and the facades tell the story of Jesus Christ. Olga’s favorite façade was the Nativity Façade.
Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus in a manger are above the doorway, which is flanked by shepherds on one side and the three wise men on the other side. Facing the rising sun, this façade is inspired by life, birth, and happiness with animals and plants used as decorations around the important biblical figures. This façade was the only one finished before Gaudi’s death in 1926.
Jimmy and I really liked the Passion façade. In stark contrast to the Nativity façade, sharp lines and edges were used to create a grim, somber scene that tells the story of Christ’s betrayal, whipping, crucifixion, and burial.
Although not completed in Gaudi’s lifetime, the artist followed his sketches and vision of a dark, terrifying scene. As a nod to Gaudi, he fashioned the helmets of the warriors after the chimneys on La Padrera.
Gaudi definitely pushed the envelope with his unconventional, slightly crazy designs. I think one of the reasons we liked his architectural works so much more than other modern architecture is that you feel as if you have just stepped into a Tim Burton film.
Gaudi designed the dragon-inspired roof and the façade of Casa Batlló, which is just a few blocks away from La Padrera. Gaudi also designed an upscale housing development. The community was never fully developed, so the city ended up turning it into a lovely park called Park Güell. The entry gate to the park looks like a giant gingerbread house.
Fancy walkways, pretty terraces, and interesting buildings can be found throughout the park. Some of the walkways are reminiscent of Roman aquaducts.
From parks to churches to apartment buildings, Gaudi’s influence can be seen all around Barcelona, and we must admit that although we are usually hard to impress when it comes to modern art and architecture, Gaudi and his unique style totally lived up to the hype.
TAPAS AND PAELLA
You better believe that between all these architectural highlights we made sure to find some awesome food for Olga. Of course, we started with a few tapas bars to be able to sample a broad range of food and to show her the tapas culture. I think she had as much fun as we do perusing the offerings on the bar and sampling new treats.
We stopped into La Boqueria a few times. This outdoor covered market has tons of stalls selling fresh fruits and vegetables, breads, tapas, and meats. We did a couple meat taste tests comparing the different varieties of jamón (ham) and chorizo. We were surprised by the drastic difference in the flavor of the jamón just because the pig was fed acorns instead of a traditional diet.
Olga could not get enough of the Spanish chorizo. Some of the best chorizo that we sampled was at Taverna Basca Irati.
At this tapas bar, the hot tapas were passed around periodically by waitresses. While Olga was devouring all the chorizos, I was crushing the shrimp and cheese croquettes.
Our waitress was awesome and made sure to hook us up multiple times with our favorites.
Tapas are always a good time, but we couldn’t leave Spain without taking Olga out for a nice sit-down dinner of paella. Jimmy found a restaurant named L’Arrosseria Xàtiva that specializes in rice dishes and had over 30 options. We struggled picking out a couple to share from the plethora of choices, but we definitely ended up with two winners – a black rice (squid-ink) with squid, clams, and shrimp and then a typical seafood blend paella with shrimp, monkfish, and octopus.
Two thumbs up for Barcelona with great food, lots of history, and imaginative architecture. Spending time with Jimmy’s mom in Barcelona and sharing with her our love for food and travel was a great way to wrap up our time in Europe.
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