Ok, blogging from memory! Hoping the photos are more interesting because I’m not the best writer. ;)
The view from our AirBnB spot
Our first stop was Barcelona. Back when we booked this trip we didn’t know much about Spain/Portugal we just knew we wanted to see this area of Europe. In our minimal amount of planning/preparation we arrived in Barcelona totally unprepared about visiting this city! Our flight landed after midnight, we made it to our AirBnB apartment just fine, ventured out for a few hours and was so surprised that everyone was out at 2am. The next day we woke up and it was Palm Sunday, surprise! Spain is uber-Catholic.
Palm Sunday festivities
Walking through a shopping area on Palm Sunday, Barcelona.
It was fun to see the parades and imagine Jesus riding through town on his humble donkey…
Jesus and his golden throne…
….mounted on a golden throne and police escorted.
With a marching band to boot. Come on, people! :)
We really enjoyed the walk-ability of Barcelona. The streets have lots of trees and public park areas. We saw people jogging everywhere we went. The city is bordered by water and mountains, so there is such an outdoorsy feel.
Looking down at the city.
Alex the Adventurer :)
We also went on a hiking trail that our AirBnB hosts recommended. It was really nice and the farthest thing from touristy. I can imagine using it a lot if I lived in Barcelona.
The old school funicular we rode to go up to the hiking trail.
We did venture into the very touristy areas. It was fun because there were lots of street performers, yummy foods, etc.
Youtube “Human hooping” or something like that to check out these guys!
COOLEST STREET PERFORMERS EVER!
They’re spinning all around, both holding onto this same hoop!
Mmm, street food is the best food.
We hadn’t looked up events but there seemed to be something happening on every block! Apart from the everyday markets, vendors and street performers, we also saw a cool flea market. A few, actually. We liked this one cause it was lots of young people in an abandoned lot, plus they had free ping pong. So cool, Barcelona! :)
Flea Market + Ping Pong
The Goodwill-inspired flea market.
All fun looking people and things.
Alex, record shopping :)
We went to the Barcelona Beer Festival! It was another surprise event in this crazy cool city. It was held in the Maritime Museum and when we went it wasn’t too crowded.
Glass/Tokens
You paid to get in and they give you a glass + 2 tokens. Most of the beers were 2 or maybe 3 tokens and you could buy more inside the festival. I gave Alex my tokens :)
Alex, reading the beer “map” of all the taps.
A list of taps
Loved all the streets, squares, etc. I loved this public art activity happening near the Arc de Triumph…
Ok, here are a few pictures around the city:
Streets and squares
Fun cafe
Other great things about BCN include: Park Guell! It’s gorgeous! The park is no longer free and they only sell a limited number of tickets per hour. I think it was 8 € each. We had to wait a few hours for our time slot, so plan ahead!
I really enjoyed seeing the tile work, and it’s always fun to see famous things.
Took a few pictures of this guy…
We spent three nights in Barcelona, with the first and last being short nights because of airport going/coming. But we had lots of fun in the time we spent touring. Definitely the Gaudi influence was fun to see and the churros were fun to eat but I think we both enjoyed the city as itself.
There you have it! Enough pictures? :) Those are only the ones from my camera! So many more on my phone! :)
Lisbon is up next–hopefully later this week. In the real world, Alex and I are house sitting and getting ready to wrap up our time in Istanbul. Yikes!
Lydia
this turkish life 