The whole time I was in Barcelona, I was singing along to “Barcelona” by Ed Sheeran, which honestly captured the vibe of Barcelona perfectly. Before traveling to the UK, I never thought I would end up in Spain, let alone Barcelona, but Spain is one of Sam’s favorite places to travel, therefore, we had to go. Barcelona was the first city on our Spanish adventure, therefore it holds a very special place in my heart. We walked an absurd 31.2 thousand steps during our one full day in Barcelona, needless to say, we saw everything there is to see in Barcelona. Our day began at 7 AM when we woke up, we quietly got ready in our hostel which housed six other girls, and we took off for the day. Our first destination was La Sagrada Família, the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world (it will be the largest once it is finished). The church has been in construction since 1882 and it plans to finally be finished in 2026. It is amazing that such a colossal and breathtaking building will be finished in our lifetime. Although we did not go inside La Sagrada Família, we explored the outside and walked the grounds. Photos of this building do not do it justice as it is so detailed and massive. Anyways, the second thing on our list was to check out Antoni Gaudí's work around the city. Gaudí is a prevalent architect in Barcelona who not only designed the Sagrada Família, but several other buildings in Barcelona. Although he has been dead for almost a century, his work still holds important landmarks in Barcelona. I love his work and how he combines stained glass, fluidity, color, and neo-gothic architecture to create unique pieces of work. We were unable to visit Park Güell, where most of his work resides, but we were able to see Casa Batllo which is a beautiful depiction of Gaudi’s work. After that, we explored the coastal portion of Barcelona including the beach, Port Vell, and Park Montjuic which were all lovely. The weather was also gorgeous while we were there, as it was in the high 60s. To finish the day, we went to the Barcelona Mercado, which I mentioned in detail in my blog about food in Spain, we visited the Barcelona Cathedral which was breathtaking, and we hiked up to Las Tres Cruces, where we watched the sunset over the city. Overall, Barcelona was a vibrant adventure, and I am glad it was my first stop in Spain, as it excited me for the adventures ahead.
