Afternoon/Evening of the Last Day in Barcelona

Grace had been wanting a fan so after much searching we found the perfect one for her. She was so proud.

 The back entrance of the Sagrada Familia.

Sagrada Familia was designed by Gaudi. At his death in 1926 only a quarter of the work on the Catholic cathedral was completed. The completion of the cathedral is not expected until 2026 (pictured below). Jason and I already said we will make a point to go and see the finished cathedral at that time.

 Not the best picture, but seeing the detail in the outside makes me realize how much more work has to be done to make it look like this. It is going to be a spectacular sight to see in 2026!

I love the abstract work on this side passion side of it.

 I have seen many cathedrals during our time here in Europe, but none can compare to this place. My jaw just dropped when I walked in. It is A...M...A...Z...I...N...G!

The pictures don't even do it justice. We took over 120 pictures at many angles in this place and it can't capture the beauty.

 On the other side it depicts the nativity scene. 

 Our feet were exhausted at the end of the day. So sitting back felt good at our place.

 I am so happy that we didn't eat out on our last night and decided to go to the local market and get food to eat. We had olives, salami, cheese, spanish omelet, pizza, baguette, red pepper, avocado and of course...spanish wine!

 The view from our balcony was so beautiful! 

Barcelona was a great trip to take over a long weekend. We did and saw some amazing things while we were there. Thanks to my mom for organizing it all and being our "Rick Steves" on the trip. So thankful for all the wonderful memories we made on our trip.

Morning of the Last Day in Barcelona

The last day was my favorite of the other days we spent in Barcelona. We took a short walk to Park Guell along a path that led to the back of the park. 

 On the walk to the park from the apartment we saw this man filling a bag of baguettes with water. We thought it was sort of odd and kept walking. Then we noticed he was behind us on the path and as soon as he stepped in this open area about 60 birds instantly flew down and waited for him to feed them. We nicknamed him "The Bird Man." It was a neat thing to see. There is no telling how long he has been going to that same spot to feed the birds.

 The house on the right was where Gaudi once lived for a short time. The architecture at this park was amazing!

 These benches wrapped around the park and had the gargoyle things on the end. When it rains the water drains out of the gargoyle's mouths.

 I love the curves of this area. I wish I could of had everyone move so I could get a shot with just the rock and not any tourists...but that's what you get for going in September.

 The roof of the gift shop by the entrance.

 Along the ceiling of the upper area of the park were full mosaics with big mosaic circles inside. 

 The famous mosaic lizard. A popular place to take a picture.

 We wanted to go to a tapas restaurant so one night I searched for one on trip advisor. I found this place that looked pretty good so we thought we would try it out. It was a little bit out of the way, but totally worth it!

 There were cold and hot tapas on the menu. At the end of the meal they just count how many toothpicks you had and that's how they know how much to charge on the bill. 

 Not the best picture...but wow! they were so good!

 The inside of the restaurant. This place was definitely not a place for tourists and the perfect tapas experience in Spain.

Day Two, Barcelona

Our apartment was just a walk away to the nearest subway station. Leaving was easy, but in the evenings coming back it was a steep uphill climb including a 5 flights up the stairs to the place. Not fun...but doable! 

 These kids crack me up...

They would buckle themselves in at the wheelchair part on the subway and ride the whole way like that. It made the trip so much fun from place to place.

 Every Sunday at the same time groups dance the traditional Catalan dance called the Sardana in front of the Cathedral. The dancers are serious in their hand holding dancing around thing they do. It was fun to see all the groups form as the music played.

As most cathedrals in Europe it was beautiful. This one had rules as to how you could dress upon entering. I had a sleeveless dress on so I had to put a scarf around my shoulders. They were turning people down who were wearing too short of clothing.

  

 We went to the Palau de la Música Catalana concert hall just a short walk from the Cathedral. 

It was quite expensive to go in for a tour, so outside pictures were the best for us. The mosaic on the columns and ceilings were amazing!

 These fountains were everywhere within the city. The kids loved taking advantage of the free hand washing station when they could.

 We intended to go to the Picasso Museum since it was free on Sunday...but then again so did the rest of the tourists in Barcelona. The line was ridiculously long...so we decided to shop instead. My mom and I found a great spanish pottery store where we picked up some unique pieces to take home. Jason and I do tapas nights during the weekend after the kids go to bed, so we bought some fun plates and bowls to eat off of on those nights.

 Before heading to Barceloneta we stopped at an outdoor area and had some drinks and olives. It was a good time for the kids to take a break and kick Jackson's soccer ball around.

 The beach was beautiful and crowded. The kids couldn't wait to get their swimsuits on and jump in the Mediterranean Ocean.

 Day Two was a success! Thanks to my mom for planning another fun day.