March - Barcelona, Spain
This year`s visit was my third time to Spain so I decided to mix things up and visit a place I`d heard much about ... Barcelona! My travels continued by heading east from Cadiz and Granada (see previous post) to this modern and architecturally interesting city packed with delicious restaurants and an active nightlife!
En route from Granada to Barcelona
Shortly after arriving I met with two friends from home (Victoria, Canada), Jackson, of Jackson's Ice Cream Float fame, and his good friend and international businessman, George. We spent the next week exploring the sites of this lively city and enjoyed taking in the cafes (including those along the famous Las Ramblas!), tapas (the best ever at Lolita Taperia!) and the fascinating architecture scattered throughout the city. I especially enjoyed the magic of wandering around and through Gaudi's wonderful creations including Casa Mila or La Pedrera, Casa Batlló , La Sagrada Familia and
Park Güell.
In addition to exploring in Barcelona, Jackson, and I spent one of our last days, in the hills, at the Benedictine retreat of Montserrat. We took the train one hour northwest of Barcelona and then rode the cable car to the monastery retreat in the hills. In Montserrat we learned about the history of the retreat, visited and touched the black madonna, contemplated the beautiful architecture of the monastery buildings and purchased delicious locally produced cheese and honey from small market stalls.
What a wonderful week spent taking in the culture of this fascinating city! Following are some photos* highlighting my time in Barcelona :)
*Unfortunately, my camera batteries died just as we were ascending Montserrat in the cable car so I have also included photos taken by Jackson during our travels
Views around Barcelona
Casa Mila also known as La Pedrera - by Gaudi - views around and inside
Casa Batlló
We also saw what appeared to be a car commercial being filmed on the road below us one morning from our hotel room!
Views in and around Park Güell
La Sagrada Familia ... a church like no other!
