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We made it into Barcelona two days ago just fine. Our hotel, the Hotel Montecarlo, is located right on the La Rambla, which is the main avenue going down the center of the city. The hotel was a nice surprise since the room was a large suite with lots of niceties and a balcony looking out over La Rambla. Plus free internet access right in the room. That may sound geeky, but it makes it really easy to look up information such as bus routes and store and museum hours. Previously, we’d been trying to find free wifi where we could in Nice and Paris.

Most of La Rambla is a single lane of traffic going in each direction, split by a very wide pedestrian area. The pedestrian area is the main walking throughfare for the city and there are many cafes, stands selling birds as pets, street actors, pirated music and movie vendors, and so on located there. It makes for great people-watching.

The weather here has been near perfect. On the warm side, but not humid, and very sunny. We both went shopping the first day here and bought shorts and sandals since we had packed expecting the weather to be cooler. One thing we both noticed about the city is how green it is. Paris has areas with grass and there are lots of trees along the avenues, but Barcelona just feels greener and more open. The squares feel larger in general, and overall, the city feels younger and more modern, yet it’s a great city to relax in. The pace seems a little less hectic here. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of people all around at any given time. Just that they seem to enjoy where they are at that moment instead of rushing to get somewhere else.

We again purchased tickets for a double-decker bus tour that allows on and off privileges. Makes for a great way to see more of the city. We saw most of the sites you could expect to see in Barcelona, including the Sagrada Familia, which is Antonio Gaudi’s uncompleted cathedral. It is an amazing building, but I don’t know if I was more surprised by how ‘under-construction’ it still is, or amazed by what has been accomplished so far. I believe the expected completion is in 2030, and it’s possible to see how that could be. Work is slow both due to funding and having to work around tourists. But, all the funding is from tourists and churchgoers, so it’s a necessary relationship. It was incredible to see something on par with the likes of Notre Dame while it is being built though. Hopefully we’ll get to see it when it is completed.

Today is our last day in Europe. We going to visit Europe’s largest aquarium on Barcelona’s bay and the Picasso Museum. The large, gothic church, the Barri Gotic, appears to be completely ensconced in scaffolding, so we may not spend a lot of time there. After that, a little shopping, and then we’ll take the day as it comes. Our flight to Milan and then to Chicago leaves very early in the day on Monday, so this will be the last update from our trip.

Pictures of Barcelona so far are in the gallery. See you soon.