I like to think of myself as a cultured lass who likes a good museum or two. I'm definitely a city gal that loves exploring museums and architectural history. Barcelona has its fair few museums and buildings to explore. Our Air BnB was ideally located close to the Sagrada Familia. The amazing construction from the brilliant mind of Gaudi.
I had already looked into this church online and it was recommended that we book online in advance. On the morning that we decided to go, I booked an audio tour - I love me an audio tour! - but the next available slot was 2.45pm. We left early afternoon and decided to find a nice cafe to sit outside close to the church as we ended up drinking pints of Sangria and buying tacky holiday hats from a nearby souvenir shop! The church itself is an amazing architectural feat. When in Barcelona, you have to visit this church. It's like going to Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower y'know? It's an ongoing construction and is planned to be finished in 2026 - 100 years after the death of Gaudi. The church itself is funded by private donations and from the ticket sales of people coming to see the church.
It is absolutely stunning. The history, the planning, the thought behind every intricate detail of the church is astounding. We sat inside staring up at the monumental pillars holding up the roof and I felt a rush of emotion when hearing the story and being able to see it and be a part of it was really quite something.
Afterwards, we headed back to the Air BnB and I had a little siesta (mainly to sleep off all the sangria I had drunk that afternoon) and the boy arranged a catch up with one of his friends who lives in Barcelona. He is a screenwriter and had co-written movies and TV shows. He invited us to a private viewing of one of the episodes he co-wrote that was being aired on TV. We mingled with directors, actors and actresses and it was quite surreal. The show was all in Catalan but it was just amazing to be sat in the presence of such talented people. After the show finished, we were treated to some live music from the singers of the show's theme tune and some of the other tracks from the TV show. I couldn't quite believe we were in this environment and kept having to pinch myself!
The next day was the boy's birthday and in all honesty, we had messed up the dates and what we had planned for the day but he said he wanted to have a beach day. I packed some beach towels, bought some tasty food and stocked up on some water and off we went. The beach was a short metro ride away from where we were staying and it was one of the hottest days on our trip. The beaches of Barcelona are all man made having been constructed especially for the Olympics. There are many beaches of Barcelona and we settled on one of the quieter ones.
I'm not much for heat or lying on a beach but I took a book and slathered on the sunscreen and there we were for a few hours. The boy didn't want to put any sunscreen on in the attempt to get a tan. His back turned red very soon after and I quickly put some sunscreen on in a bid to prevent it from burning any more. The boy said he wanted to leave at around 4.30pm but I couldn't stand the heat any more and wanted to leave early. We ate some tasty paella and drank some Cava Sangria by the beach and headed back to the Air BnB to get ready for his birthday meal with his friend from the other night.
Poor boy ended up feeling unwell at dinner and drinks due to the sun and we had to go home early in order to bathe him in some aftersun. The result being red raw skin, blisters and second degree burns. What a happy birthday it was not.
Catch up with Barcelona Diaries Day 1 & 2 here
Vanessa
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