Barcelona definitely runs on “European” time. Most stores are closed on Mondays, breakfast happens around 10am, lunch from 2-4pm, and dinner from 8-10pm. I must admit, it was very easy getting used to that schedule!
On our first day, we all ended up sleeping in and didn’t do much. We did go out and explore a bit, and found ourselves down by the beach. The girls said the water wasn’t too cold, but I’m not sure I believe them!
I think Barcelona is such a beautiful city! The architecture is gorgeous, and they do a beautiful job of blending old buildings with new ones. Of course, Antoni Gaudi’s designs are all over and so very interesting. We decided to take a Bus Tour around the city, and got a 2-Day pass. It came in very handy to get around to various places we wanted to see. And it was actually quite informative along the way!
We didn’t get a chance to go into Casa Batllo unfortunately. The day we tried, they were sold out of tickets!! But we saw it from the outside.
This was the train station…
The marina, and some of the beachfront:
All the streets and shops were decorated for Christmas. They all had individual decorations, but I forgot to take pictures of them! I did get this one:
Las Ramblas….talk about tons of people!! And amazing shopping!
And one of the main interests we had while we were in Barcelona was the FOOD!! Can we say TAPAS!?! Yum! We definitely had some mouth-watering meals while we were there. And we tried some new things too! Some went over really well…Catalonian chocolate lips, prawns, and octopus
Others…not so much!! (We didn’t try this!)
We learned a lot, and saw a lot, and still have so much more to see whenever we return in the future! Because we definitely want to go back!
From Here to There - A Move Across an Ocean 