First Day in Barcelona

My first impressions of Barcelona – it’s beautiful and it’s busy. The architecture is different than anything I’ve seen anywhere. The Sagrada Familia cathedral is right across the street from us and it takes my breath away every time I step out the door and look up. We bought Sagrada tickets and are doing an official tour tomorrow morning so will talk about it more then.

We had booked a three hour morning bike tour that we cancelled in the throws of our delayed start knowing that after 36 hours of little sleep – a bike tour may be more than we were ready for, on day one. So after a good sleep and a nice walk for crepes and coffee, we settled for a double decker bus tour instead. It was a sunny warm, sweater only day, perfect for a top of the bus outside tour. We really enjoyed it. It covered all of the Barcelona highlights from the port and the beaches, up the hill to the castle, the famous soccer stadium, all of the gorgeous Gaudi designed buildings and gave us our first glimpse of the famous Ramblas Street. We could get off and walk at any stop and walk we did. We walked miles and I’m not a great walker but it’s amazing that when you are looking and not walking for the sake of walking – you don’t notice the miles (until you get back to your place and sit for awhile) I’ll admit my feet and back are feeling their age!!

We found a great Tapas bar close by and had a delicious supper of Sangria and different plates of Tapas that we shared – cod croquettes, patatas bravas (delicious fried potatoes served with 2 toppings poured over, an onion dish that was awesome and a plate of delicious olives! On the way home we stopped at a little market and bought fresh oranges and strawberries. Yum. Tired (and a bit sore) but happy.