I think that by the time I went to Barcelona, I was tired. I had done several short trips to European cities that had been on my list and Barcelona happened simply because I had never been. Now looking back, I regret not seeing more of Barcelona and exploring beyond the hop on and hop off bus, which I admittedly didn’t hop off, and walking around my hotel. On my first day, I looked like a typical tourist, armed with a map from the hotel where they had circled several ‘must see’ tourist attractions that were within walking distance. As I wandered in the streets, suddenly very conscious that I was very lost, a kind old man stopped and I want to say asked me in Spanish if I was lost and needed help. We somehow managed to work out that I was looking for the famous Basilica de la Sagrada Familia which is the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world. It soon became evident that we had a serious communication problem so he decided to take me to Basilica de la Sagrada Familia and chatted in Spanish to me the whole way, I had no idea what he was saying but I appreciated his effort. I must admit when I saw it, I was underwhelmed, it seemed very much still under construction and there were hoards of people lining up to go in. This certainly wasn’t on my agenda and I had assumed it was yet another beautiful old cathedral where I could go in and light a candle and say a prayer. I later discovered that Basilica de la Sagrada Familia was designed by the talented Antoni Gaudi and the city was full of his beautiful work. That night I took a walk and was delighted to see more of his work which looked simply breathtaking at night. With this in mind, I made my way back to Basilica de la Sagrada Familia the next day and noticed the beautiful sculpted detail and figures. I couldn’t believe that I had almost dismissed this magnificent piece of art because it wasn’t finished. Truly a work of art and possibly worth a trip back to Barcelona.
At the time, my airline sponsored FC Barcelona so I had to take a trip to the stadium and this was just to say I had been there. It would have made more sense if I had watched a home game but I’m not that big of a fan. I did get to walk along the lovely beach, have great sangria and an actual paella which was delicious. Despite me being very tired on this trip, I did experience the kindness and warmth of the people of Barcelona.
