Our last day and half in Barcelona was jam packed! On our last full day, Audrey and I started off the morning by finding a great little pastry shoppe! Delicious!
We then opted for some shopping and strolling around the center city streets to see what we could find. We found a tiny shop owned by a woman who either handmade or designed everything in the shop. I selected a wrap skirt with Spanish flair for my Nutter Butter and Audrey found some very intricately beaded earrings. The shop was a good find. And in the back of the shop was this winding staircase that I had to snap a photo of! We then made our way down to Placa de Catalunya which was a central square that housed several fountains and historical sculptures as well as a ton of pigeons and one crazy pigeon lady that was allowing pigeons to land on her arms! I didn't get a photo of her but it was a little much!
We continued meandering through narrow streets. Apparently we found the street with all of the vintage clothing shops. There are little shops everywhere with people living in the floors above. Almost every building here looks historical and they are just so beautiful. I guess if you grow up around it, you get used to it and maybe take it for granted. But I just kept being surprised by all of the beautiful architecture.
It was time to head back to our apartment to prep for our Go Car tour. Audrey had seen these little yellow cars zipping down the street the day before and instantly wanted to try it. Yes, it is definitely a tourist trap, but honestly, it sounded fun. So we called them up and asked what was involved or required and booked the tour. Y'all, I seriously can not believe we were allowed to do this. I am just going to say that no large city in America would have allowed this! We arrived, showed them our driver's license, signed a waiver because it wasn't an international license, went through a tutorial on the little electric scooter cars and were allowed to take off... for 3 hours! On the city street of Barcelona!!
Poor guy - he did not have enough room for his long legs!!
Each car is a GPS guided tour. You follow the mapped out route on the GPS screen of the car just like in a normal size car and when you pass certain landmarks, the recorded tour gives you facts and info about the place or building or city people and their histories. It gave a lot of great information and took us places that we hadn't thought of going. You could get out at any stop or didn't even have to follow the tour at all if you didn't want to! Overall, it was incredibly fun and adventurous (I was in the car with Audrey behind the wheel!!) as well as informative! Well worth it, even if we did play the part of crazy turistas!
Some sites from our Go Car Tour...
These trees were everywhere. They yellow blooms were so pretty and also created a blanket of yellow on the ground.
These trees were everywhere too. Their bark was striking. I dubbed them the camouflage trees.
I love snapping pics of everyday life.
If this looks familiar, you may have seen shots during the 1992 Olympics. This was the Olympic Park area.
Formerly the Bullring in Barcelona but now is converted to host concerts.
Sagrada Familia in the distance. It's just that imposing!!
More everyday life - I love this one!
Top of the Art Museum
A rare example of contemporary architecture
After the Go Car tour, we headed to Park Güell to see Gaudi's incredible mosaics. It was stunning! I can't even imagine how long and laborious the process of creating these were! Soooo many pieces of tile. And his curves in the architecture are so unique!
Gaudi's Sagrada Familia can be see in the distance
Next, we had tickets to Sagrada Familia, another of Gaudi's masterpieces. He began the basilica in 1882 and it is still undergoing construction today with hopes of being completed by 2026. They did face a delay in construction due to Covid so it may take even longer. I can't really describe to you, nor do the pictures portray the amazing structure this is. I love art and architecture but I have never really had either evoke really strong emotion in me. But when I walked into this structure, my mouth dropped open and a giant lump caught in my throat and tears were close. I have no idea why! I can only explain that is was just that grand! So incredibly incredible!!
The Passion Facade
We went up the right middle tower and onto the bridge in between the two middle towers.
Upon completion the basilica will have 18 towers - 1 for each disciple, 1 for the Virgin Mary, 1 for each of the 4 evangelists and 1 for Christ - making up the Holy Family or Sagrada Familia.
The tower with star on top is the Virgin Mary tower
Opposite this stained glass display was a mirror image except for the colors. If you start in the left side of this photo and turned all the way around to the right the stained glass colors follow the light spectrum - RoyGBiv
The color was amazing!
The inscription details!
A view from one of the towers
Looking down through the stairs of the tower. Thankfully, an elevator took us up! We only had to take the stair down.
Such amazing detail on the doors!
Gaudi constructed this schoolhouse on the property for the children of the temple workers.
Afterward, we grabbed a bite to eat then Audrey and I headed espadrille shopping. I won't tell how many pairs of handmade espadrilles we came home with! Let's just say Carolina was an excellent salesperson! Audrey had a custom pattern woven onto hers with ribbons. We learned that the patterns woven with ribbons each represent different parts of Spain.
On our final day, our flight wasn't leaving until 3:00 pm so we stopped by the nearby LEGO store to see the display and then had time in the morning to stroll down La Rambla, supposedly the most popular street in Barcelona. The interior median of the street is lined with local artist, local flower booths, chintzy souvenir stands and the like. At night, it seemed to turn into Canal St. in NYC with locals spreading blankets and selling fake purses. Also along the street is a local market filled with so much delicious looking food! We opted for some fresh watermelon and the covered strawberries! Yum!
Interior lobby shot of our Barcelona apartment
La Rambla
There were these meat - predominantly pork - shops everywhere
The hedgehog shaped chocolates caught my eye
Potato Chips!
At the end of La Rambla is the Christopher Columbus statue and just beyond is the marina filled with sailboats and yachts of all sizes. We walked along the marina making our way to the Gothic quarter to go back and pick up Audrey's custom espadrilles.
Along the way we found a very cute shop called Carolina Blue. We picked up a few gifts and I asked the shop owner how she came up with the name of the shop. She said, "I am Carolina and my son's name is Tomas Blue. So the shop is named after me and my son." Then she promptly added in her Spanish accent, without either Audrey or me saying a word, "I am not from North Carolina!" We laughed and said "Oh, but we are!!" She stated that she has so many Americans ask her the question that she Googled Carolina Blue. She then realized why so many Americans ask her about it! Finally, upon Carolina's recommendation and proclamation that they were the best croissants in the city, we walked across the street to Hoffman's to try them! They were in fact so incredibly good, that I didn't even snap a pic!! We ate them too fast!
Our time in Spain was up! I so enjoyed making these memories with our Doodlebug! We grabbed a taxi and headed to the airport to begin the long journey home. Would I go back? Absolutely!
