With France behind us, our focus turned to Barcelona, where we’d be spending the next three nights. We’d been to Barcelona once before, and there was more than enough we didn’t do the first time that it seemed worth another visit.
Upon arrival, we came to find that Barcelona shares some quirks with their Mediterranean cousins in Italy. We’d had trouble booking train tickets from Barcelona to Cádiz (our next destination) online, so we decided to wait until we got to the station to take care of it. Rookie move. Not only had we unknowingly planned our trip into southern Spain during its big-deal holy week, Semana Santa, but we’d also not realized that they apparently can’t sell us anything but same-day tickets at the station on the weekend, which still seems slightly insane to me. Mind you, this is the main train hub in the sixth biggest city in Europe. The only open ticket counters sent me to the information desk, where the clerk’s eyes widened with horror when I explained I was trying to get three tickets to Cádiz for later that week. His initial assessment was that we were S.O.L., but after some digging, found one option remaining. He informed me, though, that I couldn’t purchase them there. After I explained that the other counters had directed me to him, and that I’d been unable to book online, he said to try the same-day counter again and explain my situation, and if that didn’t work, I’d have to wait until Monday, two days later. Well, it didn’t work, and waiting two days felt like playing with fire. With transit to Cádiz a hot ticket, we ended up finding cheap airfare to Cádiz and called it good so we could focus on enjoying Barcelona.
The food was fantastic like before, but this trip was a much better culinary experience for Erin, who’d been a vegetarian last time around. Spain isn’t the easiest place to eat well as a vegetarian (I’m surprised they don’t season their pork with more pork), but now that she’s incorporated seafood in her diet, it wasn’t so limiting. There were a couple standout meals, one at a modernist tapas bar with some pretty inventive dishes, and the other at a seafood restaurant that was hilariously empty the entire time we were there because we ate at noon, which is extremely early for Barcelonans. We also ducked into a xurreria (a Spanish churro eatery) one evening and had a plate full of churros to dip in melted Spanish chocolate, Crema Catalana, and a different, thicker, custard-like cream that the English menu just called “curd.” ‘Twas yummy.
For our first full day, we decided to take a half-day trip to Girona, about 40 minutes northeast of Barcelona by train. Girona was decidedly quieter than Barcelona, but filled with fantastic architecture and picturesque cobblestone alleyways. In the middle of town, the colorful buildings that reflect off the Onyar River provide a lively contrast to the stark, off-white Gothic structures that dominate the skyline.
After awkwardly passing a carp orgy in the river (those amorous fish were freaking out the ducks nearby) and crossing one of Girona’s many interesting bridges, we dropped into Rocambolesc, one of Spain’s most famous gelaterias. Rocambolesc is the product of one of the brothers behind El Celler de Can Roca, two-time Best Restaurant in the World. They specialize in weird confections, like a popsicle molded from the owner’s nose, and another one shaped like Jaime Lannister’s golden hand. We opted for panets, which are basically custom-made, brioche ice cream sandwiches. They take gelato and toppings of your choice, place them between the halves of a brioche, and then fuse the halves together in a heat press. Truthfully, I found the gelato to be on the soupy side by the time I got to it, but it was still quite delicious.
We wandered deeper through town before doing a self-guided Game of Thrones tour of Girona’s old town. Girona’s distinctive architecture lured the Game of Thrones team to base a number of the show’s settings in Girona, most notably some of the scenes of the Great Sept of Baelor, but also Braavos and the Citadel. The Catedral de Girona (the Sept of Baelor) is undoubtedly the gem of the bunch; a number of the other filming locations are unremarkable or heavily CGI’ed in post-production. Even if you’re not a fan of the show, the Catedral is worth seeing, as is the nearby Basílica de Sant Feliu.
Day two, Erin was wanting a relaxed morning, so I decided to check out one of Antoni Gaudí’s buildings on my own while she slept in. My plans to visit Gaudí’s Casa Batlló were tanked when I learned that the entire façade was under restoration. While still open to the public, there were enough mixed reviews of its mid-restoration status that I chose to pass on it. Someday down the line, perhaps. Instead, I opted to visit another prominent Gaudí building, Casa Mila.
It was lovely, though I wished I’d made plans far earlier so that I could’ve done one of the early entry sessions; my experience has really taught me that if you can visit a heavily trafficked landmark early, do it. The lack of a crowd makes a world of difference, both photo-wise and atmospherically. I’m not a morning person at all, but haven’t regretted the handful of times I’ve pulled myself out of bed early to catch a sight at sunrise. In any case, the roof of Casa Mila was full of great examples of Gaudí’s sculptural style, and on the lower floors, you get to tour one of the huge apartments he designed.
I returned to Erin and Emilia to grab lunch, then we caught a cab to Park Güell, another Gaudí gem. Stupidly, we did not realize advance tickets were necessary for Park Güell, so sadly, we were unable to get in. The next available entry wouldn’t be until the next evening, when we’d already be gone. We’d been in on our previous trip, but were a bit bummed not to be able to show it to Emi. We made the most of it and explored the free portion around the main part, which still has some cool bits and pieces to see.
Next up, we headed to the Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s crowning glory; this one, thankfully, I’d booked ahead of time. For those unfamiliar, the Sagrada Família has been under construction since 1882 (that’s not a typo). It’s supposedly set for completion in a decade or so, but I’ll believe it when I see it.
Even with all the cranes and scaffolding, it is a sight to behold. The whole building looks like it was designed by aliens. The outside is encrusted with a jumble of organic-looking sculptural elements and capped with eight spires that dominate the landscape. Inside, a sprawling spectrum of stained glass covers the interior with a radiant, rainbow tapestry, while surreal forms rise from floor to ceiling. Emilia’s jaw literally dropped when she laid eyes upon it. Like Park Güell, Erin and I had visited before, but seeing through Emilia’s eyes was an added treat for us. It’s my favorite church of the many we’ve visited in Europe; there’s nothing else like it. Hopefully we’ll get to return again someday when the whole thing has been completed.
With a successful stay Barcelona in the books, we boarded a plane the next morning and set off for destination #4, Cádiz.
