After a late breakfast at home, we headed out in the rain on our bicycles, first to Palau Güell. That thing that happens when cars drive through puddley streets and splash the dirtiest water conceivable onto everyone on the sidewalk happened so many times to all the people around us. We rode through beautiful plazas, streets and parks. Barcelona wins for having a multitude of wonderful public parks.
Traveling with Todd is the best because we just do whatever strikes us. It took us forever to get to this particular market because we stopped at cute shops, stopped to get chocolate and pastries, stopped to ride down cute side streets, stopped to look at a gorgeous Catalan Gothic style church, etc. Todd is also my best travel buddy because he loves art and discussing it as much as I do. Perfect husband.
We made it to the Mercato de Santa Catarina, which originally was a monastery from the 13th century. It was demolished in the 19th century and turned into a market. You could see the medieval level below ground level. It is such an interesting, layered building with ancient, medieval, 19th century and modern layers. You can see architectural pieces and elements from each era and somehow it works together as one whole. We also bought fried fish croquettes, gouda and asiago from the market.
By the mid afternoon the sun came out and we rode to the Parc de la Ciutadella. We spent hours there because of the various buildings within the park and the humongous fountain complete with sculptures. The fountain looked all Baroque-y and dramatic with it's Venus coming out of her shell and horses galloping out of the greenery and moss. It had gilding and layers of waterfalls and a large staircase on both sides and was surrounded by so many trees. Have I mentioned that Barcelona is covered in trees? It's a jungle city compared to any urban area I've ever seen.
We went shopping for Todd downtown and found him a coat at Pull&Bear. Good thing Todd's and my favorite hobbies are eating out, looking at art and shopping. What would I do with a husband who loved video games, or sports? Be by myself all the time? Travel to Europe without him? Anyway, we stopped in a cafe to get hot chocolate which is always the best decision in Spain and Italy because it is liquid-chocolate-melt you eat with a spoon. There are so many adorable streets, shops and vistas here and I have enjoyed Barcelona much more than I had ever anticipated.
After our hot chocolate cafe break we biked to La Sagrada Familia around 9pm. I am so happy important buildings are alight here at night. The night lighting made if even more dramatic. We biked fast enough to make our reservation by 10 o'clock. In fact, while we were locking up our bikes, the local church bell chimed 10. We only had to wait a few minutes for our table to clear, and our food was really good. It seemed like a really hip, happening place, but also full of American tourist. We got some really good ceviche with fried turnips as our appetizer, I got parmesan risotto, and Todd ordered duck but was given a ribeye steak instead. Everyone is up so late here! I guess if we all took siesta we would be up late too. We're not ready to leave Barcelona yet, but our plans are set and our apartment in Madrid awaits.
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