I didn't have much expectation for this trip. I just wanted to leave it free and easy. Yet, it has turned out to be a truly enjoyable trip! I thank God for May Gee's company and also for keeping us safe in Barcelona (I was a bit worried and comprehensive at first about our safety. I thank God for keeping watch over us and thanks for your prayers too!).
We left on Sat morning..really early. Woke up at 4am to catch a 730am flight. Didn't get to sleep at all the night before coz I was staying over at May Gee's place and I was not very used to the bed. :) We reached Barcelona at around 1030am local time and then we made our way to our hotel. We had a bit of a problem trying to locate our hotel coz the Barcelona map did not show the names of all the streets and hence it made the search difficult. But thanks to God, we managed to reach the hotel after a few wrong turns and after asking a couple of uncles and aunties along the way. By the time we reached our room, we were tired and hungry. Nevertheless, after a short rest, we set off for our itinerary for the day.
Barcelona was hot (compared to grey and windy London). We first went to 2 of the works of Gaudi (Barcelona is very much about Gaudi and his architectural designs and works) - Casa Mila and Temple of the Sagrada Familia (the Church that never gets completed). Although I know little of architecture, I find Gaudi's style interesting - very different from the normal structured form of architecture, bold use of curves and imageries, leaving a lot of room for your imagination. :) The Temple of the Sagrada Familia is the icon of Barcelona, and the most well-known of his works. It didn't get completed due to lack of funding and also coz Gaudi died before he managed to complete this project... but today, the construction is continuing, though it is estimated to take another 40 years to complete. :)
Casa Mila
Temple of Sagrada Familia
After sightseeing, May Gee and I went shopping! The second thing about Barcelona to me was Zara and Mango! hahaha... and I am very glad to have made some bargain purchases there! You should see the big shopping bags May Gee and I got... We went for a walk along La Rambla after shopping and then went back to the hotel. We were dead tired by then...
So, we slept for over 11 hours and woke up at around 11am local time on Sun. We planned to visit the Olympic Village (Barcelona hosted the Olympic Games in 1992) and then go shopping in the afternoon. I was a bit disappointed when we reached the Olympic Village coz the Stadium was undergoing renovation. :( But we had a stroll around that area leisurely and it was a relaxing afternoon (we got to see the finals of a maranthon too!). We went to the Barcelona Cathedral subsequently. This time, it is a gothic architecture. I don't really like gothic architecture coz it often gives me an unexplained feeling of unease. But nonetheless, it was a beautiful piece of work. :)
After that, we were all ready to embark on our shopping spree! BUT... to our great horror and disappointment, we found that all shops are closed on SUN!!!! Sigh.. not wanting to go back to the hotel so early, we decided to do more sightseeing instead. We went to Casa Batllo, another of Gaudi's work and then to the sea front. There was an aquarium at Port Vell. We spent some time there before moving off to a large Entertainment Centre nearby, and we had a fun time there. I actually thanked God for the closed shops coz if not, we would not be able to visit these other parts of Barcelona.
Olympic Village
On the top of the Cathedral
Casa Batllo
Aquarium
This morning, we woke up at 8am so that we can do some last minute shopping at Plaza Catalunya before making our way to the airport (to make up for the loss of opportunity yesterday). :) On the whole, I think we managed to cover most of Barcelona and had seen what we have wanted to see. Barcelona was not as lively and vibrant as I thought it would be. I guess it's coz it's winter now. :) But I enjoyed this trip a lot and I hope there are more short trips to come! :P
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