Spain Part 3: Something Seems Familia

Time for the finale of Spain!  Enjoy.

Day 5 found us pulling into Barcelona Sants after a rather long and quite early train journey that was filled with chess, weak coffee and chocolate croissants (so not too bad).  After a confusing period of trying to work out where we were going and after standing in the wrong queue for a while, we were soon heading to the first stop: Cosmocaixa, the national science museum. After paying the 4 euros entrance fee (bargain) and  after a quick bite to eat, we headed off into a world filled with interactive activities, fossils and my personal favourite: a sunken forest complete with artificial rain. The forest even had a variety of animals, insects and fish living in it, making it really interesting to walk around.  Except for the cockroach farm.  Did not need that bit.  The ant farm did make up for it, as did the giant fish.  Whether you have kids or not, this is a really interesting and slightly different way to spend the morning in Barcelona, whilst learning something!

After checking into our hotel next to the Sagrada Familia (the Ayre Hotel Rossellon - Booking Ed), we jumped onto the Metro again (great for getting around - pick up the 10 trip ticket if you're there for a couple of days) and headed off to Casa Batllo, one of the houses that Gaudi built. After a short queue, you're given your audioguide and let loose into this somewhat unhinged building. Gaudi, to say the least, is weird. Brilliant but weird. 

Despite his oddity, I would really recommend that you visit this house and take the tour as it is stunning to walk around and the guide highlights the history and influence of the various designs, and points out certain things that you might have missed. At the very least, you need to stop by the street and look at the building's facade.  It is stunning.  I'll admit that it's not my usual choice of tour but I loved every second of it.

We then rounded off the day by checking out the food market in the Ramblas and then spending waaaaaaaaayyy too long trying to find a place for dinner. However, this was my fault as we had found one place but I then got a bad feeling about it and we left. This then caused us to get somewhat lost and spend ages looking for a new place to eat, deciding on some tapas at a restaurant called QuQu which was in the same street as Casa Batllo (sorry...)! Having refueled and rested, we headed back to the hotel for a few beers on the roof of the hotel, overlooking the lit-up church.

Day 6 arrived and it was time for the star of the show: La Sagrada Familia! First of all, I would highly recommend that you get up early or you pre-book tickets, especially as they now time your visits. For example, we arrived about 9:15am (it opens at 9am), and were told that our 'visit' would be at 12:15, so it is taking the extra time to do this. 

As we had some spare time, we headed up a couple of streets to check out the building 'Sant Pau', which was an exquisite looking hospital, followed by a couple of pastries and a Spanish drink called Horchuta. Now, I actually thought this would be hot chocolate but it turns out to be made from water, sugar, and ground nuts e.g. almonds, and whilst I was pleased to try it, I don't think it was for me.

After a while, it was time for La Sagrada Familia and what can I say? It was probably the grandest and most beautiful building I've been it. It really takes your breath away as you enter the church and see the soaring pillars illuminated by the stained glass windows. Anything I do say won't do it justice (I'll have some pictures below) but I will say that it is worth paying extra for the audio guide, as it helps ensure you don't miss any of the smaller details in the church. Don't forget to check out the temporary school that Gaudi designed either, for the workers' children.  It really is worth paying to enter, as I don't think anything will be built like this ever again.

After the splendour of Sagrada, we headed up the funicular to Mont Juic, and walked up the hill (instead of going on the cable cars) towards the Castella. Since it was so cheap to enter the Castella (5 euros), we decided to go in and explore this old fortress and subsequently learned that the massive wall had been in just 30 days.  Now that's a quick build.  I've seen Ikea furniture that has took longer to build. 

Although there isn't masses to see within the fortress (though it is great wandering around and learning a little about the history of the place), the views alone of the port, the ocean and the city itself make this worth a visit as it towers over the city and the sea. We spent some time wandering around and then, just like that that, it was time for us to climb back on-board the train and return to whence we came.

Finally, it was the last day of the trip and whilst Derek and my dad decided to go fishing, I stayed around the flat with my mum to get some blogging (see, I even blog when on holiday!  No rest for the wicked, as they say) and some packing done, before heading to the local cooperative for a couple more bottles of wine. A nice lazy day to finish off the trip, though we did take a short trip to the pottery shop nearby, so I could get Alison something and Derek could get Jenny something. One final meal at another local restaurant (along with some local wine, of course) was a great way to wrap up the week. All in all, I really enjoyed being able to return to the flat and I'm pleased that we were able to do so many different things!

Pick of the Week

Anichart - Now, if you're not a fan of anime, then you may as well skip this.  This website gives you a round-up and countdown of each seasons' series that are being released, as well as future series as well.  Great for keeping an eye on what you want to watch or looking for seasons!

Music of the Week

Time for another Epic Rap Battle!  This time, it's the turn of Superman vs Goku.  Why?  It amuses me.

Whoops, that's it from Spain!  And next time?  Either New York or Edinburgh!  Find out which next week.