Andrew and I stopped in Barcelona for a day on our way to Paris for the weekend. I had visited Barcelona 9 years ago, but I enjoyed the city more this time, however briefly, than I had previously. We had a little mishap on the train into Barcelona from the airport, and ended up in a not-so-good industrial neighborhood somewhere on the outskirts of the city. While waiting for a train back into the heart of Barcelona, we were "entertained" by a gentleman who clearly had been celebrating St. Paddy's Day (wink, wink), and another guy who invited to let us stay at his "crib" and assured us that he was going to be a famous soccer player for the Barcelona team. Let's just say I was glad when the train finally arrived. :-)
Anyway, we saw Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia church, which is one of the most intriguing buildings I have ever seen. I find Gaudi's work fascinating, and I think his style is best exemplified by La Sagrada Familia. Construction of the church began in 1882, and still continues today (even though Gaudi passed away in 1926). Hopefully my pictures will capture a little of what I'm talking about -- it is a remarkable structure. We also walked down La Rambla, which is Barcelona's most famous street, chalk-full of street performers, and sidewalk markets selling anything you can think of: art, souvenirs, toys, roosters...yep, I said roosters. We found an AMAZING farmer's market just off of La Rambla, called Mercat de Sant Josep, which sold every type of fruit, vegetable, meat, seafood, candy, etc. We grabbed a slice of pizza there and wandered though the stalls, just admiring the selection. Want to buy an entire octopus? No problem! How about a whole sheep's head? They've got that, too. Fresh cactus flower juice? I tried that one -- DELICIOUS.
Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia.
Another view.
I love how the architecture here looks like stretched tendons.
Can you tell I love this church??
Mercat de Sant Josep - the fruit stalls.
Now on to the sweets!
Andrew meandering through the seafood stalls.
Which would you prefer: the fish with sharp teeth or the spiny ball-shaped things?
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