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| No trip to Barcelona would be complete without checking on the construction progress of La Sagrada Familia…..it’s getting closer to completion, but they’re not quite done yet! |
When it comes to large cities, Barcelona has ranked at or near the top of the list for us. Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean Sea in the northeastern (Catalonia) region of Spain. Its history dates back over 2,000 years. It has close to 1.7 million residents within its city limits, and a metro area of nearly five million people. It’s the countries second largest city, falling behind Madrid, which is first. Barcelona is the fifth most populous in the European Union. Although this visit was short (around 24 hours), we saw or experienced nothing that would change our opinion of this really fun city.
We arrived by train from Paris into Barcelona Sants around 4:30PM yesterday (Friday, May 17). It was about a 2.5 mile walk from the station to our hotel. Normally that would call for an Uber or taxi. However, the weather was pleasant, and we travel light, so we walked.
With our time in Barcelona limited there was no need to unpack, so after a few minutes we set out to explore and enjoy as much as we could for the evening. Our hotel was in the gothic quarter which is our favorite place to stay. We had a nice time reminiscing about previous trips as we roamed the small side streets and passages. We finished the day with a wonderful tapas meal at Nou Cellar, which came highly recommended by Ed and Judy. They not only know the food scene in Paris, but in many places, and they’ve never steered us wrong.
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The Cathedral of Barcelona in the Gothic Quarter
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| Nou Cellar is located on a small passageway in the gothic quarter. Even with google maps it’s a little hard to find, but it’s well worth the effort! |
As usual we were up early. However, unlike most mornings we were out quickly instead of our usual “get moving gradually” routine. We walked to, and along the Barcelona beachfront, before turning back to check on the progress of quite possibly the world’s slowest construction job, La Sagrada Familia. Construction of the church began in 1882, and it’s been a “work in progress” pretty much ever since that time. It’s been announced that it will be completed in 2026…..but don’t hold your breath!
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| Strolling the beach early! |
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| Still “under construction”…..modern on one side….. |
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| ….more traditional gothic style on the other side |
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Barcelona’s smaller but also impressive
Arc de Triomf |
We divided this eight week adventure into four phases. The first was the transatlantic cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Lisbon, and the 4 nights in Lisbon. The second was the cruise from Lisbon to Southampton, UK. Phase three was the land portion that included London, Amsterdam, Paris and Barcelona. In about an hour we’ll start the final phase, when the Norwegian Pearl sets sail. We’re actually doing two, nine day, back to back cruises. The itinerary is below. Bon voyage!
