Tales from the Western Med Day 1A

May 9, 2017
Our flight out was pleasantly of little note. We flew out of Philadelphia instead of Newark, so much less hectic, and direct to Barcelona.
We had a beautiful approach to Barcelona and landed around 8:30a. It took us 2+ hours to make it to the hotel with passport, baggage, transport, traffic, but all-in-all a good journey. Barcelona is absolutely gorgeous and we had perfect weather: sunny with a cool breeze coming off the Med. With weather this good, it was time to get exploring! Our room was ready, so after a quick freshening up we hit the streets. We had 15:00 tickets to get into Park Güell, so for the next 6 hours we kicked around the old Gothic city center, El Gòtic, a collection of narrow haphazard streets centered around the cathedral with a Medieval feel, lots of shopping, and interesting architecture. Lunch was tapas, in this a case a "selection of Iberian meats," served with toasted baguette for my husband Phil, and for me ... pasta bolognese!
We happened upon a basilica, the Basilica of the Martyred Saints, which we thought might look interesting inside. To our surprise, for the cost of 2 €, we could climb the bell tower! After 150 steps we had a spectacular view of Barcelona!
After an espresso and Churros con Chocolate Caliente -- a thick hot chocolate that is used as a dipping sauce for the churros -- we headed to the nearest metro station bound for Park Güell.

 

 

 

 

 

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