10 Reasons I love Barcelona

1. Food

The food in Barcelona is heavenly. From my first meal at a local place called Bar Celta where we ordered a selection of tapas: seafood salad, croquettes, chorizo, octopus, tomato bread, and sangria to my last meal of Paella; everything was to die for.  I was in Barcelona for Thanksgiving and I would choose that food over turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing, and cranberry sauce any day.

The food culture in Barcelona is very unique as advances in gastronomy continue to grow. Every small restaurant is a culinary experience and a stimulant to my tastebuds. From the delicious octopus sprinkled with smoked paprika to the churros with chocolate to the local jamon. Any food lover's dream. I highly recommend the food lover's tour to anyone who wants to enjoy a four hr experience tasting Barcelona's best tapas. A visit to the food market called La Boqueria is a must or your trip to Barcelona isn't complete.

2. La Sagrada Familia

The Sagrada Familia is one of the most impressive churches/piece of artwork that I have ever seen. Standing at 560 ft in midst of a city, it almost seems like a mirage.

La Sagrada Familia is a large Roman Catholic Church designed by the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. Construction began in 1882 and it is projected to finish construction in 2026. At 19 euro the entrance fee, tourists and money from the government help sustain the construction for this magnificent church.

The design has eighteen spires representing in ascending order of height, the twelve Apostles, Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and the tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Once the spires are completed, it will be the tallest church building in the world!!

The church has two main entrances displaying the three facades: Nativity, Passion Facade, and Glory.
The Nativity facade was the first to be completed and it is decorated with a naturalistic style incorporating scenes and symbols from nature representing life, the birth of Jesus. Leaves, trees and animals are carved out in the stone giving the building a 3D look.

The Passion facade is plain with straight lines carved in the bare stone resembling the bones of a skeleton, intended to portray the sins of man dedicated to the Passion of Christ.

The Glory Facade is one of the largest and is dedicated to the celestial glory of Jesus representing the road to God: Death, Final judgement, and Glory while hell is left for those who do not follow god's will. Although the blueprint models Gaudi made were destroyed in 1936, this facade is still under construction and will be the largest and most striking of all.

Perhaps the most impressive for me was the interior of La Sagrada Familia. Modern, Majestic, enlightening. It's influences from nature made me feel like I was walking in a forest of tree-like stone columns with colored  sunlight reflected by the stain glass.To think this was planned hundreds of years ago in Gaudi's imagination, goodness what a genius!

3. Weather
Sunny and 70 in November? I'll take that. I'm so used to Bavarian grey, foggy skies that it sometimes hurts my eyes when I see the sun. I'm not kidding!

4. Park Guel

Another of Gaudi's creations! A long uphill walk to Park Guell was well worth it after witnessing the whimsical design and architecture of the park. The organic shapes seen in most of the sculptures are influenced by nature and the colors and buildings almost look like something out of a Dr. Suess book. Taking in all of this beauty stilled my mind and brought that peace and tranquility any park should bring, despite there being so many tourists. If you want to enjoy a less crowded walk around this park, definitely come earlier in the morning.

5. Barceloneta Beach
A city with a beach? How perfect!
Although the beach was man made for the Olympics games in 1992, it is still a very nice beach to sunbathe and go for a dip.
Interesting facts: Palm trees were from Hawaii, Sand was from Eygpt.

 
6. Shopping
The shopping was perhaps one of my favorite things in the city. Barcelona is very trendy and although there are big name stores, there are also very unique and affordable stores in Barcelona. Our hotel was in a big shopping area called Las Ramblas and everyone I saw walking the streets were probably more fashionable than I've seen in NYC. I definitely went home with more bags than my small carry on duffle bag could hold.


7. Magic Fountain Montjuic 

This magic fountain is situated below the Palau Nacional on the Montjuic hill. I felt like a small child staring into the lights and movement of water as music accompanied it. It was definitely magic.

8. Parc de la Ciutadella

Not only is it one of the greenest parks in Barcelona where many people enjoy picnics or long walks, it used to be a citadel around the 1700s, which was later converted into a prison mostly for political prisoners. The park was later designed under Josep Fontsere and guess who else? Your one and only Gaudi. Gaudi was a young student at the time and an apprentice to Fontsere where he worked hard to complete the fountain. This picture doesn't do it justice, and lucky for me I got to see a rainbow. What a beautiful place.

9. Art-chitecture

I know I've mentioned all of the beautiful artwork and architecture in Barcelona already, but everywhere I stumbled upon in the city made me appreciate how beautiful the ornate designs of buildings, churches, and sculptures were. Check these out for yourself.

10. Hablas Espanol?
Barcelona has two official languages: Catalan and Spanish. Although most locals speak Catalan, which is a mix between french and latin, mostly everyone speaks Spanish. It is so comforting to be able to communicate with people in a language you understand as compared to my struggles of communicating in German.

-I could list so many more reasons why Barcelona is easily one of my favorite cities in Europe, but I would rather let you discover them by taking a trip to this amazing place. Pack lightly, prepare your bellies for good food, and brush up on your Spanish. You are bound to have a trip of a lifetime. :)