Travel Over 50: Barcelona

Have you been to Barcelona? What a wonderful city to explore in the spring!

I am playing catch up with all my travels in the past 3 weeks. The highlight of April was seeing Barcelona with my husband. He was doing business in Paris and invited me to join him in Barcelona for a quick getaway. Many of our friends have been to Spain and told us that Barcelona was one of their favorite cities in Spain. We spent 5 days exploring Barcelona and it really was the perfect amount of time to see Barcelona.

We visited Gaudí’s Parc Guell, La Sagrada Familia, the Gothic Quarter and took in a flamenco show. We enjoyed delicious tapas, seafood, rooftop cocktails, and took leisurely strolls along the beach.

The marina area next to Hotel Arts Barcelona has a wonderful boardwalk you can walk and enjoy the restaurants lining the boardwalk. This view was taken from the upper pool area from the hotel. This is a lovely way to spend the day adjusting to the time changes and jet lag!

Hotel Arts Barcelona

The hotel we stayed at is part of the Marriott Bonvoy and is a Ritz Carlton property. Keep in mind that this Marriott property participates in the Marriott Bonvoy program, so members can use or earn points by staying here. The hotel is located on the beach by the

If you’re a Marriott member who has access to the Club level at the Hotel Arts Barcelona, I highly recommend the daily meal plan offered at the Club Level. $150.00 per person (alcohol included) all day is a wonderful way to enjoy the cuisine if you don’t want to visit the local restaurants. The food is excellent and we used this meal plan the first day we arrived in Barcelona.

Our room was fabulous from the inside as it was from the views on the outside!

Our view from our room in the daytime.

My view from our room at night.

We had a private tour guide for one day and it’s really worth spending money hiring a local historian. She gave us so much insight in La Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, the food markets, and the restaurants. She spotted the current architect of the basilica, told us to go see the locals dance the Sardana on Sunday morning at noon in front of the Barcelona Cathedral. We would have missed so much if it wasn’t for Sonia.

La Sagrada Familia

This was a wonderful basilica to see firsthand as an interior designer. I took so many photos and videos that when I have time I will make a video. Here are a few of the highlights.

The Sagrada Familia is a large unfinished Roman Catholic church in Barcelona. Designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926). Gaudí’s work was influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and religion. He was the most famous Spanish architect known as the greatest exponent of Catalan Modernism. Gaudí’s works have a highly individualized, one-of-a-kind style. You either love it or you find it creepy as one of my friends noted. I think his Gothic  Catalan modern styled basilica was stunning. Remember this was being built in 1882! Visionary!!

It is anticipated that the basilica can be completed by 2026, the centenary of Gaudí’s death. Below you see a true model of the Sagrada Familia. Everything in gray has been completed. Yellow has not been constructed yet.

Did you know: If things stay on schedule this will mean that it took 144 years to reach completion. That’s around 10 times longer than the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza and 123 years longer than the time needed to finish the Taj Mahal.

We were fortunate to catch a glimpse of the basilica’s current chief architect Jordi Coll below us (the one on the right with a beard) as we entered the Sagrada Familia. He implemented 3D printing technology in order to better conceptualize how new portions of the church will integrate into the older construction. His CAD drawings have sped up construction of the basilica. Can you imagine the technology that has to go into building La Sagrada Familia?

La Sagrada Familia Exteriors

Out of the three main facades, the east facade, also known as the Nativity facade (seen above) is the only one to be constructed under Gaudi’s watchful eye. The Passion Facade is constructed and open to visitors while the Glory facade is still under construction.

The Nativity facade, which celebrates the birth of Christ, has three portals – Hope, Mercy, and Faith. (You can see them in the photo of Steven and me in front of the Nativity facade). The faces on the Portal of Mercy was done using the death masks of the deceased people of Barcelona and molds of the workers’ faces.

The Passion facade is dedicated to the death of Christ and is designed to be plain and simple. The facade is representative of a skeleton. This facade has fewer sculptures, in comparison to the Nativity facade. Scenes from The Last Supper, Judas’ kiss, the crucifixion, and the resurrection are depicted. It has 6 large and inclined columns to resemble the Sequoia trunks. Above this, are 18 smaller and white columns, representing bones. The Passion facade by Catalan sculptor Josep Maria Subirachs, many people argued that they were too abstract and took away from Gaudí’s style and vision as an artist and architect. When Subirachs was commissioned to build the Passion facade he wanted his sculptures would be his own, not Gaudí imitations.

Did you know: Pay attention to the image of Jesus’s face on the shroud. It moves with you as you move left to right.

See how the face moves left to right?

La Sagrada Familia Interior

This space represents a spiritual forest where the columns act as trees branching out as they reach the ceiling. There is also a tortoise and turtle holding up these pillars, representing both the earth and the sea.

One of the best parts about the Sagrada Familia interiors is watching the sunlight seep through the stained glass in the Basilica. ( I’m facing the stained glass windows.)

Below are the same windows with the light streaming through. Magnificent!

Parc Güell

Another Antoni  Gaudi creation was designed to be a livable community commissioned by Count Eusebi Güell.

Güell and Gaudí imagined an organized grouping of high-quality homes, decked out with all the latest technological advancements to ensure maximum comfort, finished off with an artistic touch. However, because of the slow economy and the distance from Barcelona, this was not completed as envisioned.

This park charges an entrance fee but you are still allowed to walk around but not go inside the interiors. We walked around but didn’t go inside to save time and avoid standing in line. We still saw enough of the park to enjoy it on this sunny day in Barcelona.

Wisteria was in full bloom everywhere in the park. We walked to the top of the hill to see the Casa Martí_Trias i Domènech.

Casa Martí Trias i Domènech is one of the 2 homes in the park that was built in 1905. This community was supposed to have 60 homes built back then but this community was a complete failure and is now a park.

Wonderful view of Barcelona from Parc Guell. I think of this as a Dr. Suess meets Catalan Modernism. Lots of mosaics and tile was used in this park.

Picasso Museum

The Picasso Museum, located in the gothic quarter of Barcelona, houses one of the most extensive collections of artworks by the 20th-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. The museum is housed in five adjoining medieval palaces in the Gothic quarter.

Too many to share, but here are 2 pieces of art by Pablo Picasso.

 Barcelona’s Musea d’História de la Ciutat 

Dating back to between the 1^st and 6^th centuries AD, the ruins were once buildings housing aspects of the Romans’ everyday life.   They include a factory where fish was chopped and salted, and a wine-making facility where grapes were pressed and wine fermented in open vats.  Hot and cold baths refreshed Roman citizens.  Well-defined pits once served as dyeing and laundering centers.

Barcelona Food and the Restaurants We Recommend

Food Markets like Mercado de La Boqueria and Santa Caterina Market were very busy on Saturday because they are closed on Sunday. It was so much fun walking through these markets watching the people shop.

Bakeries are another favorite of mine to watch people looking at food.

The City of Small Bites and Seafood

I will have to tell you we had delicious food in Barcelona. The hotel recommended what restaurants we should eat at and made our reservations. In Barcelona many of the restaurants open at 8:00 so it was hilarious to see all the Americans dining with us! Barcelonians eat much later!

Sagardi

We stopped for lunch at this wonderful place that is true Basque cuisine.

The pintxos bar is one of the most symbolic elements of Basque culture. They are small pieces of bread, topped with various ingredients and are speared through the middle with a stick. You’ll find them lined up along the bar, and the idea is to help yourself and count up the sticks and the end to find out how much you owe.

Bar Canete

If you visit Barcelona you must eat at this tapas restaurant! My husband would have eaten there every night if he could! This restaurant was highly recommended by the hotel ( and now us!) and they booked us seats at the counter. When we arrived the restaurant was busy and had a great atmosphere. We sat at the counter surrounded by Americans and spent the entire night, visiting, eating, and drinking! So fun and delicious!

Thank goodness our seatmates were millennials taking photos of their food and I joined them! ( I never shoot my food in an upscale restaurant, but this was fun!)

Fabulous grilled octopus!

La Barceloneta

We dined at this seafood restaurant which was on the marina by our hotel.

Flamenco Show

We saw a flamenco show on the last night of our stay in Barcelona. I recommend you see one if you travel to Spain. The controlled footwork was unbelievable! The woman had to be over 50 years old and she was wonderful!

What I packed to Barcelona

I knew the weather was going to be in the mid-’60s and packed accordingly. I had to pack everything in my carry on and knew black is the accepted universal color in fashion. I purchased a cross body bag for the trip because I was warned of the pickpockets in Barcelona. ( We never had any trouble, very safe.)

Airplane outfit

I wore my tweed jacket on my flight thinking I was going to wear it out for dinner but I could have left this outfit at home. I wore my white denim jacket every day in Barcelona even at night when we went out for dinner.

This daytime outfit was my favorite. White skinny jeans, black pleated top, camo scarf, and my denim jacket completed this look. My black leather pull ons are extremely comfortable and I walked 6- 8 hours every day with my husband and felt just fine. I highly recommend you purchase good walking shoes when you are sightseeing.

I wore this outfit to dinner in the hotel and at La Barceloneta.

Sightseeing day 3 outfit. I pulled out my white topsiders because we were doing a few hours of exploring Barcelona and I knew my feet wouldn’t hurt.

Bar Canete and the Flamenco dinner outfit was my favorite. I dressed up my old Chico’s floral jeans (floral is trending) with new pieces. I packed my no iron with stain shield white shirt for dinner because I knew I could clean it if I spilled anything on it.

Thank you for stopping by today!

Have you been to Barcelona?

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