Weekend Visitor

Our good friend Jane came into town last weekend from NYC. We had four VERY full days of showing off this awesome city we have been lucky enough to be living in. I have been holding off on some of the major sites until our guests come to visit, so it was quite a treat for Scott and I to go to a bunch of places on our list. We had such a blast with her and were very impressed with everything we were able to accomplish in just four days. Here are some of the highlights. (Beware! Scott decided to take haircutting into his own hands and buzz his head. So if you don't recognize the guy in the pictures, that's why.)

We went up to Scott’s favorite place, Parc Guell and had a picnic.

Next we hiked up through the ritzy neighborhood of Gracia to Tibidabo.  Tibidabo is the highest point in Barcelona. A cathedral was constructed on top of the hill around 1900 and can be seen from almost everywhere in the city.  Had it been a clear day, we would have had an amazing view.

Then it was onto the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) for the “Font Magica”. The Magic Fountain only has “shows” on the weekends and has been turned off until last weekend. We are huge fans of the water show at Bellagio so we were a little nervous.  But it was awesome! Think the Bellagio plus tons of different colored lights, a gorgeous palace with spotlights shining all around it as the backdrop to the fountain, and all your favorite Disney tunes in Spanish blaring as each burst of water goes up. I know… I told you it was awesome! Then we took Jane to get dinner at one of our favorite places. Mainly it is my favorite because they have crepes with Nutella and bananas like I used to get in Paris. Too bad they did not have batter that night. Don’t worry though, Jane got to go out with a bang and get a crepe on her last night here.

On Sunday, before Sacrament meeting, we walked around another very well known modernista building, Hospital de la Santa Creu i de Sant Pau. Crazy name I know. The building is equally as crazy I promise. It looks more like a college campus with lots of different buildings spread out over the campus. All the buildings are connected by underground tunnels.

After church Jane went the to Picasso museum. These are pictures from when we went a while ago.

We were able to catch a musical performance at the Palau de la Musica. Just to take a tour of the building costs 10 Euro, but we found concert tickets for 8 Euro.  We gave ourselves a tour and got to enjoy some great classical music. Well worth the money. The stained glass windows and all the other details were amazing. Don’t worry that you are not allowed to take pictures inside. We definitely got yelled at a few times for these. That is when you play up the ignorant American face.

Jane got to try some of the local fare. We are eating “pan con tomate”. It is basically bread that they rub a tomato on to saturate the bread. Then do the same thing with a clove of garlic, drizzle some olive oil on it and you are good to go. It's pretty tasty.

We spent one morning traveling out to Montserrat to see the monastery that was built on the mountain peaks. It has been the major pilgrimage sight for Catalan Catholics for over a thousand years. How they made it up the mountain without the tram a thousand years ago is beyond me.

There are tons of hiking trails around the mountain. We hiked down to the Sacred Cave where, legend has it, the “Black Virgin” statue was found by young shepherds in the 12^th century. Our info guide told us about how long it was supposed to take for each hike and Scott was really excited about us making it in less time. Hence why I look so sweaty and exhausted.

Touching the Black Virgin's orb for good luck. (Or salvation..? I'm not exactly sure how the legend goes.)

A trip to Barcelona wouldn’t be complete without visiting the city’s most recognizable and most famous landmark, La Sagrada Familia, designed by Gaudí.  This monumental project was begun in 1882 and is scheduled for completion in 2020. 

This is one of Gaudi’s most famous works, the Pedrera (Casa Milá). The audio tour was great and we learned so much about the architect. It was kind of Guadí overload though since we had already spent THREE hours at the Sagrada Familia. You feel like you have to spend that much time there though because they charge an arm and a leg to get inside!

So I hope after looking at all these fun things we take our guests to do you are wishing you had your trips planned! J Thanks again Jane for letting us be you tour guides. Oh, and a huge extra shout out to Jane for all the American goodies she brought us. Why they don’t have maple syrup, ranch dressing, and good peanut butter here? I will never know.