Welcome to Barcelona!!!

A couple of weekends ago Austin and I traveled to Barcelona with some friends. We took a short hour and a half flight from Sevilla. We arrived and the city was beautiful. Here they speak Catalan which is a mix of Spanish and French. Sadly, we heard more English than anything.

This was our first time visiting the city and we were anxious to see what awaited us. We received many tips of places to visit from a friend. We arrived early Thursday morning and dropped off our things at the hostel.

Austin and I took a stroll along our street and found our first Gaudi house (it was our mission to see as many as we could)

This is Casa Batllo and was a 3 minute walk from our hostel. Austin and I stood outside the building for about 10 minutes taking in all the different designs.

Here is the next Gaudi house we found! 

We wanted to visit Parc del Laberint which was outside the city. We mastered the metro system and found our way there. We were so anxious to see this beautiful maze but sadly it was under construction in November. We went into the park anyway and took pictures of the maze from afar.

 Here is the metro system we mastered!! 

 The entrance to the park

The park was on top of a hill and in the distance we saw what looked like a palace. We asked many people about the "palace" and received many funny looks. What we did not know was what we actually saw was an amusement park with a church. We ended up taking a bus to the site and took a trolley to the park. It was my first trolley ride and super exciting! The park is called Tibidabo. It is a mountain that overlooks all of Barcelona and is 512 meters above sea level. This made for a spectacular view.

 Our amazing view of the city.

 This is the Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor (which we mistook for a palace)

 Austin enjoying the scenery

A view of the amusement park from the top of the church.

We went to the Ice Bar later that night with friends and enjoyed some cold beverages. Austin and I decided it was a great experience but we will probably not go to another. It took quite some time to warm up after the experience was over. 

We went to the Sagrada Familia the next day and this church is breathtaking. You can't help but stare for a long time at all the detail and hard work put into every bit of the church. Pictures do not do it justice. The church has been under construction for over 100 years. This church is the most extraordinary personal interpretation of Gothic architecture. It should be complete in 2025. 

After the church we went to Parc Guell. Or as some know it to be the park where America's Next Top Model had their finale. Austin and I loved all the architecture and the different colors that were inside the park. We saw the Gaudi "gingerbread" houses and the house he lived in. We spent a few hours in here and enjoyed all the scenery.

We left on Saturday but had to see the Barcelona stadium before our flight that night. The boys were super excited to see the stadium and welcomed any pictures we wanted to take. We were able to see the entire stadium, press box, turf, and VIP seating. We toured the museum before hand and got to see Messi's uniform and Champions League cup. 

 So many smiles throughout this tour! 

 Here is Austin by Jorge Lorenzo's motorcycle gear! 

Inside the stadium.

This weekend trip was so memorable in many ways. We were able to see so much in a little amount of time and got to appreciate all the treasures our world has to offer. We are looking forward to new adventures and new places to see.