January 11, 2012
Day Four Barcelona
Yesterday, we arrived in Barcelona from Madrid. We were all very excited about checking out a new city in Spain, especially a city with such a fantastic reputation as Barcelona. We knew that Contiki had given us a free day in Barcelona so we had plans to get up around 7am, go on a jog around the city, head back to the hotel for breakfast and then head out towards Gaudi’s famous cathedral La Sagrada Familia.
What is it they say? The best laid plans… well all three of us slept through our alarm. I woke with a start at 9:45am and rushed the other girls out of bed so that we could make it downstairs before breakfast ended at 10. After scarfing down breakfast, we hurried upstairs and got ready as fast as we could.
 Needless to say, we never made it out on our jog and it’s a good thing, too! If you’ve ever been to Barcelona, you’ll understand what a silly notion this was. You see, Barcelona is a large and very hilly city where you’re bound to do a lot of walking if you want to see several of the important sights. We headed out from our hotel up a huge hill to Park Guell – a gorgeous park that Gaudi designed and intended for many families to live in. The hill up to the park was so steep that there were several outdoor escalators in succession that you could use to help with your climb. Park Guell has many beautiful buildings and sculptures, many covered in large tiles in a mosaic-like fashion. One of the most famous Park Guell sights is a large, winding bench covered in mosaics that circles the park’s main plateau.
After Park Guell, we headed down into the city towards La Sagrada Familia. I’ve been lucky enough to see many gorgeous cathedrals in my life including Notre Dame and Saint Peter’s Basicila in Vatican City. I absolutely fell in love with Gaudi’s still unfinished cathedral. Gaudi died mid-construction and the plans for the rest of the cathedral were lost so to this day they’re still working on its construction. If you get the chance, definitely go inside – it’s well worth the 13€.
After La Sagrada Familia, we headed down to the Picasso Museum. Opened during Picasso’s life, the museum boasts a collection of Picasso’s work that is organized chronologically in the order in which it was painted. It provides a unique opportunity to see not only a comprehensive collection of the artist’s work, but also to see the sequential development of his artistic talent. It’s very impressive and quite interesting.
After traipsing around Barcelona all day, we headed out to do some shopping before we were due back at our hotel ready for dinner at 6pm. By this point, the three of us could hardly move. Our legs were exhausted and our backs were aching. We had all tried to look cute and had worn flats (Taylor and I running about in Tory Burch flats) so needless to say, we hadn’t exactly packed our hiking boots.
European Holiday Takeaway #2: When in Barcelona, you will definitely get your exercise in. Don’t think that you need to go for a run in the morning. If you do, you’ll most likely be so wiped out by the end of the day that you won’t be able to make it around to all of the sights that you want to see!
Dinner was pa
rt of a dinner show that showcased the traditional Spanish tradition of Flamenco. When you’re on a Contiki vacation, all lodging, transportation between all cities, some dinners, and all breakfasts are included.They also provide the opportunity for optional excursions. While these optional excursions come at an extra cost, I highly recommendthem. Especially if it’s your first time in a city or country, theydo a lot to make sure that you see all of the essentials. One of these optional pieces was the Flamenco dinner show. The food and entertainment was very authentic in a traditional Spanish style.
One thing to keep in mind when you travel, whether with Contiki or otherwise, is that it’s good to experience as many new cultures and traditions as possible – regardless of whether or not you wind up “liking” them or not. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the Flaminco dancing but I could definitely appreciate the skill, talent, and traditions that culminated in the music and the dance. After dinner, we took a group stroll down La Rambla and then many members of our group went out to party in clubs in the Olympic Area (the 1992 Olympics were hosted in Barcelona). The three of us were too tired and had already enjoyed a glass or two of delicious Sangria (it came on tap!) at dinner and so headed back to our hotel.
Main takeaway: Barcelona is a fantastic city – I highly recommend it.
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This is a partner post. All opinions are 100% ours.