Barcelona - Day 6

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Today we had another late start of a morning waking up around 9:30 am. We took another one of Rita's suggestions for breakfast, and went to Patisseria Hoffman. Not having our internet synced up, it was a bit of a challenge to find on the narrow, windy streets within El Born, but the extra walking just meant we could consume some extra calories, right? Cody had a strawberry cheesecake croissant and a cinnamon roll croissant, I had a had a ham and cheese croissant. Everything was delicious! Cody claims it's the best croissant he's ever eaten, so if you like croissants I guess you should book a trip to Barcelona ASAP with that endorsement. We will probably be eating there again tomorrow. 😊

We next went walking in downtown Barcelona to the coast. The weather was about 70 and sunny today, so it was a perfect day to walk alongside the beach. For being 70 degrees, it was a little busier on the beach with people tanning than I would have thought, but I'm sure if it turned out to be 70 in Chicago one day after this arctic tundra, I'm sure everyone would be on the beach. We enjoyed walking along the piers and coastline for about an hour before heading to the Museu d'Historia de Catalunya (the Catalan History Museum).

Barcelona is the capital of Catalan, a region in Spain. There has been much political turmoil over the years between Catalan, Spain, and other countries, especially during the eras of political alliances and conquering territories. The Catalan region is one of the oldest inhabited regions in the world. The Iberian culture (around the Iberian peninsula) began during the second iron age. The museum started in the prehistoric times and went through present day, outlining wars, economic development, and living conditions of those living during the times. There were a lot of interactive pieces throughout the museum which was incredibly engaging. We turned grains into cereal with stone, carried water, put on armor in a knight costume, and used an irrigation system to water plants using a water wheel. One of the most interesting things we read was the legend of the Catalan crest. The story came from the 16th century, when French king Louis le Pieux dipped his fingers int eh blood issuing from the wounds of a Guifre el Pelois. He ran his fingers down the golden shield of the count of Barcelona, hence the crest having four red lines (blood) on the golden shield. The museum had more information than we could have possibly taken in, but it was worthwhile and one of the best museums we've ever been in.

We had a little time to spare before our tour time of Sagrada Familia, and stumbled upon a brewery in Barcelona, BlackLab Brewing company. We tried a flight of four beers, their Berliner Weiss Sour, Imperial Stout, Imperial Stout with Smoked Cherries, their American Pale Ale. We really liked everything except the Imperial Stout with Smoked Cherries, and it was a fun detour overall!

Our next stop of the day was Sagrada Familia, the Cathedral in Barcelona Antoni Gaudi worked on 40 years before passing away that is still being built today. The Cathedral broke ground in 1882, with Gaudi taking over as lead architect in 1883 until his death in 1926. The cathedral has one of the most ornate exteriors we have ever seen, and is set to be 175 meters tall, just shy of being the tallest point in all of Barcelona aside from the mountain. When it's complete, there will be twelve towers for each apostle, four for each evangelist, one for the Virgin Mary and one for Jesus. Each entrance has a different facade above it, with the current entrance having the nativity scene, and the exit having the passion of Christ. The facade of Adam and Eve/Creation is to be the main entrance upon the Cathedral's completion, but it has yet to be built. On the interior, there is stained glass everywhere, colder colors in the east and warmer colors in the west. We took the trip to the top of the Nativity Towers, and was able to look at the work being done on the Cathedral and get views of all of Barcelona. The Cathedral is set to be complete in 2026, to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death. We look forward to seeing it as a completed structure in the future!

We walked back to our neighborhood and went to another one of Rita's recommendations, Dr. Stravinski's cocktail bar, which is about a block away from our Airbnb. The bar creates very elaborate and unique cocktails, and is themed around a scientist. There are test tube concoctions along the walls, and they house make a variety of spirits. Cody had a whiskey sour with egg white and cacao nibs. I had a house made gin drink with lime and other flavors. Both were delicious!!

We went to a restaurant named Konig for dinner. This was good, but not nearly as great as our meal last night. We finished off the night with some gelato before heading back to our Airbnb.

Our plan for tomorrow is to go to Monserrat Montessori in the mountains and hopefully to a winery or two.

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Comments

[Char]

Barcelona
Your blog makes me laugh everyday. Today, Cody’s endorsement of the croissants and him on the wooden horse. I like you making cereal and all decked out in armor. What a great trip! Thank you for making the effort to write these wonderful narratives of your daily adventures and taking the pictures. Love it! I feel like I’m there.

[KVTravelSpree]

Cody has opinions on EVERY breakfast and it's quality. Today he managed to think he was entitled to the rest of a sandwich that I had ordered - the nerve! It's been a great trip so far, can't wait to show you more pictures in person. Global Brew???