The lack of direct flights to Croatia from the US and our attempt to fly as cheaply as possibly called for a layover in Barcelona. Great, since none of us had ever been. Bad, since we were all too tired to be tourists in Barcelona. We flew into Barcelona knowing that we would have to come back to visit. For me, the must-do’s on this weekend were 1) watch the World Cup Finals, and 2) watch the World Cup third-place match. Haha. What can I say?
So, you apparently can’t go to Barcelona and NOT see the Sagrada Familia or Park Güell. Both are famous works of architecture by world famous architect Antoni Gaudi. Well, this lady did just that. Oh well! I did manage to pass by his La Pedrera (Casa Milà) near the Plaza de Catalunya so there’s that.
Our AirBnB was in the quirky Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter) and thus we walked La Rambla more than once. It’s a tree lined pedestrian street well known for being a tourist trap. It was actually a stream that was eventually diverted and made into a street many hundreds of years ago.
I was awed by the humongous neo-Gothic La Catedral. This Gothic Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia is named for co-patron Saint of Barcelona, Eulalia, who was a thirteen-year old girl martyred by the Romans for refusing to recant Christianity. She is buried here.
Opposite it is the School of Architecture which bears a frieze that looks like graffiti but is actually a Picasso artwork Els Tres Frisos de la Mediterrània (The Three Friezes of the Mediterranean Sea).
The Three Friezes of the Mediterranean Seaby Picasso
I also allowed myself to wander around getting lost and eventually found myself at Los Coracoles for a solo dinner Saturday night as my travel-mates were too pooped to leave their beds. Even though I was drawn to the restaurant because of the street-view rotisserie chicken I enjoyed a delicious plate of squid instead. Turned out that our collective Sunday evening dinner was at Los Coracoles as well because that’s where their Google search had recommended we eat. In hindsight, we had met these German men in Dubrovnik when we were sitting around people-watching and they too had recommended this restaurant. Can you believe none of us had the eponymous snails (los coracoles)? Face-palm.
We went to Els Quatre Gats for a drink and a bite. It is where Picasso held his first solo exhibition. The café, whose name translates to “The Four Cats”, was a popular meeting point for famous artists during Catalonia’s modernist period. It is one of Barcelona’s historical literal cafés.
We took a “free” walking tour of the Gothic Quarter at some point. This covered areas I had already wandered through, but the tour opened my eyes to details I had missed, and added history and context to the buildings and significance to the Gothic Quarter. For example, I would have missed this Joan Miró mosaic on La Rambla.
I would have also missed the significance of the pock-marked walls of the 18th century Esglesia de Sant Felip Neri caused by a bomb dropped by Franco’s air force in 1938 that killed a number of children who had sought refuge at a convent here. The guide also mentioned that some say these were bullet-riden walls from when priests were lined up here and executed during the Spanish Civil War by anarchists…or people executed by Franco troops. Aye! Which is which? Plaza de Sant Felip Neri was built on the grounds of a cemetery. Eerie that a functioning primary school shares the square. Goosebumps!
And not to mention Baixada de Santa Eulalia (Saint Eulalia’s descent). One of the thirteen tortures suffered by Saint Eulalia (one for each of her years on earth) was being put into a barrel with knives and shards of glass and rolled down this street. There’s a shrine for her here.
Barcelona was built upon the old Roman colony of Barcino that dates back to 15 BC. There are still remnants of this ancient Roman empire to be seen including the first century AD Roman walls and the Temple d’August.
I loved the narrow winding roads. The Roman Temple of Augustus which dates back to the 1st century is like a hidden gem.
Roman Walls 
Barcino Temple columns
But the true hidden gem was an ice-cream shop, Mannà Gelats, we stumbled upon last thing on Sunday night, and all I could think was my misfortune of not finding it first thing on arrival to Barcelona. I had a ginger ice-cream and it was oh so delicious. Definitely a must-do when I return to Barcelona.
A lover of mangoes. A woman - smart, without pretense, lefthanded, Afropolitan - navigating this thing called life. An unapologetic believer in social justice and karma. Choosing to radiate positive energy and be true to myself. Here, my musings.
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