Tessa's Travels: Barcelona: 17/4 to 21/4

The last stop of my almost three week tour was Barcelona and what a stop it was! This was probably my favourite city that I have ever visited and I would love to live there for any amount of time. Gaudi of course is absolutely breathtaking but there was much more to the city than his buildings. The first day, we rented a little three-wheeler/golfcart/most fun ever vehicle from a tour company (www.gocartours.es) and drove around on the busy city roads attempting to follow a set route, giggling all the way. It was so fun- the steering, gas, and brakes were just like a four-wheeler: you twisted the handle to accelerate and had handbrakes and turned the handles to turn. We also got quite amusing helmets so most people that saw us were laughing, taking pictures, or just stariing. When you are on one of the two routes, the car tells you all about what you are seeing, from architecture to history to fun facts. When you're not on the route, which was unintentionally fairly often for us, you're on your own to drive and discover. Much of the time I spent wandering the streets, taking pictures, people watching, and enjoying the weather. We did find time to see the only cathedral in the city, the Sagrada Familia, the Picasso Museum, and do a bike tour! The Sagrada Familia was incredible, they've been building it for about 100 years, with funding strictly from donations only, and they aren't close to being done for good reason- every tiny detail was thoughtfully designed with painstaking precision. There is scaffolding inside and out, plus ladders, machinery, and construction workers at every turn. It was really neat to see it now, when it is still a construction site. I'm planning on coming back once it is completely, which is currently estimated to 2026, the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death. I went up to the top of the church and saw all of Barcelona laid out around me and then took hundreds of spiraling stairs down to ground level again. The Picasso Museum was pretty cool, seeing many of his first first attempts of his later famous paintings, sketches, and coursework from school. They also showed the inspiration and starting point to many of his later paintings and explained how he got to the point of it at its finished state. The bike tour with Fat Tire was a highlight of the trip, I met some really awesome people from all over the world and had a blast. We went all around the city, learned some interesting facts, and had some great food on the beach. The weather again for the entire trip was fabulous- sunny and blue skies in every direction. I really can't wait to go back to this city.