Barcelona bucket list

Exterior detail of Basílica de la Sagrada Famila in Barcelona

This is our second trip to Barcelona and in our two days here I manage to check off two-and-a-half items on my Barcelona must-see list. On Day 1 we take a self-guided tour of Sagrada Famila, Antoni Gaudí's not-quite-finished-yet masterpiece. Day 2 includes a guided tour of Paula de la Música Catalana. But our plans to ride a funicular up Mount Tibidabo are thwarted by winter.

Basílica de la Sagrada Famila

Antoni Gaudí's reputation was already established when he took over the design and coordination of Sagrada Famila in 1883. For the next 43 years, he continued to work on the temple while at the same time designing other projects. From 1914 until his death in 1926, Gaudí focused his energies exclusively on Sagrada Famila. Even today, work continues on the project that is expected to be completed by 2026.

Looking up at the ceiling of Sagrada Famila

Canopy and Christ above the altar at Sagrada Famila

Gaudí is buried in Our Lady of Mount Carmel chapel in Sagrada Famila.

Gaudí was inspired by Holy Scriptures and nature as he designed the massive Sagrada Famila. The church is a festival of light, color and geometric form, like no other place on Earth. For a detailed description and explanation, visit the Sagrada Famila website here.

Exterior detail of the Passion Facade of Basílica de la Sagrada Famila

Exterior detail of the Nativity Facade at Basílica de la Sagrada Famila

Catalan Palace of Music

Built in the early years of the 20th century, the Catalan Palace of Music, or Paula de la Música Catalan, is considered to be one of the finest examples of Catalan Art Nouveau style. In order to compensate for the lack of light in the Ciutat Vella neighborhood in which the concert hall was built, the metal structure is topped with a great glass ceiling, and stained-glass windows surround the auditorium. It is the only music hall in Europe that is illuminated by natural light during the day.

Exterior of Paula de la Música Catalan in Barcelona

Guided tour of the Paula de la Música Catalan

Exterior detail of Paula de la Música Catalan

We arrive about an hour in advance of the 11 a.m. guided tour, buy our tickets and stroll the neighborhood before meeting our group. The tour starts with an interesting and well-done video explaining the history of the building and highlighting the amazing range of performers who have taken the stage. Some familiar names: Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, Keith Jarrett, Ella Fitzgerald, Woody Allen and Norah Jones. The music palace presents about 300 performances each year.

Staircase inside Paula de la Música Catalan

Stained-glass skylight in the concert hall of Paula de la
Música Catalan

Eighteen 'muses' form a semi-circle around the stage at  the
Paula de la Música Catalan

Tibidabo

During our first visit to Barcelona in 2014, I took one of my favorite photos; I was on a tour bus in the Tibidabo neighborhood and my trusty Fuji was able to capture a shot of the Ferris wheel atop the mountain. Ever since, I've wanted to return and see that century-old amusement park close up, as well as take in the view from the highest peak in the Collserola mountain range on the northwest edge of Barcelona.

Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor and the Ferris wheel at Parc d'Attracions
on Tibidabo mountain in Barcelona

Today, however, because it's a winter weekday, the funicular doesn't run and we are stranded at the bottom. The mansions lining the street are lovely and I am consoled by knowing I am walking the streets with which I became familiar by reading Carlos Ruiz Zafon's novels.

Mansion along Tibidabo Avenue in Barcelona 

Mansion along Tibidabo Avenue in Barcelona 

Random Barcelona

Our pair of days in Barcelona includes countless sites, smells and tastes in addition to the three attractions above. I can't pass up the chance to share a few more odds and ends.

We spot these green moving tubular things at the market, Later we find out
they are razor clams (navajas or navallas), popular in Galician cuisine.

Flamenco dresses in a Barcelona shop window

Angelic gargoyle on San Pedro church in Barcelona

Small Barcelona plaza at dusk

Yeah ... I'm not a big fan of graffiti either.

Three previous Away to Live blog posts about Barcelona and all my stories about Spain can be found here.

Barcelona potpourri

Children chasing bubbles in Parc de la Ciutadella

I think I've been clear about our feelings for Barcelona: Both Ken and I put it right at the top of the list of favorite cities, (or nearly at the top for me, as I'm still going steady with Paris). Admittedly, we have A LOT MORE of the world to see, and I wouldn't be surprised if a visit to Venice, Lisbon, Bruges, or Oslo were to give the Catalonia capital a run for its euros.

For my third and final installment of Barcelona highlights, I let the pictures do most of the talking.

In 14-hundred and 92 ...

Christopher Columbus has fallen out of favor in much of the world,
but in Barcelona, Mirador de Colomb (Monument a Colóm) still has
its place of honor at the base of les Rambles (las Ramblas).

Detail on the monument of Christopher Columbus

Statues and such

I wish I could identify all these sculptures. Yeah, I know, I should have taken better notes. 

Our tour bus stopped here: in Montjuïc, maybe?

Angel with a star on his head

Man with a bird on his head

Modern art in the Gràcia neighborhood

Francesc Macià monument in Plaça de Catalunya

Barcelona's Arc de Triomf was the main access gate for the 1888 Universal Exhibition.

Parc de la Ciutadella

Like the Arc de Triomf, above, Parc de Ciutadella was built for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. Several prominent (some rather run down) structures from the exhibition and an amazing fountain remain. Barcelona's zoo, the Catalan Parliament, the Museu d'Art Modern, and the Museu de Geologia also are located here.

The Umbracle is home to tropical plants.

The winter garden, L'Hivernacle

Perhaps the park's most prominent features is the Cascada fountain, designed by Antoni Gaudi. This is a picture of the top of the fountain.

Gaudi's simple, understated style

Pretty tourists pose with wooly mammoth

Me, happy to be here, but sad it's our last day in Barcelona

On the waterfront

Large lobster in Port Vell

Modern sculpture along Port Vell

Gravity-defying glass building along Barcelona's port

Dramatic road shoulder in Port Vell

Top of Tibidabo

We didn't go to the top of Barcelona's highest point, but I managed to take this picture
(one of my favorites). To the right of Sacred Heart church is Parc d'Attractions.  

To market, to market

The Mercat de la Boqueria is the most popular of Barcelona's food markets.
The iron-and-glass hall was built in the early 1900s.

Fresh fruit cocktails

I don't recall ever seeing burritos like these.

Inside the Mercat de la Boqueria

... And remember ...

Words to live by.

Free to see in Barcelona

Put aside culture, vibrance, beauty, architecture, and atmosphere. What makes Barcelona one of our favorite cities is value. If you know my husband, then you know he enjoys a bargain, and with our first dinner check totaling 13 euros and a 20 euro massage that he describes as the best massage ever, you can see why he loved our recent trip to the capital of Catalonia.

Even without the benefit of a massage, I find much to adore about Barcelona. Here are three favorite fabulous free things we discovered:

Roof of Arenas de Barcelona at Plaça Espanya

I'm not sure I'll be able to find Arenas de Barcelona 
shopping mall, but when we emerge from 
the subway, it's right across the street.

Interior of Arenas de Barcelona

Not much inside the huge shopping center interests me,
but the snack bar at the cinema catches my eye because ...

... this is some colorful popcorn!

View from the rooftop of Arenas de Barcelona

View from of Plaça Espanya from the rooftop of Arenas de Barcelona

Font Màgica de Montjuïc

A magic fountain? Really? I'm intrigued, but skeptical. After our rooftop stroll, we cross Plaça Espanya and pass through the Venetian Towers toward the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya (MNAC). This area was built for the 1929 International Exhibition and is one of the city's main traffic hubs. 

We arrive about 45 minutes before showtime and score two seats at an outdoor snack bar. One cheap wine, a beer and a bottle of water assures us ringside seats for the Magic Fountain show. About a thousand spectators are seated on the MNAC steps and hundreds are milling around, but our view is unimpared.

I anticipate that I'll be able to endure about 15 minutes of watching water, but as soon as the music starts and the lights and water begin their dance, I am totally hooked. 

Believe me, the pictures I post here do not do justice to the spectacle that is Font Màgica. The fountain performs Thursdays through Sundays in the high season, and Fridays and Saturdays in the autumn/winter. 

Font Màgica de Montjuïc

Font Màgica de Montjuïc

 Sunday Afternoon with Pablo: Museu Picasso

Pablo Picasso lived in Barcelona throughout most of his teens, and it is said he wished his museum to be located here. Of course there are Picasso museums in Paris and in the south of France, but nowhere else is so large a collection of his early work. The museum is spread through several Gothic palaces over six blocks in the Ribera district. 

I have done my homework and know the museum is free after 3 p.m. on Sundays (all day on the first Sunday of the month). We arrive around 2:15 and join the line of about 100 people. By the time the clock strikes three, and we are heading inside, the line winds around the block (and still is long when we leave the museum a few hours later).

I can't take pictures inside, so a few photos of the colorful La Ribera district will have to suffice.

Lady in La Ribera

Painter across from Museu Picasso

Architectural detail in La Ribera

Architectural detail in La Ribera

Architectural detail in La Ribera

A sculpture by Julio Nieto at Cathedral of Barcelona