September 9th, Saturday: Day 11

We woke up this morning on a bright note, excited to hit the highlights of Barcelona. After grabbing the breakfast that the hotel provided, we grabbed our car and started our drive. On the drive there, we saw the Columbus statue that we viewed yesterday. The last half mile was very difficult because the roads became steep near Parc Guell (History). Luckily we were able to find a parking spot on the side of the road. Once at the entrance, we were fortunate that Andre had already purchased tickets online (€7 each), as for the line was very long.

The view from the bottom of the staircase

The inside of the park was absolutely beautiful, and from the bottom of the staircase, there was a great view of above. We walked up the stairs where we saw a very cool lizard, the guide told us that Antoni Gaudi broke plates to make it. 

The lizard from broken plates

Next we took a walk around the park, observing all the works of Gaudi. After about 2 hours of touring the park, we were all starting to get hungry and decided it was time to leave and get food. The streets were becoming very crowded so we decided to walk and explore the streets hoping to find a place to eat along the way. To our luck, we found a sandwich and ice cream shop on the street side. We ate our sandwiches, but we really wanted the ice cream that they had so we decided to get it. It was almost 1 o'clock and we realized we needed to get back to the car and drive over to the Sagrada Familia (History/Culture). It was only about a 10-minute drive, but our ticket (€15) was for 1:30 and we wanted to get through security in time. We soon arrived and we were in astonished by the outside of the church, it was the most beautiful building that we had ever seen even though it was not completed yet.

The architectural design from up close

Once through security, we took some pictures in front of the building. Tyler almost fought a guy, as that guy had scuffed his brand new Asics! Thankfully he did not and we could move on through the day. We then walked inside and it was not at all a disappointment. There was so much brilliant artwork on the windows, and the design on the ceiling was magnificent. After about 20 minutes walking around the first floor, we headed outside and into the basement. Down in the basement, there was exhibits with historical background of the church, as well as the prototype of the completed building in 2026.

The stained windows and architecture inside the church

Touring the whole church blew our minds away, and we were so thankful that we were able to do that. It was about 3PM by the time we were back at our hotel, we were all tired from the day so far and took another siesta. 


                       -A few hours later at around 5:00 PM-
Our next stop was the Gothic Quarter (History), about a 20-minute drive from where we were staying. In the car, Mason read out to us that the some buildings in the Gothic Quarter were built during the medieval times. And that it is found in the center of Barcelona, with many streets that led to different squares. We found a parking spot on one of the streets and decided it would be best to walk around the streets because of the tight spaces on the streets. Along the streets we stopped at one of the squares, surprisingly it was the one with the city hall. We spent some time in that square, and Chris bought a Messi jersey from a street vendor. All of us were starting to get hungry so we headed back towards the car, but a restaurant along the way caught our attention and we stopped there. We were able to eat an authentic Spanish meal of: Patatas Bravas to start (Enjoyed so much from the last time), Lobster Pallela, and finally to top it off Tecula Mecula mainly because the name sounded very cool and catchy.

                    -A few hours later at around 10:00 PM- 
We were all really bored in our room and decided to try out the club that was inside our hotel. All of us decided to stick together because we did not know what was to come. Mason went over to the bar and grabbed a beer. We were all starting to have fun before the club manager came over to us and told us we had to leave. Andre asked him why, and he said that Tyler was really drunk and not following the rules of the club. It was only then did we decide it was time to call it a day.

The Sagrada Familia:

The Sagrada Familia was designed by Antoni Gaudi, and the construction began in 1882 and still continues today, expecting to be finished in 2026. Gaudi combined the Gothic styles and Art Nouveau (international styles) when designing the masterpiece. The construction was halted during the Spanish civil war ('36 - '39), and only resumed in the 1950s. The building is used today as a tourist attraction (because of architectural design) and as a church to the public. 

People praying in the Sagrada Familia

Dinner Meal:
For dinner we wanted to get a fully traditional meal to the country of Spain. As an appetizer we got Patatas Bravas, even though we got before, we really enjoyed it and wanted to get it again. They are fried white potatoes which are then drizzled in a really delicious tomato sauce. For our main course we got Lobster Paella, which is basically a rice based meal filled with Lobster and spices/herbs. Finally the best part of the meal is always dessert, so we wanted to try a unique one to our country of Spain. We chose the dessert of Tecula Mecula mainly because of the name. Once we took a bite, we did not regret it one bit, this delicious dessert is made of almonds, egg yolks, and sugar (basically tart). The only problem with this meal was that it came at a pricey cost of about €32.