The Modern City

Traveling from Avignon, France to Barcelona, Spain was almost like travelling to a different world. In just one 3-hour train ride we went from a tranquil, medieval small town to a modern, flashy Spaniard metropolis, with Mediterranean detailing from its palm trees to its view of the Balearic coast.

Since Barcelona’s economic disparities in years past (partly because the dictator Franco hated Barcelona’s Catalonian society), in years since the city has put major effort into “upgrading.” Therefore, it doesn’t fit into the stereotypical historical, old Spanish city, but a melting pot of cool, old buildings and fancy new architecture all sitting right next to each other.

Being it old or modern, we were finally back in a city where we could communicate; well, at least I could communicate on behalf of the family. Maybe it was the ridding of a language barrier or simply the easy-going Spanish atmosphere, but I could almost feel the relaxation settle into my family. But not for too long! Barcelona is big, and Barcelona is full of things to see and do. Put it all together and what does this mean? Tour bus.

At this point in the trip, the McCain family was reaching professional status at riding a city tour bus. With this said, we can all reasonably agree that the Barcelona City Bus Tour wasn’t the best tour bus we’ve ever honored with our presence. I will say, however, that the little hiccups in our bus tour led to some great things:

• After passing the stadium that held the 1992 Summer Olympics, we hopped off at what were supposed to be beautiful gardens. But after walking through bushes for 15 minutes we finally stumbled upon a very steep hill. The hill led us to a really cool panoramic view of the Barcelona coast. We also ended up riding a snazzy funicular down to the bottom.

• The maritime museum of old ships that sailed through Barcelona’s waters was as interesting as that could be, but the wait for the bus after was a damper. We were hungry, so we decided to ditch the bus for a little and walk through Las Rambas (a famous, bustling street of Barcelona) and we ended up at an all-you-can-eat buffet of pinxos (the little open-faced sandwiches) with a bottle of wine.

Okay this wasn't the same restaraunt that I mentioned but it was another bar we went to on Las Rambas street where we tried a couple of pinxos and drank some Sangria. So you get the point...

• Once boarded back on the tour bus, it led us through cool places like the Gothic area of Barcelona, but then all of the sudden the bus stopped at a corner and led everyone off, saying that the busses were stopping early today. Umm, what? Realizing that it was because of the holiday (King’s Day the next day), we tracked down a taxi and went to La Sagrada Familia. But in hindsight, if we had never gotten kicked off the bus, there’s no way we would have made it in time to get into the breathtaking cathedral before it closed that day. A taxi was much faster.

So thank you tour bus! Sometimes mishaps can lead you to great things…

The Sagrada Familia has to go down as one of my favorite things about Barcelona. From studying abroad and now living abroad in Europe, I have had my fair share and more of visiting cathedrals. Ask anyone who’s lived in Europe for a time and as sad to admit, the cathedrals kind of all start to look the same. But this cathedral was something I’ve never witnessed before. The church was designed by architect, Antoni Gaudi and began its construction in 1882. Gaudi died when less than a quarter of the project had been complete. Well, over 100 years has passed and here we are walking into an incomplete church. The anticipated completion of the church is in 2026, the centenary of Gaudi’s death.

La Sagrada Familia in all its glory.

The outside of the cathedral is obviously very impressive, but you’ve seen nothing until you take a step inside. Like the city it’s built in, the cathedral is a mix of old and very modern designs. It plays with geometric shapes, making you feel as though you’re inside of a colorful kaleidoscope. Any direction you turn there is something to stare at in blissful awe, like this:

There are spiral stairs, columns, a massive organ, smooth curves, jagged points and high balconies. My family and I could have spent an entire day in La Sagrada Familia.

I was right about the kaleidescope thing right?

I wish I could have this ceiling in my living room.

But of course, there just wasn’t enough time to spend the rest of the trip at La Sagrada Familia. On to the next we went: Madrid.

#travel