Barcelona

This morning, we were lucky to have a hostel that included breakfast before we headed out to La Sagrada Familia. We were able to get there early and wander around some of the shops nearby (and admire the basilica from outside) before our entrance time. When we went in, we were amazed by the architecture and the stained glass that seemed to include every color you could imagine. We wandered around trying to take it all in until it was our time slot to go up the tower. We had tickets to the Passion Tower which primarily has views of the city with a glimpse of the sea. You take an elevator to the top and then walk down a series of spiral staircases with a few spots to stop and look at the view throughout. While we were on the elevator, the attendant even had to warn everyone not to look down too much to avoid dizziness and vertigo. 

The top had an incredible view of the city with a little bit of an ocean view to the side. We’ve loved being able to climb to the top of towers, so it was great to see Barcelona from above. As we climbed down, we took every opportunity to look out on every balcony there was. It was a great time, but we could easily see why they had to warn us against looking down. It was a long way down, but we made without issues. 

Once we were back down, we listened to the audio guide to learn more about what we were seeing and had seen. La Sagrada Familia was designed to look like a forest and it was very interesting to learn about the details Gaudi thought of in order to emphasize this. It was also interesting to hear that the tallest tower was designed to be 172.5 meters because he intended it to be slightly lower than the nearby mountain. Gaudi believed that the work of man should be lower than the work of God. It was also interesting to hear that Gaudi’s body is in the crypt below La Sagrada Familia which I thought was a little strange given that it is still being built. 

After we finished the audio guide, we headed back out to admire it from a little farther away before finding lunch. We ended up at a really cute Chinese place and each got some rice noodles with vegetables, egg, and a protein. It was very good and very fresh, but we also liked that it was something a little different while still being a local restaurant. 

We spent a little bit of time looking at souvenir shops before heading over to La Boqueria, a huge marketplace, but apparently google didn’t get the memo that they were closed (again). Instead, we wandered around by the port for a little while and sat by the water to take a few moments rest.

Our second (and last) excursion for the day was a wine and cheese tasting delivered by a local sommelier. We had signed up for 3 wines, but got upgraded to the class with 5 wines because no one else had signed up for 3. We started with a cava which we both loved and then tried 2 whites and 2 reds. I think we both favored the whites to the reds, but the reds were better after we got to try them with the cheese. They were very dry to drink alone and paired well with the softest cheese we had. The reds were definitely designed to enjoy with food. After tasting all of them, we were given another glass of each wine and a cheese plate to try them again. We had a great time and loved the sommelier who also gave us a restaurant recommendation for tapas nearby. 

We went to the restaurant and got chicken croquets and salmon tartar, which were both delicious. The salmon was very fresh and came with avocado, pickled onions, and an avocado lime sauce. When we finished, we weren’t quite full so we stopped for some ice cream on the way back to the hostel. Today was also the day we hit 100 miles walked! 

Marseilles was very quiet when we left the hostel. It was very surprising to see how quiet the city was especially after how busy it was the day before. None of the cafés near our hostel were open before 7 and we decided we would be smarter to head toward the train station and find breakfast there rather than wait for something to open. We found a café about a block before we got to the train and got a quick breakfast before heading to the station to wait for the train. I think that our close call at the train station in Nice made us nervous about time, especially because this leg required seat reservations. Either way, it’s good that we were early and we started our day with a hot and sweaty walk through Marseille. This time, we made it on the train with almost 30 minutes to spare. 

Unfortunately, the train didn’t award our timeliness with their own haste and we ended up arriving almost 2 hours late. It was a relaxing ride but it was definitely a little annoying to be that late. When we did arrive, we purchased the rest of our train tickets for Spain (they had to be purchased in person) and we got our tickets from a very nice and helpful man in the Renfe office. After we were ready to go, we found the hostel and dropped off our bags before heading out to explore. 

We wanted to see La Rambla today, so we took the metro to one end and walked toward the water. It was a lot of fun looking into different stands and stores and reading different menus along the street. We made it to the end and wandered around the port briefly before heading back up La Rambla to find a restaurant for dinner. We ended up at a cute Spanish restaurant (of course) and ordered Paella de Pollo and drinks. It was delicious and we were so full that we had to wander around for awhile after to walk off some of the food in order to make some room for churros. 

After churros and more walking, we made our way back to the hostel to shower and get ready for our busy day tomorrow. Weirdly, we found out that the hostel showers are operated by a push button that only stays on for three seconds which made it very difficult to shower. We made it work and are now settling in for the night.