On Thursday, November 24th 2011 we flew to Barcelona (via JFK in New York). We spent 7 sunny days and 6 fun nights seeing the city and enjoying the culture.

Here are a few highlights (or click here to view all the photos):

Walking Around

We spent a lot of time walking around the city, taking in the sights, sounds and atmosphere of Barcelona. One day we walked about 7 miles, another about 6. The weather was mild (for Minnesotans – the locals were bundled up with winter coats, scarves and boots) – mid 60s during the day 50s at night.

We stayed in what is called the Gothic Quarter part of the “Old City” – the streets are very narrow and winding – in the evenings automobiles are not permitted – pedestrian traffic only. Each street was unique, so many shops, restaurants and pubs to discover!

[Show as slideshow]

◄12...678910►

The Food

A highlight of many vacations is the food – and Barcelona did not disappoint. Nearly every meal we had was outstanding or unique, and we remembered to photograph several of them. One thing we discovered when walking about in the more local, downtown areas – the “plate of the day” – which was the lunch specials all the small, local restaurants featured.

On Tuesday of our visit we finally realized that lunch starts anywhere between 1:30-2:30 PM (though often not until 3:00 PM) and lasts until 4 or 5PM. Many shops close during this time while the workers go to lunch (but not in the more touristy areas – thus why it took us several days to figure out proper lunch times). “Lunch of the day” typically was a 3-course meal plus beverage for a fixed price – we saw many between 6.5 and 10 Euros. 3 courses included: soup or salad, large entree, and dessert; beverage is soda, beer, wine or water. Coffee was also included.

The Hotel

We stayed at 2 different hotels during our visit: NH Duc de la Victoria and H10 Montcada. Both were nice, we stayed 4 nights at H10 Montcada – which was a great hotel – it has a nice rooftop patio with a jacuzzi – which was not hot enough to use in November. The views from the roof were great – one morning Sheri woke up early and took a bunch of photos.

The Port

Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean sea, and has a very busy port with a large entertainment area – sailboats, barges and cruise ships. On our first day in the city we walked down to the water, and discovered the large monument dedicated to Columbus (slightly ironic since it was the day after Thanksgiving). We enjoyed walking by the water, had severl meal in the port area (one on the beach) and took a cable car across the port to Montjuïc.

The Montjuïc

The Montjuïc is a hill over looking Barcelona … we walked around the Castell de Montjuïc – a fortress from the 17th/18th centuries.

The Market

On our first day we also discovered the la Boqueria Market, which Sheri especially enjoyed. It is a large, open air-market selling almost any food you can imagine – meat, seafood, bread, fruits, vegetables, chocolate, cheese and much more. There are several restaurants serving food as well. It was amazing to walk around in the crowds and see all the food.

La Sagrada Familia Basilica

La Sagrada Familia is one of Gaudi’s most famous works in Barcelona. It’s a giant Basilica that has been under construction since 1882 and it’s not expected to be completed for between 30 to 80 years (time for completion varies depending on different sources of information). We first walked to it on Tuesday of our visit, but it was late in the day and we were rather tired, so we decide to return the next day to see it. We took advantage of the audio tour to learn more about La Sagrada Familia- it was very interesting.

Summary

Barcelona was a lot of fun! It was a great place to visit in November – off-season for tourism but still warm (for MN natives). There is lots to see, do and eat!