We had scheduled a short, early morning flight on Vueling so as to have a full day to wander the city center streets of Barcelona. With a scheduled departure from San Sebastián Fuenteraba Airport (EAS) at 8:30 a.m. and landing at Barcelona–El Prat Airport (BCN) an hour later, we expected to be settled in our hotel by 11:00. We fell short, far short of our expectations. Due to several mishaps accompanied by numerous mysterious announcements, our flight (VY2487) was delayed 343 minutes; yes, over 5½ hours. We arrived at BCN shortly after 3:00 p.m. Our woes continued. We had reserved a premium car (Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan) with Suntransfers; a driver was to meet us at the arrivals gate. We were unable to locate our driver upon arrival and immediately called customer service; Gus was assured that a driver was on his way. After four more calls, we were told that no car was available, and a "friend" would pick us up and transport us to our hotel. We were collected by the "friend" and, with his assistance, loaded our luggage and ourselves into his old taxi sans air conditioning, quite a step down from Mercedes E-Class. In 30 minutes we arrived at the Ohla Hotel Barcelona, our home for the next three nights.
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| American-inspired hotel in the heart of old Barcelona, bordering the Gothic Quarter and El Born and L’Eixample neighborhoods. |
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| Mur d'Ulls Frederic Amat, a local artist, after four years, managed to build the ”Mur d’ulls” consisting of 1,000 ceramic eyeballs stitched onto the façade of the hotel that works as an acknowledgment of the city’s art deco tradition |
Inside, Gus and Joan were struck by the contrasting avant-garde interior design and its playful personality. Ohla had relegated its reception to the first floor (second floor for Americans), which avoided "check-in" cluttering up the lobby. We were escorted to a private registration specialist, and while registering, Gus and Joan were offered and sipped on glasses of Cava, and Gus enjoyed ...
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| House-made marshmallows |
We were soon shown to our room which we found comfortable. The room featured an open floor plan with a sleek bathroom. The most spectacular feature of our room though was the view outside our windows ...
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| More surreal eyeballs adorning the brilliant blue walls of the interior courtyard |
After unpacking and freshening up, we left the hotel and headed into the Gothic Quarter. Unfortunately, due to the transport delays from earlier in the day, we were starting our "wandering" nearly seven hours later than we expected ... we had lost a full day!
Leaving the hotel, we turned right on Carrer Comtal, a pedestrian street, and headed west.
We still had plenty of sunlight, and sundown was not until another 3¼ hours. We decided to join the Saturday night rowdy street crowd that this area of Barcelona has become well known. The evening was pleasantly warm as we walked down one of the narrow, winding streets of the district. Gus quickly concluded that you'd not seen Barcelona until you’ve seen, and got lost in these ancient streets. Believe me, we got lost.
We did find our way to Avinguda del Portal del l'Angel. We continued west on Carrer de Santa Anna down and across La Rambal and onto Carrer del Pintor Fortuny, where we stumbled upon Bar Lobo.
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| (photo courtesy of grupotragaluz.com) |
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| (photo courtesy of finnair.com) |
From the menu, we ordered a selection of classic Spanish tapas ~ anchovies with toasted bread, patatas bravas with aioli, ham croquettes, Galician octopus ~ as well as a more substantial dish of veal sirloin with mustard, straw potatoes, and Padrón peppers. The service was friendly (which is sometimes challenging to come by in a place such as this, where there is a fast table turnover) and the food was good but certainly not great.
The next morning we had an excellent inclusive breakfast in the hotel's restaurant. An impressive buffet ...
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| Breakfast buffet at La Plassohla |
... offering coffee and teas which were freshly brewed, fresh fruit juices, a mix of pastries, soft and hard-cooked eggs, bacon and sausages, cereals, fresh fruit, cheese and hams, yogurts ~ if an item wasn't on the buffet guests were encouraged to special order it from the kitchen. And all with complimentary chilled Cava. A bonus is the large windows of the restaurant that allowed us to view people coming and going along the Via Laietana Avenue and the Comtal pedestrian street while we ate. An excellent way to start a Sunday morning!
Gus had purchased tickets online, several months in advance, for entrance and a guided tour of the Basilica of the Sagrada Família. A fifteen-minute taxi ride and we were dropped off next to a church unlike any other church that we had seen before.
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| Josep María Bocabella |
Josep María Bocabella, a devout and eccentric bookseller, conceived the idea of building this great church. It was to be an affirmation of the Catholic church, in the face of threats from secular industrial society. The church would be dedicated to the Holy Family, to buttress family life, and would be placed on the edge of the expanding city. Construction started in 1882, and there were hopes it would be ready for use within a decade.
After parting company with his first architect, Francisco de Paula del Villar, Bocabella appointed the 31-year-old Antoni Gaudí.
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| Antoni Gaudí. |
According to legend, he dreamed that his architect would have piercing blue eyes and then met Gaudí, who had such eyes. It is possible that he thought he was getting a cheap option, as the young man would have charged lower fees than more established competitors. If so, this hope was as vain as the projected timetable. Whatever might have been saved on costs was spent many times over on Gaudí's ambitious design.
“My client is in no hurry.” Antoni Gaudí believed that God had all the time in the world, so there was no need to rush the completion of the Catalan architect’s ambitious work. Often mistaken for Barcelona’s cathedral, paid for entirely by private donations and sales of tickets to the millions of people who visit it each year, is unlikely to be finished before 2026. Given that construction began in 1882, this is clearly the work not just of a singular and devoutly religious architect, but of several determined generations of dedicated professionals and enthusiasts; at over 125 years "in the making" it has begun to look like a Sisyphean challenge.
George Orwell said it was “one of the most hideous buildings in the world” and rather hoped it would be destroyed during the Spanish Civil War as he added that “the Anarchists showed bad taste in not blowing it up when they had the chance.” Salvador Dalí spoke of its “terrifying and edible beauty,” saying it should be kept under a glass dome. Walter Gropius, the master of right-angled architecture and founder of the Bauhaus, praised its technical perfection. Louis Sullivan, the great American architect, and “father of skyscrapers,” described it as “spirit symbolized in stone.”
As for Gus and Joan's, our visit to the Sagrada Família moved us profoundly, more than any famous European church that we have ever seen. To refer to the Sagrada Família as simply a church would be like referring to the Musée du Louvre as merely a museum.
We were scheduled to begin our tour at 10:00, meeting at the main entrance on Carrer de la Marina.
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| Nativity Façade of the Basilica Each of the four bell towers is dedicated to an apostle; Saint Barnabas, Saint-Simon, Saint Judas Thaddeus, and Saint Mathew |
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| A closer view of the Nativity façade. Has frequently been referred to as "the Bible, written in stone." |
Gaudí poured all his fantastical ideas into the Nativity façade. He included any number of shapes from nature, from rounded rocks reminiscent of the Montserrat massif to human figures and plants, to achieve a unique effect. The façade's outstanding feature is the elaborate decoration, replete with Christian symbols. The sculptures extend from the bottom of the façade to where the bell towers start to rise. Through them, the façade depicts the birth of Christ. The images that appear include the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary under the invocation of the Immaculate Conception, the Nativity, the Star of Bethlehem, the Three Wise Men, the shepherds, and the Tree of Life. Various artists made the sculptures and stylistically incorporated them into the façade’s Gothic design.
Bronze Gate
Located in the Portal of Charity and is the creation of Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo, a passionate follower of
Gaudí’s career, has been collaborating in the construction of the church since 1978. Inspired by nature and full of metal leaves, flowers, and insects.
Upon entering, regardless of secular or religious beliefs, Joan and Gus were gobsmacked. They each took a few steps and froze. Not only was the interior empyrean, it was one of the most stunning places we have ever been in, but it was also drastically different from the exterior. Unlike the façade, with its striking carvings, the inside was made of sleek, white stone painted by colored light from the elaborate stained glass windows all around the room. It was utterly breathtaking.
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| An immense baldachin holds the image of a crucified Christ who seems to levitate amid grandiosity. Gus admits that, to him, it resembles a landing parachute!!! Whereas, to Joan, Christ was ascending to Heaven. |
Rich white light pours in from windows above the high altar, giving the impression of the sun’s rays poking through a forest canopy. It all contributes to a sensation that although one is standing indoors, one could just as easily be outside, in a white forest ...
High above the central nave, a golden skylight of gleaming triangles hangs, what seems, like a crystal chandelier.
These are partial views of the impressive ceiling of the cathedral. On the left and below, notice the bone-like columns
twisting their way to the ceiling and resembling trees rising to connect to large geometric stars simulating the thick
a canopy of a forest.
The columns of the interior are a unique Gaudí design. Besides branching to support their load, their ever-changing
surfaces are the result of the intersection of various geometric forms.
... ringed by some of the most intensely colorful and surreal stained glass windows one might ever see.
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The windows in the cathedral don’t tell sacred stories or commemorate
kings or saints or wealthy patrons, they are there to illuminate the church.
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There is no recognizable symbolic content in the windows, they are purely decorative abstract designs, but they
bathe the interior of the cathedral in a kaleidoscope of brilliant hues, especially along the aisles.
The colorful hues of the stained glass with constantly shifting patterns illuminating the stone walls of the cathedral.
From 1999 onwards, painter and glassmaker Joan Vila i Grau has been in charge of producing the stained glass windows. He employs traditional techniques, setting the glass in lead strips to play with the shape and rhythm. Here in the cathedral, he has followed the guidelines established by Gaudí, who left several documents explaining how the stained glass windows should be arranged to achieve a symphony of evocative light and color. Now look up ...
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| The central nave ceiling reaches almost 200 feet. None of the roof's surfaces are flat; the ornamentation is comprehensive and rich, consisting of spectacular abstract shapes which combine smooth curves and jagged points. |
Still, inside the cathedral, we turn south and view ...
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| The Eucharist The chalice and the host are currently located on the glass window which will be replaced by the bronze door pictured below. |
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The door of the Eucharist
This bronze door will serve as the cathedral's main entrance.
the middle part of the door is inscribed with the Lord's Prayer
us, o Lord, our daily bread' in Catalan and 49 more languages.
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The Glory Façade is currently under construction. Once completed, it will be the primary façade providing access to the church and will have three entrances dedicated to the three theological virtues faith, hope, and charity. It will also contain a porch with seven columns, symbolizing the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. The Seven Deadly Sins will be depicted at the base of these columns, with The Seven Virtues portrayed at the top. This façade will symbolically face the south for the sun to shine on it most of the day, representing a joyful spirit.
On the west side of the cathedral is the West Transept and the Doorway of the Passion. Passing through Doorway, we looked up to view the Passion Façade. In contrast to the highly decorated Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade is austere, plain and simple, with ample bare stone, and is carved with sharp straight lines to resemble the bones of a skeleton. Dedicated to the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion, the façade was intended to portray the sins of man. Construction began in 1954, following the drawings and instructions left by Gaudí for future architects and sculptors. The towers were completed in 1976, and in 1987 by a team of sculptors, headed by Josep Maria Subirachs. They aimed to give a rigid, angular form to provoke a dramatic effect. Gaudí intended for this façade to strike fear into the onlooker. This façade symbolically faces the setting sun, indicative and symbolic of the death of Christ.
It could be possible to spend hours, days, maybe even weeks studying the details of Sagrada Familia and still find new and exciting things to discover. We didn’t get a chance to visit the crypt, which contains the tomb of Gaudi, and a small chapel ...
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| Crypt and Rosary Chapel This is an underground level located beneath the apse. (Photo courtesy of Gaudi's Masterpiece in Barcelona by Scott Medway) |
nor any of the towers (of the 18 towers Gaudí planned for the cathedral, there are presently eight completed; four on the Nativity Façade and four on the Passion Façade.), which are accessible for visitors to get a bird’s eye view of Barcelona.
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| View from the top of the Nativity Towers
When buying tickets, visitors have the opportunity to choose between the
(Photo courtesy of MissVacation)Passion Towers and the Nativity Towers. The Passion Towers reveals a view of the ocean while the Nativity Towers presents a sweeping view of Barcelona. |
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Nativity Façade Towers' Staircase
There’s no elevator on the way down from the towers, so visitors
have to descend a very long, very narrow series of spiraling stairs. |
On the west side of the cathedral is the West Transept and the Doorway of the Passion. Passing through Doorway, we looked up to view the Passion Façade. In contrast to the highly decorated Nativity Façade, the Passion Façade is austere, plain and simple, with ample bare stone, and is carved with sharp straight lines to resemble the bones of a skeleton. Dedicated to the Passion of Christ, the suffering of Jesus during his crucifixion, the façade was intended to portray the sins of man. Construction began in 1954, following the drawings and instructions left by Gaudí for future architects and sculptors. The towers were completed in 1976, and in 1987 by a team of sculptors, headed by Josep Maria Subirachs. They aimed to give a rigid, angular form to provoke a dramatic effect. Gaudí intended for this façade to strike fear into the onlooker. This façade symbolically faces the setting sun, indicative and symbolic of the death of Christ.
The scenes sculpted into the façade are divided into three levels reproducing the Via Crucis of Christ. The lowest level depicts scenes from Jesus' last night before the crucifixion, including The Last Supper, Kiss of Judas, Ecce Homo, and the Sanhedrin Trial of Jesus. The middle level portrays the Calvary, or Golgotha, of Christ, and includes The Three Marys, Saint Veronica, Saint Longinus, and a hollow-face illusion of Christ. In the third and final level, the Death, Burial, and the Resurrection of Christ can be seen.
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| The Passion Façade is dedicated to Christ's suffering; representing the time leading up to betrayal and crucifixion. The façade aims to show the sins of man; Gaudi intending on people to feel fear of looking at it. |
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| Magic Square on the Passion Façade |
The Magic Square is one of the mysteries of the cathedral. The 4x4 magic square of 16 numbers is somewhat of a conundrum. Some have found that the magic constant, i.e., when you add up all numbers horizontally, diagonally, or vertically (cryptogram containing 310 combinations), is 33, the age of Christ when he was crucified. The same number also appears in the Parque Guëll (also designed by Gaudí), where the sum of stairs is 33. Another explanation is that the number 33 is the highest rank a Freemason can reach. Indeed, Gaudí was probably a Freemason, as Gaudí was born in Reus, one of the cradles of freemasonry and also because of Gaudí’s patron, Guëll, was also said to be a Freemason. In any case, this mathematic square remains a complete mystery that Gaudí took to his tomb.
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| Alpha & Omega Over the Doorway of the Passion. Derives from the statement said by Jesus (or God) himself "I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End." |
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| Flagellation of Christ, sculpture by Joseph Maria Subirachs. The face is said to be that of Gaudí. |
Gus and Joan left the porch of the Passion Façade and took the stairs down to the gift shop. Here we bought a few gifts for family and friends. The juxtaposition of being inside the magnificent cathedral and being in a "gift" shop was remarkable. Thinking for a moment, Gus realized that Gaudí was God's gift to all of us!
Southwest of the cathedral is a beautiful public park, Plaça de la Sagrada Família. The park's greenery of trees, flowers, and bushes served as a great place to get a respite even amid crowds of tourists. Numerous vendors lined the edges of the park. Thirsty and a bit tired, we stopped at one of the food stalls and shared a Bocadillo vegetal (vegetable sandwich) "washed down" by several refreshing sangrias.
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| Sangria Maestro Coctelero |
We strolled through the park after our refreshment. To our amusement, we came across ...
Sardana
The music that accompanies this curious but enthralling spectacle of
Catalan dancing is Barres i Onades (Bars and Waves) from the album
Leaving the park, we took a taxi to another Gaudí landmark ...
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| Casa Batlló The facade sprinkled with bits of blue, mauve and green tiles and studded with wave-shaped window frames and balconies rise to an uneven blue-tiled roof with a single tower. (Photo courtesy of Scribble, Snap, Travel) |
This imaginative, mischievous structure is like something out of “Alice in Wonderland” or Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory: Colorful, playful shapes and glittering bits of glass are engaged in a spectacular dialogue with sensual curved woods in a way that seems to perfectly capture the light filtering in from the Passeig de Gràcia. Again, as we toured the building, Gaudí’s respect for nature is evident.
Casa Batlló (Bah-cho) is one of Gaudì’s masterpieces, which was commissioned to him by Josep Batlló and "remodeled" between 1904 and 1906. In total, the house is enormous, occupying 53,820 square feet.
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| Photo of Batlló family at Casa Batlló (Photo courtesy of Gouda’s Amazing Architecture) |
The building was to be used by Batlló and his family as a residence. It is located in the middle of Passeig de Gràcia, the avenue where most prestigious bourgeois families were settling at the time. The original building, which was somber and dull, was transformed by Gaudì into the fantastical structure that it is today.
The private entrance to the residence and the grand staircase, with railings of hand-carved wood representing the
backbone of a large animal, leading to the Noble Floor (main floor).
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| A perfect secluded spot for courting couples tucked away in a romantic mushroom-shaped niche adorned with a ceramic fireplace, which is flanked by a bench on either side, one for the chaperone and the other for the couple being chaperoned. |
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| The main suite of the Noble Floor has three interconnected rooms dramatically edged by beautiful stained glass windows providing a continuous panoramic view onto Passeig de Gràcia as well as allowing natural light to bathe the space. |
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| The ceiling is wavy, in allusion to the sea. It features an ingenious whirlpool effect that evokes the power of the sea. A magnificent light fixture appears to be on the verge of being swallowed by the vortex of the whirlpool. |
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| Gaudí created oak doors with organic shapes into which are set panes of stained glas..These doors, as well as separating the three rooms, allow a single light-filled space to be created. |
Central Light Well
Glazed tiles range from light blue on the bottom(left photo) of the well to shimmering
dark blue on the top (right photo). There are five different tones of blue, inspired by
the various shades of the sea. The vast central skylight, at the peak of the well, allows
a cascade of light to enter and illuminate the entire internal well.
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| Cozy courtyard off Noble Floor with direct access from the dining room, (Photo courtesy of Mademoiselle Modeuse) |
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| Sinuous Roof Terrace Chimneys
One of four stylized and polychromatic chimney stacks
located on the roof of the residence.
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We took the elevator down, exited the house, and walked back to our hotel. After showering and taking naps, we awoke around 8:00 p.m., and we were ready for dinner. As today was Sunday, we were limited as to choices for places to eat; many, if not most, restaurants are closed Sunday nights in Barcelona.
Fortunately, on the ground floor of the hotel, the relaxed La Plassohla was open. They were serving creative tapas dishes while occupying a space that had an industrial, slightly masculine feel, with high ceilings, concrete pillars, and large slate tiles lining the bar and open kitchen. Both Gus and Joan enthusiastically took to the menu. An additional bonus associated with it being Sunday night included a delightful jazz combo of guitar and bass.
Gus enjoyed a glass of cava while Joan chose a glass of Albarino. The wines paired nicely with our first course.
Gus enjoyed a glass of cava while Joan chose a glass of Albarino. The wines paired nicely with our first course.
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| "Suke" sashimi style salmon marinated in soy sauce, ginger and citrus garnished with guacamole and micro greens; served along with garden salads with goat cheese and pine nuts. |
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| "Sea and Mountain Rice" Not entirely surprising, the ingredients used in this Catalan rice dish was fish and meat including shrimp, mussels, squid, monkfish, pork ribs, and Iberian ham. |
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| Cruz de Alba 100% Tempranillo grapes |
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| Dry-aged rib eye lightly sauced with gremolata and served with traditional fried potatoes and Padrón peppers |
On the walk back to our room Joan was able to get a great photo of the surreal hallway that led from the elevator to room 402.
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| Surreal Hallway Designed by Catalan artist and sculptor Frederic Amat |
With the long day behind us, with slept long and well. The next morning, a Monday, greeted us with a surprise: all museums in Barcelona are closed on Mondays. Yikes!
After having another excellent breakfast at our hotel, we were off. Today, uncharacteristically, we decided to do what most Americans do when traveling in Europe...we shopped.
We wandered up Roger de Llúria past Plaça d'Urquinaona to Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes in search of a fabric store, which was highly recommended, which we never found. Having come up empty, we headed to El Corte Inglés Department Store in Plaça de Catalunya and found fabrics that we easily find in most any fabric store in the United States. Oh well, so much for taking home special Catalan textiles.
Abandoning our targeted shopping strategy, we walked down Portal de l'Àngel. Said to be the busiest pedestrian street in Barcelona and perhaps Europe, this is a one-stop-shop if you want to spend the day shopping within a two-block radius. Located between Plaça de Catalunya and the Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter, Portal de l'Àngel has everything from clothing, to books, to sporting equipment stores, Gelato shops, and street performers. We ducked into and out of shops as we were so inspired to do so. Yet, nothing caught our eye...very disappointing.
Based on our experience with Portal de l'Àngel we decided to skip shopping a few streets over on Las Ramblas and instead take a taxi over to El Born district. Gus did have a particular wine shop as a destination. After enduring the performance of a geographically challenged taxi driver, we were dropped off within a few blocks from la tienda de Vinos.
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| Vila Viniteca One of the best wine stores in Barcelona (and there are a few), has been searching out the best local and imported wines since 1932. (Photo courtesy of Javier Lastras) |
For our last night in Barcelona, we stayed in the hotel and had an early dinner at Saüc Restaurant.
Locatedwe on the mezzanine of the hotel, the restaurant is small and has a clean, modern décor. The interior is designed with hardwood flooring, a black wall that serves as a separator between the kitchen and dining room, and it is surrounded by glass windows overlooking the street. One Michelin starred restaurant that serves high-quality food based on traditional Catalan cuisine but with a modern twist.
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| Amuse bouche I Meaty yet grassy fresh young Italian green olives and intensely flavored black olive gelee, a pleasant taste combination of sweet and savory. |
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| Amuse bouche II Cheese tuiles with ikura and crispy spring rolls |
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| Creamy Foie gras mousse with onion cookie "crumble," lemon cream, and jelly vinegar Muscatel |
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| Salad Saüc |
With a very early flight home the next morning ,we decided to each have a single glass of wine with our dinner rather than split a bottle. A glass of Les Crestes Priorat was selected by Gus while Joan chose a glass Habla Nº 12. Both wines paired extremely well with our food.
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Cannelloni roast duck with Foie gras emulsion,
pear and pine nuts
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| Grilled filets of stripped red mullet with "sea foam" and cumin carrots |
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| Roast suckling pig confit with sauteed potatoes, shallots, and crackling skin |
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| Pistachio macaron |
The food here was just stunning. We went for a smaller tasting menu, which was ample, and each dish was explained with care. Service was amiable, amusing, patient, and competent. All in all, this was a fabulous meal and a great dining experience.
We fly home in the morning. From BCN, we fly to CDG with a flight departure of 6:45 a.m. connecting to SFO with a flight arrival of 1:00 p.m, an early start to a long day.
Adios Barcelona
