Tapas & The City

Much like our last visit to Barcelona, we started out with a visit to the La Sagrada Familia this morning. This time we were able to have a proper visit, which allowed us to go inside and pay closer attention to the details of the facade. My original sense—that this is a striking example of Gaudi’s architectural and artistic prowess—still holds true. Of course, it's also been under construction since 1882... that's about the same pace as my building projects around the house.

Here's a photo of the construction inside La Sagrada Familia:

And, in case you're hungry (or thirsty) during church service:

After visiting the cathedral, we returned to the hotel and took a nap for a couple of hours.

In the later afternoon, we strolled around our neighborhood, the Eixample, for a couple of hours enjoying the Modernista architecture. We're really lucky because Gaudi's La Pedrera (below) is basically at the end of our street and many of the other important Modernista buildings (including the famed “Block of Discord”) are within a few blocks.

For dinner, we ate tapas at a popular local placed called Cerveceria Catalana. We arrived around 6:00 (very early for Barcelona) and the place was busy. By the time we left a little after 7:00, the place was absolutely packed. So, if you visit... go early. The food was fantastic. We ate fried baby calamari (a little expensive, but the best calamari we've ever eaten), patates braves (potatoes smothered in a spicy red sauce and alioli), ham and chicken croquetes, a baked eggplant/red pepper/goat cheese “terrine,”and a bacon/cheese/date “flauta” (think: sandwich, not enchilada).

And, finally, here's a snapshot of the tapas (calamari & patates):

Today was all about getting settled in, recovered from the travel, and reconnecting with Barcelona.

Tomorrow, we embark on the cruise...