Vikki: Hey, Ash, when I’m in Europe, do you want to come to Barcelona with me?
Ash: YEEEESSSS!
That’s basically how this trip started and we didn’t look back.
Our weekend basically consisted of waking up early, going to tourist spots before anyone else, finding gluten-free-friendly cafes, sweating in the Barcelona heat, drinking sangria for lunch, repeatedly saying “I can’t believe we’re in Barcelona together!” and laughing uncontrollably in the streets. It was such a great holiday, it got its own hashtags: #BFFsinBarcelona, #yourenglishisreallygood #looklistenlaugh.
We ticked off the major sites of Barcelona:
- Sagrada Familia
- Park Guell
- General Gaudi architecture
- Barcelona Cathedral
- Arc de Triomf
- Magic Fountain
Antoni Gaudí’s work
Antoni Gaudí is a famous Catalan modernist architect, who lived mainly in Barcelona during his life (1852-1926). He was inspired by nature and religion and this is almost always seen in his design work. If you’ve ever been to Barcelona then you’ve almost definitely seen some of his work as the most popular sights are generally his work.
Sagrada Família
Construction began in 1882 and 136 years later this project remains unfinished. You can easily see Gaudí’s main influences in this basilica. He avoided straight lines and tended toward more slants and curves. He believed that no man-made structure should stand above God’s work, so when it’s completed this highest point will be 170m high, just shorter than the hill that overlooks Barcelona, just short enough to not out-do God’s nature. The project is planned to be completed in 2026, for the centenary of Gaudí’s death. Looking at their plans, there is a lot to be done before then, but it’s possible and hopefully, they do finish it. It’s pretty magnificent already, I cannot wait to go back to see it completed.
Parc Güell
Parc Güell was commissioned by one of Gaudí’s friends, (Eusebi Güell) who the park was later named after. It took 14 years to build and today its a UNESCO World Heritage site. The park is full of funky houses, terraces and seats with characteristic trencadis (mosaic-like surfaces with irregular ceramic pieces).
Gaudí lived on site while he was working on this masterpiece, he lived in the one building he did not design in the park and it’s quite easy to pick which one. Sorry guys, but I didn’t know this at the time and didn’t manage to snap a shot of it because it wasn’t quite as exciting as the rest of the park.
It was here that I got mistaken for being American and not of English-speaking origin all within 2 minutes, having only spoken 5 words to the tourists who wanted to assume where I was from. Confusion and hilarity ensued. #yourenglishisreallygood
Naturally, I had to re-enact an iconic Cheetah Girls moment while at Parc Güell.
Casa Vicens
We caught this building on our walk back from Parc Güell, built between 1883 and 1888 it was actually one of Gaudí’s first important buildings. He designed this for a wealthy family who owned a ceramic factory. As you can see he used ceramics a lot in the design of it. As you know I love me some ceramic tiles, and you can see the Islamic architecture influences like we’ve seen before in Portuguese tiling.
This masterpiece is hidden away in a narrow street and it’s difficult to get back far enough for a photo with the whole building in it. Although hidden away, it’s easily found on most tourist maps of Barcelona and it’s well signposted.
Le Pedrera/Casa Mila
One of Gaudí’s last residential buildings that he designed and another one of his designs that has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. With the funky fascade and interesting balconies, it adds a nice corner to a busy intersection.
Gluten-free friendly food
Gluten-free friendly food places in Barcelona weren’t too difficult to find, if you searched the area of town ahead of time, you were bound to have a few choices. The only time we struggled was on Sunday afternoon, when not everything was open and we were slightly time restricted.
Gut Restaurant
This bad boy was directly behind our hostel. With a small entrance way in a small alleyway of a street, it didn’t seem like a lot from the front. However, this was a beaut wee restaurant, great selection of gluten-free food, small cosy interior with very strong hipster vibes. C/ Perill, 13, 08012 Barcelona.
Copasetic
On the other side of town, we found yet another hipster-esque gluten-free restaurant. I don’t normally have gluten-free food and I’ve never been inclined to order savoury pancakes before but this place, this place changed me. I had the most amazing pancakes ever, that was not only gluten-free but also savoury, with chicken and spinach and sauce, it was absolutely delicious. In an uncanny turn of events, we happened to be in Barcelona the exact same time as our friend, Sabrina, so we caught up for lunch on Sunday, so perfectly unplanned. C/ Diputacio 55, Barcelona.
Paella
We found a small place in central Barcelona that served gluten-free paella, I think it’s reasonably easy to come by. So you can still enjoy the local classics within your dietary requirements.
Churros
Unfortunately, we were unable to find any source of gluten-free churros. But we found normal churros and I, without a doubt, had my fair share (and probably Vikki’s share too). Corsega 341, 08012 Barcelona.
More Barcelonan sights
Arc de Triomf
This arch doesn’t depict a battle or a victory, it was actually built as the entrance gate to 1888 Barcelona World Fair. My main memory of this arch was being forced by another tourist to stand in the middle of the road to take a photo of her and the entire arch.
Barcelona Cathedral
It’s not completely clear as you go up to this cathedral but it’s free to enter. They also have scarves and shawls that you can borrow at the entrance to cover up appropriately before entering the cathedral. It’s a nice cathedral inside and there is an outdoor area where there is a bunch of duck and geese which was strange and noisy.
Magic Fountain
So this great magic fountain doesn’t actually go during the day. At night time there’s a famous light show with the fountain that’s meant to be amazing. We did not go to this but thought we’d catch the fountain on our way out to the airport going home. However, it’s not just the lights that are only on as night but also the actual fountain and the water in it *face palm*. So we saw a lovely empty pond. Excitement as improved with the prospect of a protest while we were there.
I had a wicked girls weekend away with Vikki, a great travel buddy! We spent most of the weekend laughing and eating ice cream. Thanks for asking me to come to Barcelona with you, it was the best! 😀
Comments are closed.