Ooo La La Lyon: Barcelona Day Two

11/11

MY BUBBLE!!!!

Day 2

All the Pigeons

Today we went to a farmers market. On the way to the market called Mercado dela Boqueria, we saw a house that was designed by Gaudi (Sagrada Familia architect). I got some coconut, empanada’s (ham and cheese, and pumpkin), and dragon fruit. I also had my first Dunkin Doughnut drink and doughnut! I had some tea with with a pink confetti doughnut. After the market we went to the Basilica de Santa Maria del Pi. On our way there we crossed the Plaça de Catalunya, which was filled with a ton of pigeons!! There were also two large fountains but they were not going in the morning. Now this was not as big at the Sagada Familia, but it still had some amazing architectural design. The different artwork that were around the church was incredible.

After the church we went to the Picasso Museum! I also recommend buying tickets ahead of time and with the audio tour. Paying the extra euros is totally worth it!! I learned so much about Picasso’s early career before his cubism phase. I fell in love with his blue period drawings. My favorite painting in called The Blue Glass. I wanted to get a print of this, but I had to settle for a postcard. The most “interesting” collection was his switch to cubism with the painting of a girl and her lady in waiting (I can't remember the name). He literally painted this girl 14 times, each with a different interpretation. Clara and I had fun interpreting some of his more obscure paintings. The audio guide explained that some of his painting we see now are actually painted over other paintings/sketches. The painting of the sick women in the bed went through several different stages. Picasso changed how the dying women's arm was placed, the child's position and features, then the way the nurse was standing and holding the tea.

Next Clara and I traveled to the Parc de la Ciutadella, to eat lunch. While enjoying the empanada's we got at the market that morning, we got to enjoy some street music. In this park there is a big fountain with a golden statue on top. Clara and I took a lot of photos of each other at certain location around the fountain.

Parc de la Ciutadella

There were also some people blowing bubbles around the fountain and park with was a lot of fun (who doesn’t like bubbles!!!). There was also this large statue of a mammoth. There were a lot of girls that were trying to jump up and sit on the trunk but were not able to do it. Next, we set off to see the Arc Triof. From the park we were making our way to see Casa Mila (wavy house). However, we had some time to spare so we stopped at a nice cafe and sat for a while. Once it was time to see the houses all lit up we started off and came across some fountains that are only going at night with lights. Finally, we came to Plaça de Catalunya and got to see the two fountains all lit up and running. Then on the way to another house design by Guell we saw a fountain that was in the middle of a round about.

Round one of Sushi

The end location of this trip was Toyo Japanese sushi restaurant. This restaurant is A MUST if you are coming to Barcelona!! You don’t have to order anything, it just appears by the server. Note: you will need to arrive before 20h30 to get a table! We got there right at 20h30 and we got one of the last tables. We split each dish, and so I ate 14 pieces of sushi plus half of the side dishes. All in all at the end of the evening I had quintuplet food babies. Over the course of the day we ended up walking 14km!! We were so sore that walking up to the 6th floor of the apartment as so hard.