Best of Barcelona in 2 Weeks

After Vegas, I was off to a few cities in Europe but the most recent was Barcelona. Though I miss being home dearly, it's still an absolute pleasure to be in one of my favorite European cities. Spending two weeks in Barcelona - where weather is exquisite, food is delicious, and people are charming - makes you almost forget about home.

"Hammock" - a vegan juice cafe with hammocks to rest in

"Pacha" one of the popular nightclubs along the beach

I've traveled to this city enough to have participated in most touristic activities available. Certain things can be done once, but there are some places that are extra memorable. I highly recommend the following 3 things I make sure to visit at least once - or daily! - each trip.

Standing in front of the Frank Gehry's Fish sculpture

Architecture
Barcelona is filled with art and plenty of historical buildings now declared as World Heritage Sites. There are beautiful cathedrals, parks, fountains and even the streets are filled with breathtaking views both day and night. Just getting lost in the city on a walk will guarantee you at least three must-see buildings.

Barcelona Cathedral

Hotel Majestic by the Passeig de Gracia

Fountain at the end of Passeig de Gracia

Antoni Gaudi is the most famous artist from the area. His unusual approach to architecture and distinct style was considered excessively imaginative at the time, but now is highly admired by the public and his works now recognized as famous masterpieces. You can see his influence in every nook and cranny - even the street tiles - in the city center.

Casa Mila or La Pedrera

Casa Batllo

Of Gaudi's work, his last unfinished masterpiece Sagrada Familia is probably the most famous. It is the most visited monument in all of Spain. Gaudi passed away with the church being only 15-20% finished so it's still being completed with construction blocking some areas. But take one step inside and you will see why it draws such crowds even at its incomplete state.

His work is described as Neo-Gothic, with organic forms with intricate details and plenty of colors. Even the pillars that support the buildings are made of 5 different stones and made to resemble trees. And the colors. Gaudi really did go off on the colors.

The ceiling is golden, the windows are rainbow. Cold colors in the east for sunrise, warm colors in the west for the sunset.

I'll let the photos and video do the explaining.

The lighting would've been perfect, if I didn't blink

They added a new feature as well - visiting one of the towers. You can take an elevator up to one of the towers and walk down. But be aware - it's still under construction and there isn't a handle on the side of the steep stairs, so you'll be gripping the walls as you walk down hoping you don't fall down the hole.

La Rambla
This is one of the most lively streets in Barcelona. It is a large pedestrian street aht stretches from the center of the city to the beach and it's connected to a series of smaller streets forming Las Rambles. It's lined with boutiques, markets, restaurants, museums, and mostly tourists. I can see why locals would hate this chaotic street, but I love the ambiance and availability of never ending shops.

I'll do a blog on the restaurants in the area in a later post.

One of the many plazas surrounded with restaurants

There is delicious food, clothing shops, cafes, and some odd shops here and there. Such as this shop dedicated to selling... ducks.

Or this shop dedicated selling only olive oil.

This unassuming gelato shop is one of is the most popular dessert spots in Barcelona. Homemade ice creams with flavors that change every day are perfect after a stroll in the hot weather.

The ice cream comes with a free chocolate topping - a mini cone filled with hot chocolate that solidifies into a crunchy layer upon contact.

My favorite is pistachio

Some spicy chocolate ice cream for the daring

La Boqueria
There are plenty of farmers markets in Barcelona. Spain provides most of fresh fruits, vegetables, seafood, and even meats to most of Europe. Step into any high end Parisian or German groceries and you will see the origin of the produce marked as 'from Spain.'

Technically this market would count as part of Las Rambles. And there are cheaper, less crowded markets all over. But the market is a huge tourist destination and reasonable so. It's memorable and massive enough that it deserves a mention of its own. I ended up visiting this place nearly every day!

Entrance

Fruits

Fruit juices

Stuffed meat pies

Olives

Aged meats

And of course, ham.
Spanish ham is recognized as some of the best ham in the world. Of those, Jambon Iberico is of the highest quality and the most expensive at about 200 euros per kilo or more. But I make sure to grab a few kilo's worth of ham here since it's about three times cheaper to get it at the source.

I've also discovered something exciting at the market.
I finally got up early enough to check out the fishmongers, who only show up with their fresh catch until 2pm at the latest. Even if you don't like fish you will find some interesting things. From wriggling crabs to bizarre egg sacs to monstrous tuna, it's a feast for the eyes.

The part I was most excited about was the bluefin tuna. This nearly extinct fish is one of the most expensive in the world and highly valued as top-tier sushi in Japan. Most of the Japanese fish has been consumed so Spain and Portugal supplies most of them now. Usually the most prized part of the fish, the tuna belly, would cost $10 per piece of sushi - but here, an entire packet of it costs that much.

9 euros for mix-and-match tuna belly!

You can also sample oysters on the spot. Some are luxury items flown from France, others are... monstrous.