The Last Weekend in BCN

Well, my last weekend in Barcelona is officially over... but I still have 4 more full days here before heading to Valencia! 

Yesterday, I spent a lot of time in churches! In the morning, I went to my mom's hotel for a delicious breakfast (croissants, hams, cheeses, fruit, etc.) and then we all headed out to Barri Gotic for our first stop: La Catedral. We got there around 11 and went inside to look around (it is free until noon). There was a Catalan mass in progress so we couldn't wander as freely but we were still able to see a lot! Then, we went back outside to watch the traditional Catalan dance of unity and identity called the Sardana. It was really neat to see and the music was entertaining! After watching the dance, I wanted to attend mass inside the Cathedral in Spanish. I couldn't understand hardly anything but it was still a great experience. 

Afterwards, we wandered around and my mom read us the history about all the places we passed. She is going to read it to us whether we want to hear it or not so I've learned it's better just to nod and smile (JK mom!). We found a little plaza where we grabbed a quick bite to eat and a drink and then continued on our way. The next stop was the Picasso Museum. It is free on Sundays after 3 and apparently everyone else in Barcelona had the same idea as us because the line was about 400 people long. We decided we would try again later, so we made our way back to the metro. 

After my siesta, I hopped back on the metro to go to La Sagrada Familia for their Spanish night mass. It was completely different from La Catedral! There was a band, contemporary music, and the priest was telling jokes (well, I couldn't understand what he was saying but everyone was laughing so I assume he was funny). The other great thing is that they had the readings on a sheet of paper in English so I could try to follow along as they were read in Spanish. The mass wasn't in the main area of La Sagrada Familia, but was in the crypt below. It was a really neat area and it made me even more excited to see the whole thing this week! 

Once the mass was finished, I met my mom, brother, and aunt at the bottom of Montjuic for the Magic Fountain show. When I got off the metro, I remembered that it was also the Harley Davidson festival at Montjuic so the whole place was set up like a fair ground. We watched the fountain show, which was beautiful (lights, music, etc.) and then went to the fair! My brother and I rode one of the rides, which was a blast! Then we ate hotdogs and fries and decided it was time to go home.

Over all it was a VERY busy day! I'm taking it easy today to rest my feel and back. Still to come this week: full tour of Sagrada Familia and hopefully going to Casa Batllo and the beach one more time!

Love,

RLD