Barcelona!

We arrived in Barcelona from Paris late at night, so the next morning we looked at the clock and saw it was 11:45 am!!! Ahhhh! So much time wasted, but not really, because the sleep was so very much needed. After hopping out of bed and practically running out the door, this is what we saw in Barcelona:

The Sagrada Familia is to your left. If you're thinking "hmm... that's kind of ugly," I agree with you. But it's the kind ugly that is so unique you keep staring and soon decide it's really cool. It was designed and built by the famous Antoni Gaudi, an influential Spanish Catalan architect who was revolutionary in his Modernist style. His structures are all over Barcelona. He started this chapel, and died before it was finished. As you can see by the cranes and scaffolding, the city is still trying to finish it, and it has been under construction since 1882. And no, they are not even close to being finished. Still pretty cool though.

Here is Russ at the top of Las Ramblas

How to explain Las Ramblas? It is a street so incredibly packed with people, booths, stores, restaurants, music, street performers you experience somewhat of a sensory overload. But oh goodness, it's a blast. Barcelona is filled with ENERGY and YOUTH, and Las Ramblas is where all of this energy and youth begins.

You can also see that Russ is holding a Zara bag. Some of you have probably heard of this Spain-based store of goodness. There is a line called "Zara Man," and we found out they were talking about Russell. He IS the Zara man. Those clothes fit his body like a glove, so much so that we bought him a new suit -- a pretty shnazzy suit that fit him so perfectly it does not need to be altered one bit. He was a pretty happy Zara man.

Las Ramblas = cool

We found an awesome market with food that was so beautifully displayed just off of Las Ramblas. Soooo tempting.

Here we are at a pretty hoppin' square, again just off Las Ramblas.

Our hotel was right next to this palace -- The Fira Palace. There was the most beautiful fountain show every night in front of this palace that puts up a pretty good fight against the Bellagio fountains. Look at all those people behind the fountains!

Beautiful sunrise, right? Our second day in Barcelona started with a really, really really early morning run to the mountain behind our hotel and the Fira Palace. There is a castle up top right next to the Olympic Park. It was such a beautiful sunrise and made Russell's crazy early-morning idea worth it. And then we started running back. I'm following Russell down the poorly-paved mountain roads, and before I realized it I'm practically sprinting. Just as I'm thinking "this is the fastest I've ever run, I kind of feel out of control..." I DO lose control and FACE PLANT. Sccrraaaaaaaaaaaaape. I wasn't even worried about the blood running down my shin or the asphalt in my palms. No, I was holding our camera in my hand, and long story short, the camera is no more. Yes, I broke the camera. In Europe. And yes, a new camera was immediately bought. (... add one more unexpected purchase to the list...)

Barcelona has an Arc de Triomphe, too!

What does a man do when he sees a funny looking tree? See below.

Final word: We LOVED our time in Barcelona, broken camera, scraped skin, and all. 

 Stay tuned for more Spain adventures.