Barcelona (Spain)

Third stop in Spain... Barcelona!  Definitely a beautiful place - I actually enjoyed it more than Madrid.  There is so much life in that huge city it is crazy!  Beautiful riverfront, beaches, millions of monuments, museums, shows, and touristy entertainment.  If you go to Barcelona, definitely map out what you want to see, because there are so many things, you won't be able to see them all!  We took a day tour bus pass in order to hit the attractions that were a little further in the city... cut a lot of walking and saved us a lot of time!

The main places you want to see in Barcelona are definitely: The Port, The old Olympic sites, La Casa Mila, Poble Espanyol de Montjuic, MNAC, Mountain Montjuic, The Magic Fountain of Montjuic, Las Ramblas, Casa Batllo, Park Guell, the Cathedral, and of course la Sagrada Familia!  There is so much Gaudi architecture, it is incredible and you'll never see anything like it!  The Poble Espanyol is a very sharp place to visit - they recreated the various regions of Spain within a little village.  La Casa Mila and Casa Batllo are really cool looking, but it is very expensive and the lines are really long... we personally didn't go in as we were told it is not really worth the time and money (unless you are a huge fan of Gaudi).   Las Ramblas is just a street packed with people, terraces, and little shops... It's a pretty cool place to be, but be careful as it is packed with tourists.  And finally the Sagrada Familia.  This basilique is incredible!!! There are actually no way to describe what we saw there as there is just too much.  The architecture in the front is different than the back, the inside is the complete opposite to the outside, the details are ridiculous... This is the unfinished masterpiece you want to go see in Barcelona.

During our stay, we also went to see a Flamenco show.  Even though Flamenco is a Southern Spain tradition, they offer shows in the major touristy areas.  They are not as traditional as in the South of Spain, but they are still pretty good.  - Flamenco is not something for everyone, but I think its pretty sharp and everyone should see it at least once.

We had beautiful stay in Barcelona - the weather was great!  But like every other major city we visited, we did a little day trip outside of town.  Next stop: Montserrat!