Adventures in Budapest: November 2013

There was no school on All Saint's Day, so Katrina and I decided to spend our long weekend in Barcelona, Spain! We left early on Friday for our 5:00am flight, and made it to Barcelona around noon. We explored a bit after checking into our hostel. That evening, we had paella for dinner (I tried clams!), and we saw a flamenco dancing performance at the Palau de la Música Catalana. There were signs inside the building saying that it wasn't allowed to take pictures, but everyone was taking pictures...especially in the concert hall. How could you not? The stained glass and intriguing architecture is absolutely amazing. I LOVED the show. The music was fun and full of variety, and the dancers could move extremely fast and with passion! Is it too late for me to become a flamenco dancer when I grow up? =)

On Saturday morning, we had churros de chocolate for breakfast. You take the churros and dip them in the hot chocolate - delicious! We may or may not have had that for breakfast the next day as well... After breakfast, we checked out the Barcelona Cathedral. What a great example of a gothic cathedral! Next, we headed to the Museu de la Xocolata. Our "tickets" were chocolate bars. There was a lot of history about chocolate and how it first came to spain, as well as chocolate sculptures with Spanish, pop culture, and religious themes. Next on the list was the Pablo Picasso Museum. There were a lot of works from Picasso's earlier years, which I had never seen before. There was a whole room on Picasso's experimentation in reproducing "Las Meninas" in his own style. These paintings were more of Picasso's signature style you would think of when picturing his work. As if we hadn't done enough already, we walked to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and walked around there for a few hours. I didn't understand some of the pieces. It was quite the experience! Then we walked to the Magic Fountain, which is in front of Palau Nacional on Montjuïc. It was amazing what that fountain could do! You could say...almost magical! It was a lot of fun. To wrap up the evening, we got some tapas nearby the fountain for a late dinner.

On Sunday, we started with the Arc de Triomf, and then headed over to see some architecture made by Antoni Gaudí. The first stop was Casa Batlló. Coolest. House. Ever. Some call it the "house of bones" because of the bone-like columns, spine-like banisters, and the design of the front of the house. The house is not only innovative due to its looks, but it is innovative in its heating and cooling system. Very eco-friendly. Our second Gaudí stop was the Sagrada Família, a cathedral in Barcelona that is not even finished being built yet. It is expected to be finished in 2026, after 144 years since the building process began. The exterior is spectacular, but the interior can barely be described with words, it is so amazing. It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The columns stretch towards the heavens like enormous plant stems. The stained glass has all of the colors of the rainbow. When Katrina and I first walked inside, we were speechless. I want to go back and see it once it's finished!

Check out this link to see what it will look when it's finished: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/spain/10343792/How-Gaudis-finished-Sagrada-Familia-cathedral-in-Barcelona-will-look.html

I took as many pictures as my memory card would fit this weekend (about 500)...I think you will see why!