Last Weekend in Barcelona

Good morning all! I apologize for not writing this weekend; it has been a little crazy. We went into Barcelona both days to sight see and shop, since this will be our last weekend opportunity. Next weekend, we are headed to Paris!

Saturday, we all slept in (or tried). My coughing had me up around 7:30. Took some medicine and relaxed till we left for the train. When we got to Barcelona, we headed straight for some gelato. Yum! Then, we made our way towards the 1992 Summer Olympics stadium. We couldn't believe that the Olympics were nearly 20 years ago. I remember watching them on television when I was little! After taking several pictures, we headed towards the Mediterranean Sea. Once there, we were basically starving and decided to find food, fast!

Mare Magnum restaurant where we ate dinner

We found this place right at the end of the pier that seated us at a window so we could look out over the Mediterranean Sea while we ate. The food was good. I had potatoes covered in a spicy sauce and chicken with asparagus. After eating, we headed back to the train station to catch the last train back to La Garriga. Of course, we stopped for gelato, again! After gelato, we were walking and amazed to see that the Christmas lights were turned on! Below is a movie of snowflakes dancing on the El Corte Ingles mall store front. I was crossing traffic, so it does turn sideways a little at one point. But this made my day! I love Christmas lights. If you listen, you can hear the music playing too!

Sunday
On Sunday, we wanted to get an earlier start to make sure we got a lot of shopping in. We headed to Barcelona and made our way to Las Ramblas, a lively promenade in the center of Barcelona. The street had shops on both sides and, on the weekends, booths set up of homemade items including jewelry, leather stuff, and art. We looped around this area twice to pick up some souvenirs and gifts for ourselves. I purchased my first piece of Barcelona art! It is a ceramic/oil painting of Casa Mila, a famous building in Barcelona designed by the Catalan architect, Gaudi. The painting is by a local artist, Elena Mendez.

My art purchase

We walked around the sea for a few hours and finally headed back to La Garriga so one of the girls could attend mass at 8 PM. It was a long day, but very enjoyable.

Today, Monday, we are heading to another town, Vic, for a medieval festival. We have heard that it is awesome! I will report back with my opinion. Also on the agenda, finding a pharmacy! I need some cough medicine!