Hop-on Hop-off Barcelona

Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor (Church of the Sacred Heart)

One of our favorite (and often-passed) intersections.

After Rasquera, we had the chance to see Barcelona en route to our next house sit. To this end, we utilized a great tool to maximize our tourist efficiency: the hop-on hop-off bus tour! This is a very clever concept. You get to ride the whole day, and the route provides a great overview of the city, stopping at major tourist destinations and  popular neighborhoods. 

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Up top with great air & views

The ticket allows you to get off and on as many times as you want. So you can see the sights from the bus as long as you'd like, and when a stop interests you, you disembark and go check it out. Then you return to the same bus stop and a new bus magically appears in 0–20 minutes. Occasionally the main attractions are not visible from the bus anyhow, so if you're feeling a bit lazy but really want to check something off the list (yes we've been there), sometimes ya just gotta get off the bus!

We've used this service in several places now, and while we first thought it would be super cheesy, we are now total converts. They even give you headphones and a selection of various language for the guided audio tour (including culturally specific Muzak during the down time). Of course the tour doesn't replace the authentic feel you get from wandering the streets of a town on foot for hours, but it definitely serves a purpose.

One fascinating area of Barcelona was the Gothic quarter (Barri Gòtic in Catalan). This district is the center of the old city of Barcelona, with many of the buildings dating back to Medieval times, some even back to the Roman settlement of Barcelona. We walked around this area for a while, mesmerized—especially by this huge Gothic church:

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Magnificent Gothic church

[Obligatory mention: Barcelona is very famous for its Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi and his many ornate buildings and churches. His Sagrada Familia is an elaborate church and UNESCO World Heritage Site that draws loads of attention. Gaudi worked on it from 1883 until his death in 1926, leaving it less than one-quarter complete—the expected completion date is 2026. For some reason we lost a batch of photos, including our shots of the Sagrada Familia, but you can see some great shots of it here.]

Danielle being a gardening junkie, imagine her happy surprise to find that many of the street vendors on a busy shopping avenue were seed sellers. How cool is that?!

One of many seed sellers

Beautiful place for a leisurely stroll

Here is the street where we stayed in an AirBnB room. AirBnB is a great option for saving money compared to a hotel room, and for staying with a local and getting a better feel for regular life in a place. 

Carrer Martínez de la Rosa

You can barely see the corner of a Catalonia flag (upper left). These flags were all over the place, this being Catalonia. We learned some of the history and politics re Catalonia while we were here. Many Catalonians are separatists who wish to be their own state apart from Spain. The language is different from Spanish though similar. I was caught by surprise, thinking my Spanish would be enough to get me by in Spain (at least, enough to get me to the train station exit)! Fortunately the people who identify as Catalonian also understand Spanish.

A highlight to our visit was this viewpoint overlooking the city and surrounding area. Whenever we go to a new city we like to find one of the best viewpoints to take in the big picture (and to get some cool pictures).

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Thanks for following along. Tune in next time to hear about our Ibiza house sit!