Barcelona

Why I love Barcelona!

In 10 days I have fallen in love with this remarkable city and much of that is due to it's incredible people who embrace life to the fullest.  This city on the Mediterranean Sea is also a gem. A significant part of the charm of Barcelona is the beautiful architecture. And although many European cities have a certain old-world feel, Barcelona has something distinctly unique: the architecture of Antoni Gaudí who designed many iconic buildings throughout Barcelona. In particular, I adore the Sagrada Familia Basilica, which is an amazing twist on typical church design. It reminds me of a magical forest of curvy trees with irregular shaped bark covered in wax that has started to melt. I find Gaudi's style dreamlike and fairyesque, especially his adorable Casa Batlló, now a museum. It's only three blocks away from my host family’s home.

Inside the Sagrada Familia you can see the segregation of cool and warm colors.

Another aspect that makes Barcelona so vibrant is the nightlife, and there is so much of it! Due to intense summer heat, Barcelonians go to bed late to enjoy the cooler night air.  It is not uncommon to eat dinner at 11:00pm or midnight and to my surprise, there are many activities for families at these late hours. My favorite evening outing was going to an amusement park perched on top of Tibidabo, a mountain overlooking Barcelona. The views of the city from the rides were amazing.  Another fun evening was watching the fountain show at Montjuic, a hill above the sea. For an entire hour, fountain water jets and streams danced and changed colors to the rhythm of music. The evenings here in Barcelona never seem to end, which is a good thing since there is so much to do and so many great people to enjoy them with.

 This photo was captured right as the fountains turned my favorite color, coral ;)

     

Cousins and friends of my host family joined in the fun at the Tibidabo amusement park.