In & Around Barcelona with Friends

Architecture, Art & Sculpture, Beach Days & Restaurants

Knowing that July in Barcelona would be terribly hot for my nearly Nordic family, we opted to stay outside of the city in the nearby beach town, Gavà. Firstly, so happy with this decision. The days we didn’t spend in the city we spent at the beach, renting a beach umbrella and lounge chairs to relax on the sand and swim.

Beaches

In Gavà we parked ourselves on rented lounge chairs with umbrellas at Chiringuito Pachamama Playa. It was great for us – we ordered drinks and ice cream throughout the day, swam and relaxed.

In Barcelona we spent a morning at Barceloneta Beach – we had a good time but the cost to rent anything was muy caro – €20 per chair, per umbrella. Needless to say, we sat on the ground and shared umbrellas. The water felt nice, but wasn’t as clean or clear as in Gavà. Still, a morning at the beach with friends is nothing to complain about, we had a great time.

We also spent an evening having dinner at Barceloneta Beach, and that was a beautiful night – a great sunset and a cool breeze.

Just Enjoying the City

I just like these pics :). And Vichy Catalan is my favorite water.

Architecture Beyond Gaudí

We had made a relatively thorough Gaudí review of the past few days, and I still couldn’t get enough of the modernist architecture overall in Barcelona. Here are some of my highlights (and a few Gaudí thrown in).

Casa de les Punxes, Josep Puig i Cadafalch

Palau Güell, Antoni Gaudí 

Cases Antoni Rocamora

Casa Comalat, Salvador Valeri i Pupurull

Catedral de Barcelona

Plaça del Rei

Pont del Bisbe

Palau de la Música Catalana, designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner

We went by this building multiple times just because it was so beautiful and there was great gelato next door. I’d love to see a show here.

Sant Jaume Square

So Many Art Nouveau Mosaic Tileworks

Casa Bruno Cuadros, Josep Vilaseca

Across from Jardins de la Reina Victoria

La Monumental – historic bullring

Catedral de Barcelona

Murals & Sculptures

El Gato de Botero, Fernando Botero

This kitty was fabulous. I couldn’t get enough. Reminds me of the cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro

There’s some great art in Barcelona, and a lot of it you can see from the bus (as you can see from my pics) – Roy Lichtenstein and Joan Miró, to name two.

Street Art & Performers, Murals, and Art Installations

Mercat de la Boqueria

Want to eat the most humongous oysters you’ve ever seen? How about a little cup of freshly sliced jamón? Fresh fruit? Juice? Chocolate? Empanadas? You want it, they have it. Not only that, we stumbled upon a Catalan tradition behind the market, a castell – human pyramids with dozens of participants.