Following on from Spring in Spain Part 1: Palma de Mallorca, in this post, I’m sharing some of the magic and beauty of Barcelona, and how boarding school friend and colleague Lara and I escaped to the regality of the Catalonian capital for some fun on a small budget over the spring break. From regarding Pablo Picasso’s genius and haunts of the staggering Gothic centre, to munching on many of our street food favourites (empanadas), and our competing fiestas and siestas at our stay at the lively Sant Jordi Hostel, Gracia, our escape certainly ticked all the boxes, and has already inspired my next adventure to the Iberian Peninsula for the Camino de Santiago, this summer.

1. Antoni Gaudí: La Sagrada Familia

First things first, the modern masterpiece of religious art: it had to be La Sagrada Familia. How to do it on the cheap? Don’t go inside.

I loved just simply admiring from the outside all the intricate details of nature woven into the structure, front and back, top to toe. The back of the cathedral is a darker, more gnarly, neo-Gothic work, while the front is more modern and still under construction, although estimates put its completion in 2026. Having read all about it, shamefully, in Dan Brown’s Origin, we just couldn’t pass by this stunning cathedral. Plus, it literally draws attention from all over the city. Go visit.

2. Antoni Gaudí: Casa Milà (La Pedrera)

Next, having studied the structure in art classes years prior, us artsy explorers struck up Casa Milà (La Pedrera) to admire the adorned facade of this unusual, but beautiful, town house, also constructed by Gaudí. Visitors can pay to view its interior, however, Lara and I prefered to take the budget approach and, again, simply stare from the ground up.

Casa Milà is full of intricate and entrancing details, just like La Sagrada Familia. Had it not been for the throngs of other tourists about the place (even at this not-too-busy time of year), I could have stood here for hours staring, and sketching.

3. Barcelona Centre: The Old and the New

Our next appointment took us to the centre of town where we encountered another friend and colleague also on tour from school in Spain (not quite by chance): Amanda. After first catching up in a backstreet Catalan café, El Cafetó, in which I discovered the dopamine-hit wonders of a coffee layered with honey, chocolate and whipped cream, we set to capturing the Old and the New, namely the Gothic cathedral, Catedral de Barcelona, and the striking structures of modern cubism. The bold contrasts, on opposite sides of the same square, gave us taste for later viewing works of the influential local artist on our tour: Picasso.

4. Museu Picasso

Okay, this one wasn’t free, but at least there were student tickets. Sometimes there are free admission slots too, it just depends if that works out for the day of your visit.

It might not be a surprise at this point to say that I do really love art and what it says about a soul, as well as the attention to detail in decision-making that art reveals. In that, I definitely feel the connection between art and science (more on this train of thought in this post).

Now, Pablo Picasso might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I enjoyed a look into his world, and the museum itself, housed in 13th-15th century Catalan civic Gothic style, is also beautiful – a great photo stop. My favourite paintings in the current collection included some of the following cubic numbers, though I was surprised by the simpicity and rawness in some of the artist’s sketches, too, like his self-portrait, bottom right.

5. Lunch: La Fabrica

Walking is hungry work, and we were doing a lot of it, so, continuing our low-cost foodie adventures, we sourced a street-food lunch in Barcelona Centre. Having fallen hard for these in Palma, Lara and I sought our our favourite, empandas, once again and La Fabrica in the Gothic Quarter served our needs well.

Empanadas are a small Latin pastry filled with either meat, fish or vegetables and only cost 2-3 euros each. Over the course of our stay in España I must have eaten at least 6 of these little kings and I can firmly say that empanadas de atún (tuna) are the best.

No empanadas, no life.

6. Badalona Beach

Towards the end of our big day budget sightseeing, we decided to hit the beach, but rather than overcrowded Barceloneta, Badalona Beach up the coast was recommended by our wonderful hostel hosts. It was a 20-minute trip by Metro and a further 20 minutes’ walk, but 100% worth it for the serene Mediterranean views, and the sketch that ensued (perhaps inspired by the trip to the Museu Picasso). However, I must thank Amanda and Lara for their patience as I applied 100s of tiny dots (pointillism) onto my sketchbook page to fill in the hilly horizon.

7. Fiestas & Siestas in Sant Jordi Hostel Gracia

I couldn’t pay tribute to beautiful Barcelona without mentioning the wonderful hosts of our hostel, Sant Jordi Hostel Gracia. Pedro, Bambu and his team did a fine job welcoming us to their colourful world in uptown Gracia; Lara and I could not have asked for more accommodating hosts and a fine location.

Each night, Sant Jordi offered home-cooked Spanish and Latino food (great tacos, Bambu!) and options for clubbing/bar crawls, or just chilling on the terrace – we were made to feel very much a part of the family. And Pedro’s breakfast guitar jams only added to the experience. All this for a very affordable rate – we would fully recommend and love to come back.

Bye bye, Barcelona

Well, a couple of days in the Catalonian capital on a budget had to come to a close all too soon, but if you want the TLDR: Barcelona, while not my favourite city in the world, is definitely the most vibrant. Thank you, dear friends Lara and Amanda, and Sant Jordi Gracia, for making our visit so fun.

What’s next?

This post would not be complete without announcing some pretty big news. A week in Spain’s warm embrace in April, including a visit to Montserrat not as yet mentioned, have spurred me to embark on my next big challenge: to take on the Camino de Santiago this summer.

After much research and deliberation, I’ve decided upon doing the Camino Portugues from Porto to Santiago over a few weeks in July. This will probably be the toughest physical challenge I have yet done, but the last few months added to a dream of many years to complete this once-in-a-lifetime pilgrimage have given me the motivation to attempt the 280km journey on foot. I’ll be writing more about it soon so, watch this space! Until then, you can check out my Camino page below at:

https://www.gofundme.com/manage/rebeccas-camino-de-santiago-active-page

Barcelona was just the beginning. The Iberian Peninsula has not finished with me yet! I pray God will guide me steadily to the next stage of my Spanish journey.

Mucho amor,