Spain and Portugal Day 3 - La Sagrada Familia

So on our second day in Spain, we decided to sleep in a little bit longer than planned. We were feeling pretty good the day before and thought we wouldn't be hit too hard by jet lag. But as it turns out, jet lag is a weird and unpredictable thing.

Once we got up, we headed down to the hotel's breakfast area. We're staying at the Hilton hotel - the Alexandria Barcelona Curio - and it's in a fantastic location. We can walk pretty much everywhere we want to go from here. The hotel itself is decent and the breakfast is good enough, but nothing too special outside of the location.

Our first stop of the day was the Picasso museum, and let me tell you, this place is amazing! It's easily one of the best museums I've ever been to. Alison, is a huge fan of Picasso and his contemporaries, and there were so many incredible pieces for us to admire and discuss. The reason this museum exists is that Picasso actually donated a large portion of his works to the city of Barcelona. He was quite involved in the creation of the museum and its displays, so it's really cool to see his art displayed the way he intended.

When it was time for lunch, we headed over to Las Ramblas. There are so many restaurants in that area, it's definitely a happening place. We picked one and had lunch, but honestly, it was a bit disappointing. We learned a lesson that it's best to avoid eating at a restaurant on Las Ramblas, as it's mostly a tourist trap.

After spending quite a bit of time at the Picasso Museum, we headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Unfortunately, this one was just okay. It had a lot of experimental and experiential exhibits, and while some of them were thought-provoking, it wasn't really our thing.

Later in the afternoon, we had a tour of La Sagrada Familia. This is the big must-see site on a trip to Barcelona. This church has been under construction for a couple of hundred years and is a must-see during a trip to Barcelona. It was designed by Barcelona's favorite architect, Gaudi, and is huge and very extra. There are a ton of design elements, most of which aren't cohesive, but somehow work to create a uniquely beautiful church. I personally loved the stained glass interior, while Alison's favorite element was the cubist/modern sculptures representing the stations of the cross and the crucifixion at one entrance. Modern Christian art is so interesting!

After the tour, we found a tapas place for dinner. Tapas is seriously the best. This place had a set menu and brought out 7-8 different dishes. At first, it seemed like it might be too much food, but tapas is really a dining experience and spread out over 90 minutes, it was actually the perfect amount. We savored and enjoyed spending the evening together.

Finally, we ended our day with a nightcap at the hotel's excellent bar area. They make exceptional drinks, which was the perfect way to end a great day in Barcelona!