Barcelona: Beautiful Sights to See

After going to Dublin last year, I told myself I would travel out of the country at least once a year. I originally had plans to go to Iceland but when that got postponed indefinitely, I needed a new destination. I landed on Barcelona, Spain because it was within my budget and already on my bucket list, and honestly? Things really do happen for a reason because who knows when I would've visited this beautiful city and country otherwise. And I am so grateful that I did. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to travel with one of my best friends for the very first time.

Everywhere I looked in Barcelona I saw something I wanted to photograph, whether it was the balconies on the buildings, Gaudi's famous works (must-see architect!) or the many delicious foods I tried. I could've easily spent at least another two weeks there exploring and eating my way through the city. And it was really fun to just immerse myself in the culture. We embraced, for the most part, their many meals throughout the day. They've got breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, merienda and then dinner! I got to speak Spanish, which I hadn't done in forever. I had Google Translate on my phone just in case but I surprised myself with how much I still remembered. If you travel to a foreign country, I highly recommend learning a few common phrases – it goes a long way with the locals.

So, given everything that we managed to do, there's no way I can fit everything into one post! Today I'm going to share pictures from the sights we visited in Barcelona and tomorrow, I will talk all about the food. (We also squeezed in a day trip to Madrid but I'll save that for another post at a later time!)

Here are just a handful of my favorite photos from the trip!

First day in Barcelona! We stayed at the Praktik Vinoteca which is a chain of hotels centered around a theme. Ours was all about the wine!

Two of Gaudi's works - Casa Batlló and Casa Milà. Beautiful exteriors!

Park Güell, yet another Gaudi masterpiece. This place is huge, with so many areas to explore! There's a free area and a ticketed one and if you ask me, it's totally worth it to get a ticket to see even more. 

My favorite of all the Gaudi architecture we saw. I walked in and literally got chills. The exterior belies what you see upon entering. Lots of light, color and while columns. There was so much to take in. 

Parc del Laberint d'Horta. Really nice park known for it's labyrinth! (I may have been thinking about the movie the entire time I was there.) 

Walking around Barcelona

My pictures doesn't do any of these structures justice. The one on the left is Palau de la Musica Orfeo Catala (we happened to walk past it) and on the right are some other buildings in Gothic Quarter. We walked around the area quite a bit to see the Barcelona cathedral and do some shopping.

For our last full day, we did a half-day trip to Monsterrat, a monastery at the peak of Barcelona. It's a religious sight that also has some incredible views. 

Inside their church; we lit candles (or rather I lit them since Mary Ann is afraid of fire haha)

Us taking in the views!

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That's it for now! Check back tomorrow to read about the food! 

Have you been to Barcelona before? What did you love seeing?