Someplace New

Well Barcelona- you’ve done it!

He navigated us through Petite France in Strasbourg and the Latin Quarter in Paris both without a map… but your Gothic Quarter has succeeded in confusing Brad and getting us very lost.

The way the streets wind and curve, begin and end in random places, and take sharp turns around the corners is both beautiful and confusing.

There are parts of the Gothic Quarter that open up a little more into tiny squares and areas where open air restaurants can set up. There are also areas where the old city wall is morphed into the new city. In fact, the ancient city of Barcino is buried under Barcelona for miles! When you go to the Barcelona History Museum you can walk around 3 FLOORS of wine vats and alleyways and home foundations all buried underneath the Gothic Quarter.

We stumbled upon the Archival Building in town and found a gorgeous courtyard covered in ivy. Love a secret little find 🙂

The Barcelona Cathedral itself is a beauty. I know you may be tired of hearing about all the cathedrals in all the cities, and to be honest sometimes we get cathedraled-out, too. But the Barcelona Cathedral is fun and free (as long as you have your knees and shoulders covered) and is really beautiful!

Once you have had your fill of the inside, head up to the roof! It’s 3 euros to check out the view from up top and is worth it for a cool city skyline. It’s covered in weird scaffolding you walk on, but still pretty.

Oh by the way, there are geese in their courtyard. So there’s that 🙂

The Gothic Quarter is filled with souvenir shops for tourists mixed with clothing shops for locals and restaurants and ice cream shops for all! There are several museums dotted about and cool cultural landmarks around many corners.