We are leaving Barcelona in the morning. What a great time it has been. Now that we are actually on the road, living from our packs, and exploring the unknown, we have a lot more pictures and stories to share. So without further delay, we present to you some of our favorite parts of this amazing city.
Gaudi
What a guy! The famous Spanish architect, Antoni Gaudi, drew much of his inspiration from nature’s constructive beauty. Through this revolutionary style of design, he made so many incredible contributions to Barcelona. He has even made Amy’s “Top 5 list of people to bring back from the dead to have dinner with.” We dedicated one full day to exploring Gaudi’s contributions, including two of his most famous works El Templo de La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell.
La Sagrada Familia
La Sagrada Familia – interior of basilica, stained glass projecting on columns
View from the top of the Nativity Lift at La Sagrada Familia
Gaudi’s House at Parc Güell
Open plaza surrounded by tile benches, Parc Güell
Columns by Gaudi in Parc Güell
Mercats
We spent a ton of our time in Barcelona simply walking around the city. While not high on the list of must sees for most tourists, we found the neighborhood “mercats” in Barcelona to be a bright point of our time here. While exploring a quaint old part of town known as La Barceloneta, we encountered our first mercat. Imagine the produce section of Whole Foods on steroids. These are different than the make-shift, bazar style markets that you find in much of the world. They are a well built structure, clean/sanitary, and packed with some of the best food we have ever seen. Upon returning from Barceloneta, we found a very similar mercat just a few blocks from our hostel in the neighborhood know as El Clot. Since we had access to a full service kitchen at our hostel, we took advantage of the incredible produce, meats and seafood to cook affordable and yummy dinners.
Fish Vendor at Mercat El Clot
Cured Meat Vendor at Mercat La Barceloneta
Sitges
After a few days in Barcelona, we were eager to get out of the city and see more of Catalonya. Based on a suggestion from Mike’s cousin, Lilli, we hopped on a train one morning headed towards Sitges. Sitges is a pristine beach town, just 30 minutes south from Barcelona via a regional train along the coast. Shortly after arriving, we stopped for breakfast where Mike enjoyed toast with “pata negra” ham, the most delicious cured meat he has ever tasted, and Amy a cafe con leche y croissant. We had a fabulous time strolling the beach and walking through the narrow, well kept streets. It was a welcomed change from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona.
Cafe con Leche y Bocadillo de Jamón
Enjoying the sunshine in Sitges
Tomorrow evening we will be boarding a cruise to Spain’s Canary Islands, Portugal’s Madeira Islands and Málaga/Granada. We found a killer deal on this cruise before leaving the States and it is an exciting change from hostel living! Looking forward to sharing our travels upon our arrival to Valencia following the cruise. Salud!
The Chamborres Expedition 
Gotta love Guadi! I really loved Granada, spent just one day in Málaga which seemed about right to me. There you can visit the Alcazaba for less than one Euro, quite delightful on a sunny day. I also liked seeing the beach, La malaguena I think. The traditional food is fried fish. In Granada we got a tourist pass where you could see a lot of things – especially the Alhambra of course, but there is also quite a cool cultural center/museum. Lots of tapas! Walking around the Albaicín neighborhood you can find a nice view from the top at Saint Nicholas and many tapas places on the windy streets in the surrounding neighborhood. Have fun!!
Málaga was the last port on our cruise and we really enjoyed it. Didn´t have enough time to get to Granada that day, but are planning on a side trip in a few weeks to check out the Alhambra. We visted the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro, and Malaguena beach too!
Wishing you two an awesome cruise to the Canary Islands!! Have fun making new memories, and enjoy that warm sunshine:-) Much love to both of you!
Wow, everything sounds and looks amazing so far! Hope you are enjoying the Canary Islands and can’t wait to read about it. We miss you two!