More magic in GAUDÍ’S City

Today is Sunday, the prefect day to see the famous basilica in Barcelona— Sagrada Familia —- and walk inside to feel the beauty envelop us.  It seems we are destined to leave a lot of foot prints in Barcelona.  When we exited our first metro stop, we couldn’t find the transfer metro station, so I put our destination into my gps...it was about 1-1/2 miles.  As expected, Caroline was stunned with the first sight of Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia Basílica.  Once inside, our eyes did not stop moving among the other tourists.  The light shining through the stained glass, arched windows was mesmerizing.  The beauty rocked our senses.

Outside again, we (I suggested and she followed me again) walked awhile to find a shady table and a cold drink.  It was hot and humid.  We were drenched and becoming dehydrated.   Once we were on our way, we loved the doors, little shops (mostly closed since it was Sunday) and avoided crowded sidewalks.  The little café enticed us with its quaint, partial emptiness.  Empanadas, filled with chicken for Caroline and pork for me, went down well with her wine and my sangria.

As I studied our metro map, I saw an Arc de Triunfo that looked a lot like Paris’s famous Arc de Triomphe.  I told Caroline it didn’t look far...and she followed me once again.  Over a mile later, trying to keep to the shady side of the tree-lined streets, we found it.  Gigantic.  Beautiful. Impressive.
We saw many balconies along the way with the flag showing the star, the political choice of many in the city who want to separate from Spain.

By then, Caroline was giving me he side eye.  We saw a metro station, but as I told her, we were not that far from Plaça de Catalunya. She raised one eyebrow, glanced longingly at the metro and there we went...walking toward the plaza.  And it was only about a mile.  She wasn’t sure I knew where I was going, but we put one foot in front of the other until I brazenly pointed to the metro sign across the street where Las Ramblas began to wind down to the port.

We were now completely drenched with sweat, our feet were screaming and it seemed like no time at all that we were back on Via Augusta and our hotel.  We walked 13,000 steps, or 5-1/2 miles.  Yes, new shoes.  I superglued my polka dot shoe strap, but it broke again before we left the hotel.

Tomorrow, is a new day: Park Gruëlle, another Gaudí creation and a shoe store.