Barcelona, Spain: Days 1-3

The first stop on our trip, Barcelona, at first struck me as a loud, crowded, dirty city.  But as our time there progressed I realized that while these things may be true, it was also a city full of culture, beauty and great food.   Our first day was only a half day and we were completely exhausted after a 11 hour flight, plus jet lag.  But after dropping our bags off at our apartment and getting freshened up, we headed out anyway.
        Our apartment was located on a side street off of Las Ramblas, the main shopping avenue of Barcelona.  We went to get some food and choose to go for Spanish traditional and have Tapas.  We were happy we did.  It was absolutely delicious.  To give you an idea, Caroline and I shared: La Bamba (a large rounded fried potato filled with meat and cheese), Patatas Bravas (my favorite; baked potato chunks covered in a delicious spicy sauce), a Ham and Cheese Potato Croquette, and Pan con Tomate (Bread with Tomato).  After this we began our search for the "Big Fish" a sculpture I learned about in art class.  Fast forward to an hour later when we finally found it, took some pictures and sat on a rock wall looking at the beautiful waves of the Mediterranean coming in.
      The next day, Theo was sick all morning and we had a late start.  But eventually he was feeling a bit better and we headed off to the bus tour we had signed up to do for the day. We saw the Sagrada Familia, La Pedrera, and then got off the bus at Park Guell, a park designed by Barcelona artist, Anton Gaudi, located on the outskirts of the city.  It was one of my favorite things about Barcelona.  We ate lunch in the Park, which was filled with interesting sculptures, paths and walkways, built in a natural style.  The front of the park was beautiful with two interesting and unique buildings framing the entrance.  Across from these was a set of stairs with a balcony on top.  All of the tiles throughout the Park were uniquely painted and often in shapes of valleys of hills, giving everything an even more interesting look and feel.  We climbed to the top of the balcony where we were met with Park Guell's famous curving benches and an amazing view of Barcelona.
       After this we got back on the bus for a scenic view of other parts of the city.  Along the way we saw the Palau Nacional, The Olympic Stadium, Monjuic and other beautiful sights.  During this time Mom got sick as well and we came back to the apartment.  Later, the 5 of us who weren't sick went out to another dinner on a street similar to Las Ramblas, called La Raval and once again had fantastic Tapas in a beautiful nighttime setting.  The next morning we packed up our stuff and got on the cruise ship, leaving the vibrant Barcelona behind us.