Barri Gotic, Barcelona- Saturday, May 16th

This is the perfect way to start your day... we stopped in Mistral Panaderia, about a block from our Hotel and each picked out some fresh Croissants. Then took them to the Cafe next door to pair them with some Hot Chocolate. Chris had a Chocolate Croissant, and I had a Crema Croissant, which had a custard filling in the center. It was perfect with the thick, yummy, hot chocolate. And I literally mmmed, and ahhed over it while I was eating it! YUM! I still crave this, and would be a very large, and poor woman if there was a bakery like this close by!





I think our favorite place in Barcelona was the Barri Gotic or Gothic Quarter. We absolutely loved just getting "lost" down these narrow streets and alleyways. It fascinated me how much history was tucked into these tiny streets, and preserved so well in such a "large" area. Blocks and blocks of medieval streets and buildings, that are older than our country.




We took this trip to celebrate our 12th Anniversary (June 7th), so of course I had to include this picture. It was a fantastic opportunity for Chris and I to just be together and enjoy each other's company, and rekindle our friendship and a little romance. It was so great to just be the two of us for almost two whole weeks.




These were taken in the square, Plaza St. Jaume, between the Palau de la Generalitat and Casa de la Ciutat, or Ayuntament (city hall) buildings. The Palau de la Generalitat has been the seat of the Catalonian government since 1403, and still houses offices of the Catalan President.





This was a beautiful Gothic arch that we saw on postcards and paintings, and in exploring the Quarter, we turned a corner, and there it was. It was much more beautiful in person, because tucked into these narrow streets, it was hard to get the lighting to capture the right picture. And this may be a random picture of a door, but beautiful little details like this were everywhere you turned down these streets, and the simple and old world beauty of something as simple as a door was just beautiful.





One of the treats I looked forward most to trying in Barcelona was Churros con Chocolat! When we saw this cute little cafe down another narrow street, we found our place to try one. The churros are fried but very different from Mexican churros, and they are traditionally served with their version of hot Chocolate which is more like a hot, thick chocolate pudding, and you dip the churros into the thick drinking chocolate, and they delivered on my expectations- they were fantastic! A rich indulgence that was one of my favorite food experiences from the trip... and on a sidenote, after coming home, I found recipes for Spanish churros and chocolate, and tried them for the Chris and the kids. They turned out GREAT, so if anyone wants to try them, let me know ;)





This whole group of pictures were taken at the Museu d'historia de la Ciutat on the Plaza del Rei. We stumbled into this gorgeous old palace by accident, entranced by the subtle entrance to this beautiful courtyard. Turns out this old building was the Royal Palace, residence of the count-kings of Barcelona from it's foundation in the 13th century. On a side note, this is where "Isabel and Fernando received Columbus after his triumphal return from America. It is also where the Holy Inquisition sat, believing the walls would move if lies were told."





This was a beautiful little courtyard in that Royal Palace turned musuem, with these great little orange trees catching the glimmers of sunlight that sneak down between it's old walls.



"The main attraction of the Museu d'Historia lies underground. Entire streets and squares of old Barcino are accessible via a lift and walkways suspended over the ruins of Roman Barcelona." We didn't have enough time to venture into this museum, but saw some of these exhibits from windows looking down on these ancient roman streets. We will make time for this next time we visit.




These pictures were taken at the Barcelona Cathedral, a compact gothic cathedral was begun in 1298, on the foundations of a Roman temple and Moorish mosque. It was not finished until the early 20th century, when the central spire was completed, based on the original 1408 plans of the French architect Charles Galters.






This is a famous literal, hole in the wall spot, that we had seen on Travel Channel, and when we saw the same little old man working the bar that we had seen on TV, we couldn't help but go check it out. The Picasso museum is right across the street.



What a fantastic morning in Barcelona, we loved exploring these streets and history and architecture, I can't wait to go back and have the time to explore so much more inside some of these amazing places...