In comparison to Madrid, Barcelona feels like a much bigger city. The streets and buildings are more grand and prettier. It's definitely cleaner too - no graffitis on buildings so far. It's also more vibrant - probably because of the buildings, food scenes, markets, and shopping.
Barcelona is not as walkable as Madrid. It has also been very hot for the last 2 days. Finally, a bit of a breeze today but still super sunny. After 4-5 hours of walking and my calves/feet hating me, I decided that it was time to learn and take the subway. I asked a few questions to a non-English speaking metro employee, who pointed out to me which lines to take/transfer to get my stop. Once I understood the logistics of that, the subway map and routes were pretty easy to read (pretty much the same system every it seems - very similiar to Tokyo system). Definitely more subway tomorrow!
Barcelona has multiple fresh food markets. The coolest one is La Boqueria, which is right off of La Rambla (more on this street later). This market has stalls selling everything from fresh seafood/meats to candies and fruits. See the Barcelona FOOD PICTURES.
Once inside the market, I walked around and sampled on fruits and a smoothie. Wasn't really in the mood for candies today but they sure do have a lot of sweets for sale. There are also restaurant stalls there. I had a yummy tapas lunch and met one of the most attentive restaurant owner/waiter. He managed to communicate with me very well with a bit of English and lots of hand gestures. He was so good with tending to all 10 stools and was so nice the entire time that I couldn't resist but asked for a picture of him. I also chatted with an older man next to me, who used to visit San Francisco a lot on business trips.
La Rambla is this long street that has a huge pedestrian walkway in the middle. It's a popular street because there are tons of kiosks on the walkway selling snacks (gelato, sweets, etc), flowers, and souvenirs. At night, the street performers come out and the walkway gets even more congested. Also, there are restaurants and stores on both sides of the streets. I found a really cool souvenir store on this road and ended up with a bunch of souvenir items - mostly because the guy was giving me everything half off (and yes, I did price similar items in Madrid ;-)). I had some really good tapas and paella for dinner at a restaurant on this street tonight. It's very hard to not buy gelato when there are a gazillions of them on La Rambla - so far I already bought 2 very small ones throughtout today. Here is to hoping I can walk off those gelatos! ;-)
On my second day here, I went out and attempted to do part of the Gaudi walk. I have to admit that I'm very impressed with his architecture style. The Basilica of Sagrada Familia is probably the grandest and most impressive of his work. It's a cathedral that has been in the works since 100+ years ago. Gaudi, himself, died in the 1920's (I think) and just left very detailed plans for how to build it. It is estimated to be completed in 2040. The outside has 3 different facades, and only 2 have been built (the Passion (of the Christ) and the Nativity). They are both breathtakingly beautiful and just grand! The inside is even better - from the columns to the ceiling to the glass-stained windows. I just sat there and gazed in wonder of the complexity and beauty of the place.
I also visited 2 other house/buildings created by Gaudi. Casa Batllo is this colorful 2-story home with mosaic stones on the front and a roof that looks like dragon skin. For the life of me I couldn't take a proper picture of the roof with all the sun shining on me :-) I also walked by and took a picture of La Pedrera, another one of Gaudi's creation. I'm planning to visit Gaudi's Park Guell tomorrow and I'm expecting lots of beautiful mosaic colors.
At this point, I'm thinking I might not have enough time to see the remaining sights that I'm dying to see: Gothic Quarter, the beach!, a couple museums, Camp Nou football stadium.
Here are the Barcelona SIGHT PICTURES.
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