In the afternoon, we caught the Metro to La Sagrada Familia. This unfinished cathedral has been a work in process for over 100 years, which I suppose is good for the tourist trade, since you can go back every few years and note the progress.
It does, however, seem odd that in one of the most temperate climates in the world that construction should take so long.
We opted to just walk around the cathedral and snap photos of the exterior rather than paying for admission. It's an impressive structure, but not in my top ten favorite attractions of this trip, much less my lifetime.
While we could have explored more parts of this wonderful city, including the famous Park Guell, which showcases lots of art by Antoni Gaudi, the architect of La Sagrada Familia, we decided instead to return to La Rambla for another evening strolling with the throngs of locals and tourists.
For dinner, we went to a tapas bar next to a cathedral. We ordered a pitcher of excellent Sangria, and I had the chance to order tapas, which I had been thinking about since the early planning stages of the trip.
Tapas, as you know, are little snacks.
Originally the tapas were pieces of bread put on top of a glass of wine to keep flies away, and eventually toppings were added to them. Now, restaurants and bars serve a wide variety of tapas, many without bread, and few are placed on top of your wine.
Amy made the best dinner order, however, choosing chicken paella. She had too much to eat, and she shared some with me. It was terrific, and it's not hard to understand why paella is a signature dish of Barcelona.
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