If you read my post about day one in Barcelona, you might remember that my Dad and I were planning on heading to Park Güell before 8am as it free. Unfortunately, my dad did not set an alarm so we weren’t able to visit the park. We vowed to visit it the next day and continued on with our day, after a bit of a late start.
We planned on eating breakfast at Flax & Kale, but some road closures forced the taxi to drop us off a few streets away and since we had no idea about the geography of Barcelona, we couldn’t find our way. After some time, we argued a bit about whether or not we should try to keep looking for it and after some rather loud and heated conversation on the sidewalk, we just walked into a place. I only mention this is because I am one of those people who needs to Google a food place and check its Yelp ratings before even considering visiting. For this reason, Bacanal Café was rather lucky to receive our business that Saturday morning.
Walking around Barcelona looking for the breakfast restaurant.
I had a yogurt parfait and my dad had eggs, and while both dishes were simple, we enjoyed our respective meals. After eating, we headed to the Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona. I am a huge fan of contemporary art so I enjoyed the visit. The content and themes of some of the exhibits also allowed me continue my ongoing education about Spain!
While I wandered the museum, my dad roamed around outside in the surrounding streets. After I finished my visit at the museum, my dad informed me that he found an Indian restaurant on the next street. The meal was fine, obviously forgettable because I’m writing this post almost two months after the fact and I can’t recollect what we ordered or even conjure up one adjective to describe it!
Next, we took a taxi to the Sagrada Familia, for which I had purchased a ticket the day before. Unfortunately, the minute the taxi drove away, I realized that I had left my phone at the Indian restaurant. So we had to get another cab to schlep back to the restaurant and got the phone. I must mention though, that this forgotten phone incident is the only time anything like that this happened my whole trip thus far!
A selfie to make el padre happy!
Once I finally got into the Sagrada Familia, I retrieved my audio guide and headed up the Nativity tower. It definitely provided great #views of the city!
The inside and outside of the church were both extraordinary. I’ve seen a lot of things since, and the Sagrada Familia is still definitely one of my favorite places so far! Gaudi was so creative and the others who have continued his work have made the Sagrada Familia such a visually intriguing place to visit. I personally loved the beautiful, rainbow light created by the stain-glass windows and also the intricacy of the exterior façade. I can’t wait to see the completed cathedral in 2026 (but, TBH, I’m not sure if they’ll really be done by then)!
After the Sagrada Familia, my dad and I simply wandered a bit before heading back to the hotel so he could rest (I’ve discovered this is what happens when you travel with older family members). For dinner, we went back to the beach because my dad wanted “authentic seafood like the locals.” Now, I am all for eating local food, but we for sure did not end up eating such food. The restaurant we visited was called El Rey de la Gamba and it was one of those places where a waiter stands outside and hands menus to passersby to convince them to come inside. In fact, the whole street was full of such restaurants fit for tourists like us. Absolutely nothing local about it.
We ate a subpar fish appetizer and had some decent paella for our main dish. Next to our table were four German girls who each completely cleared their plates of fried fish, French fries, and tomatoes. They for sure were enjoying their meals more than us and I even overheard one of them call it “food heaven”… Honestly, the more my family travels, the more we realize that we have much different standards for food than most.
After eating, we headed back to the Ice Box for ice cream. I mean, we were so close that we couldn’t not pay the place a visit. The beach was still buzzing at night and the ice cream was just as great as the day before’s… and as the next day’s would be. Sorry for the spoiler!
Keeping it real with these selfies
I hope you liked reading about day two in Barcelona! If you haven’t read part one, head over here and part three is up too.
