Peppy Piano and Spectacular Fountains!

July 12, 2017

Peppy Piano and Spectacular Fountains!

Another busy day in Barcelona! We explored the city's famous pedestrian shopping street, La Rambla, met up with one of my sorority sisters and her family for lunch, went to the Palau de la Música Catalana, and saw a spectacular light show at Montjuic :)

Columbus Monument

La Rambla

Sant Josep La Boqueria

Today, we visited Barcelona's famous market, La Boqueria. We wandered around, purchasing a fruit cup and admiring all of the fresh food along the way.

Palau Güell

Stopped by this palace that's famous for its colorful chimneys designed by Antoni Gaudi. (Second picture isn't mine because we didn't go to the top)

Lunch with my Grand-Big and her family!

Sorority life can be really fun because you meet tons of really awesome people - well, the one that pretty much convinced me to join the sorority happened to be in Barcelona at the same time as us this year. Taylor and I met on "preference night" (the last night of sorority recruitment), and she later became my grand-big. (My "big" is Aimée, and Taylor is her "big") Today, we met her and her family (her mom and dad, her brother, and his girlfriend) for lunch on La Rambla for paella and tapas. Getting lunch with someone I know on another continent is something I wished I could have done a year ago, but never thought I'd be able to do! Plus, it was awesome to see some familiar faces in another city, trade stories, and enjoy a delicious meal at Moka (Mediterranean food).

Gracias por todo, Tay :)

Picasso Museum

Snapped these before I learned that pictures weren't allowed... whoops! Definitely worth a visit to see how Picasso's style changed over time. The Las Meninas collection was unique and distinct from the Velazquez original (in the Prado).

Museu de Xiocolatto

An interesting museum full of chocolate sculptures.

Palau de la Música Catalana

At the Palau, we got a quick tour and attended a piano concert by Marc Serra, a local pianist. The Palau has many elements of Catalan culture represented in its architecture, including Saint Jordi's Day (in which lovers bring each other books and roses) and 40 women depicted in the stained glass ceiling representing the choir which owns it. It only took 2 years to build and was not a Gaudi piece - rather, Lluís Domènech i Montaner designed it with musicians in mind. Amazing! Marc Serra played songs from The Pianist and Schindler's List, along with a few classical tunes and Mozart's peppy Turkish March.

Note: To visit the Palau, you have to attend a concert/get a tour. It's worth it but requires a little advance planning. Thanks for setting it up, mom!

Magic Fountains of Montjuic

We ended our day with a visit to the Magic Fountains of Montjuic, where we got fabulous views of La Placa d'Espanya and the city.

Tourist tip: if you want to see the spectacle, get there early (8:15 or so) and hold your spot. If you have time, go up the escalators to the top (there's four total - two for the first level, and two for the second) to see La Sagrada Familia, Torre Glores (the Barcelona Gherkin), and much more.