Day in Barcelona

What a great day in Barcelona! We enjoyed our quick tour of the city on Saturday. Although it was about a 2 hour bus ride from where we were staying, it was well worth the trip. Our first stop was at beautiful planned and laid out gardens, where we spent an hour walking around. At the top we had a lovely panoramic view of the city.

Our next stop was to see the eternal building project of an amazing cathedral. Walking around the unfinished church brought constant amazement at the structure. The Sagrada Family began construction in 1882. Although he passed away in 1926, work on the project has continued until now.

From there we went to the downtown area and strolled down a wide walking street with lots of shops on both sides. Lots of people were out on the street inviting you to come into their shop for coffee. As our friends were talking to one of the gals, the waitress asked if she should use Spanish or English. Our friend replied in Tagalog that maybe she should just use Filipino. You should have seen the surprise on her face! We had joined them by now, and found out that all of the workers in the shop were from the Philippines. She invited us in and told us she would treat us to juice. She asked us if we would like to sit near the front or the back. When we told her it was up to her and she started to take us to the back, the waiter in the front said, "No, no, no - let them sit up here, so I can talk to them while they eat." After the shock wore off for them that they were actually speaking in their native tongue to white people in Spain, we had quite a conversation. What fun!!

Next came a couple hours of walking around "Spanish Village". A ‘small city’ was constructed representing all of the areas of Spain. It was a very interesting tour. Among other things, we saw them weaving, painting, leather and glass making.