The first thing we did in Spain was go to church. It was the primary program that day, so we picked the best sunday of the year! Right when we entered the chapel, you could feel the spirit. I love how you can feel God's love at church no matter where you are in the world or language is being spoken.
After church, Nathan's friend Enrique picked us up to show us some sights! Enrique was baptized the week before Nathan got to the area, so they spent quite a bit of time together while Nathan was on his mission.
Walked up to some old battle grounds, a popular place for young adults to hang out and watch the sunset.
Enrique then took us to the new chapel that was built in 2011. The pictures don't do it justice, but the chapel was beautiful! It was also one of the most expensive chapels the church has ever built - 3 stories in downtown Barcelona.
We arrived in Spain two days after the terrorist attacks in France. There were hundreds of handwritten signs to the victims from people belonging to nations from across the world.
The next morning we visited La Sagrada Familia, a Roman Catholic basilica in downtown Barcelona. What makes La Sagrada Familia so unique, besides the incredible architecture, is that the basilica is still under construction. Construction began in 1882, and they hope to have it complete by 2026 (we'll see if that actually happens). The design for La Sagrada Familia comes from the architect Gaudi.
Our next stop was Park Guell. Gaudi also played a large role in the construction of the building of the park. Park Guell was a place for Gaudi to practice styles of architecture he would later use on La Sagrada Familia.
After Park Guell, we took a bus up to Mount Tibidabo where we got to see another beautiful view above the city. At the top, there is both a church and an amusement, so I guess it's the best of both worlds. We finished the night by walking down La Rambla and eating some maybe not so authentic Paella.
Our last full day in Spain, Enrique was kind enough to take us out on a four hour bike ride throughout the city. SUCH a fantastic way to visit a city! We got to ride along the beach, through the city, and ate lunch at pub (seriously though, pubs have the best food)
Enrique tried to convince us of how awesome it would be to bike up to the top of Montjuic, but we decided our bodies would be a little bit happier with us if we took a nice walk up in the area. When missionaries would first arrive in the mission, Nathan's mission president would take them to the Castell de Montjuic and get their picture taken. Here Nathan is in the exact same spot, 10 years later.
We got visit the Olympic park and check out a few stadiums from the Barcelona 1992 Olympics. We also stopped in the National Art Museum of Catalonia which is gorgeous outside and in. We apparently walked into a "restricted" section of the museum, the library. But the librarian was so excited that American spoke spanish so well, he gave us a mini tour for the next 15 minutes.
We ended the night with some of the best dinner and dessert I've had! We had some delicious Paella and the best steak I may have ever tasted at El Glop Braseria. We grabbed gelato for dessert, and I could have easily eaten a second cone if Nathan and Andrea would have let me go in for seconds...
Despite all of the delicious food that was eaten, I am pleased to say we walked 20,000+ steps, or over 10 miles ever day.
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