After a day at the beach well ok a few hours on Thursday and a trip to a French Hypermarche it’s up early for a drive to Barcelona. We had tickets booked for 10:30 at the Sagrada Familiar. The turreted Basilica designed by Gaudi and still as yet unfinished.

We arrived and parked around the corner from the Sagrada in our usual parking garage.

Surprisingly there was no question to speak of. Every time we have been before the que usually wraps around the building and so fascinating as it may be we have never been inside before. There is so much to see in Barcelona that we have never considered it worth wasting so much time queing.

So TOP TIP!!!! Buy your tickets in advance!

We had booked a basic audio guide ticket with no access to the towers. We thought there would be enough to see and we didn’t want to spend all day, there is more to see. It was after all Harriet’s first time in Barcelona.

The Sagrada is beautiful inside and out. The outside is highly decorated as ( and here is the big disign change from a standard Basicilica ) the small chapels that usually encircle the inside of the church are on the outside, so that everyone can enjoy. The different sides of the building represent different things…. Ie fire etc….

The inside is very beautiful

The stained glass is amazing.

Gaudi is buried in the Sagrada in the basement chapel and there are still Nuns who pray in the Basicilica throughout the day.

After seeing all this we headed out. Handed in the audio guides then the girls needed the loo. If they had not we would not have found the fascinating museum in the basement which added another 45 mins to the tour.

Outside we hopped on a tour bus and took the tour as far as Barcelona Cathedral. A Gothic Building in the oldest part of the city. Harriet is fascinated with Gothic architecture, literature etc…

In we went just as the heavens opened! The building suddenly took on a whole new atmosphere. Being inside a Gothic building of this nature during a Thunderstorm of biblical proportions is quite something!

Oh and the roof leaks!

There is in one corner access to the roof which is open to the public. It closed just as we went in due to the torrential rain!

After the rain died down we headed outside and found somewhere to eat.

Harriet wanted a Barcelona FC themed gift for her boyfriend so we found an official shop, they are all over the city so it’s not hard to find and also an Ale Hop shop. Something we found a few years ago on a Spanish holiday. Basically a posh pound shop…. Things cost more than a pound but are also much better quality. The stuff is also quite quirky and fun.

We continued the rest of the bus tour around to the Sagrada.

There was more that Harriet wanted to do but there just wasn’t time. Like Park Guil is probably a whole half day on its own not to mention the oxygen supply you need to climb the hill. She also fancied a look at Montserrat but that’s probably even longer. There is a tour bus goes up there. So some things for next time.

Saturday forcast was not good. So we decided to use the day to go To Andorra and do some shopping.

We called at a shop up in the north of Andorra where Halys’ and I had stopped last year. Mainly because the toilet was required.

We drove through and stopped at the supermarket that we usually use. Food was of course first order of business, it usually is when Harriet is around.

We do love Andorra….. I just need to borrow the work vehicle to make the most of it. That little lot cost less than £300 which is a saving of over 50% compared to France. And probably nearer to 75% over the UK price. So it’s well worth stocking up if you get the chance. We won’t buy any spirits until next year now.

Sunday was a lazy day with Pool and a mooch around.

Next time we go to Montpellier, Harriet fly’s home, and we spend a couple of days to recover from her visit.