one short day in Barcelona

Once I'd arrived in Spain I really just wanted to lounge around and do nothing, but I figured that since I was in the area I should at least spend a little bit of time in Barcelona. 

So I spent a day walking around the city, just soaking up the atmosphere and exploring.  I spent quite a bit of time wandering through Mercat de la Boquería, the big food market in Barcelona.  It was fascinating just seeing the range of produce there - heaps of seafood and a disturbing array of meat products, plus veggies and candy and lots of little tapas bars. 

I spent a while at Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's still-unfinished masterpiece.  It was started in 1882, Gaudi himself worked on it for over 40 years, and it's scheduled to be completed by 2026.  So of course at the moment it's part massive cathedral, part building site.  It was quite interesting, and certainly not like most of the other churches I've seen throughout Europe.  Gaudi's designs were always a bit out there, and so many different people have worked on it over the years... it's quite something.  

Barcelona seemed like a very busy & alive city, and I probably should have spent more than one day looking around... but it was a nice overview.