Things to do in Barcelona

To sum up my previous posts, there's lots to do in vibrant Barcelona and following are some of the to dos for a short trip:

• Visit the Sagrada Familia - purchase tickets much in advance
• Take a wine tour - this is anywhere in Spain, surely try the Spanish wine/ cava
• Have a meal and take a stroll down Las Ramblas
• Pick on bruschetta or pintxos 
• Visit Museu Picasso - know everything about the brilliant artist and his growing up days in this little city.
• Around Museu Picasso is a small chocolate factory, not a lot of people know about it but it surely is a must visit to purchase raw chocolate and see it in various artistic forms.
• Take a stroll down the Gothic Quarter and have a meal at the little Spanish cafes in the gothic - like lanes
• Don't forget Mango, Zara and some other high street brands originate from Spain - need I say more?
• Take a walk down the Eixample area, or must I say Gaixample (that's the nickname and you know why).
• Walk down Port Olimpic and SURELY have a meal at one of the restaurants or lounges, great music, street parties, superb buzz in the area.
• Visit the Montserrat - we never got the time but everyone kept saying how beautiful it is. (Again, plan a trip in advance from one of the city tour buses, we couldn't make it because not only were we short on time, but all the trips were fully booked)/
• Lastly, with all this walking, don't forget to take a Spanish siesta in the afternoons!

Museo Picasso

Chocolate art - there's a reason why one must visit the chocolate factory!

All in White Chocolate - YUM!

Chocolate Factory, Barcelona

It's not just white & brown! 

CHOCOLAT!

Port Olimpic, Barcelona

looking for Chocolate Factory...

Jean Leon, Torres & Freixenet Vineyards

Torres - it's at the top of a hill and one can view the valley, other small wineries and the little town of Penedes.

The have their own little train to take you for a tour.

Their own wine grapes

The train takes you inside a dark room, which has thousands of barrels stored, before the bottling process.

The bottling process & storage

Inside the tasting & training room

& the tasting begins - which cheese goes with which wine???

 FREIXENET - Freixenet is the world's top producer of Spanish sparkling wine or cava. Having expanded tremendously within years (make around 90 million bottles a year!) with hardly any space left to develop their estate, Freixenet has expanded vertically in literal terms - it goes levels underground!

Let's go for a ride:)

The barrels

The old old bottles!

Old is gold:) Who likes mature wine?

Way underground! 

The little left of the ceiling - the temperature is controlled/ chilly because of the wines.

 JEAN LEON - one of the most fascinating 'hollywood like' stories, inspiring and surely makes you want to know more about his wines - vineyard managed and run by Torres.

On the way to Jean Leon

We were welcomed by the bottles!

Wine Grapes - Green used for White Wine

Black grapes for Red wine

Who likes Sauvignon Blanc - We actually tried the grapes!

The classiest barrels ever!

The barrel process - crushing of the grapes is now done by machines.

The barrels

The tasting & training by one of the Jean Leon representatives

Forgot to add this one earlier - Chardonnay Grapes!

The Beauty of Sagrada Familia

Sagrada Familia, like many other tourist attractions in Barelona, is a must visit for anyone! A huge Roman Catholic church, designed by Antoni Gaudi, Sagrada Familia is quite an extraordinary structure, extremely beautiful and full of powerful and positive energies.

A bit Gothic in design, the detailing of each and every aspect of the church, from the roof to the doors to the inside structure, is just brilliant - one can only wonder what was going on behind the master mind's brains to design something so delicate and yet so strong, to make it last for generations to come

Don't forget to buy your tickets much in advance as there's a long queue at the entrance!

Here is a string concept of the design - it defies the law of gravity - where the strings are the pillars.

Working area of Gaudi, his last days were spent here - it's still kept intact after so many

 years!

Some pictures of the entrance and the inside structure - the detailing is jaw - dropping!