No trip to Barcelona is complete without a good dose of Gaudi's work, especially since he is one of my favorite architects. We took in a couple of the houses at night since we had seen them a couple years back and we saw Sagrada Familia on our final day. We were not able to go up in the towers on our first trip there due to rolling power outages because of the excessive heat. No problems with too much heat this time. I think they have made some progress in the 18 months since we were there, but it is such a mammoth project that it is hard to tell. We noticed conflicting reports on its completion, 2020 or 2025. I think we have some time to see it another time or two before it is done.

On the 2nd full day we set out to Montserrat and the Monastery. Little did Nikki know what I had planned. (see earlier post) We really enjoyed the serenity of the place and it felt good to just be away from a city for a bit. Hiking made me miss all my hikes in the States, but I know those days will come again. I guess I won't stumble on to any Ibexes on the trails near home though. This was a great place to spend an afternoon and somewhere that will always be a part of our story together.

After walking around the Gothic District during the first day in Barcelona, we decided to take in the zoo. Zoos and wildlife parks are something that always tend to relax me and I love to try to see animals while we are vacationing. I was a skeptical about the Barcelona Zoo, because it looked small on the map, but I can say this was one of the best zoos that I have seen. The enclosures are separated by moats from the public and all the animals were very close. Visiting the park was the perfect, lazy afternoon for us.