The Gothic Quarter

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 We did indeed sleep in and got some well deserved rest for our feet.   While we did not want to create a rigorous schedule for this trip, I created a list for the week of things we wanted to see to spread throughout the week.  We had tickets to La Sagrada Familia for the end of week, but no other time slots. I randomly filled in other sites like Park Güell, a day trip to Montserrat, and a seeing the Gothic Quarter. I knew today we'd be taking it easy.  We decided to head to the Gothic Quarter to find some brunch. I picked a random metro stop in the middle of the quarter and we just picked streets on sight.  And we found best little brunch spot!  A couple of pastries and sandwiches, a bench under an orange tree, directly outside a beautiful old church...*sigh* amazing.

From there we followed our eyes again, simply picking the prettiest streets, which was a bit hard considering they were all still strung up with Christmas lights.  We ended up finding an antique market in front of the Cathedral de Barcelona.  There were so many unique and interesting items, old maps, silverware, jewelry, camera, model toys, typewriters, vintage tools, and so much more.  I found a little silver container, perfect size to hold my rings.




There were of course street performers, but this was the first of many times we'd see our favorite whom we dubbed so eloquently as 'Bubble Man'.  They would have rope strung between two long poles, creating hoops they could dip in a soapy bubble mixture to create huge bubbles. It was mostly for the passing kids, but we enjoyed watching them and seeing the bubbles pass in front of the sights. 

The Cathedral was closed, we we enjoyed seeing the outside, especially with the bubble show going on in front.  Following the stone path up and around the cathedral to another square, we found more Christmas decor and followed the lights from there.  

Poking our head in shops here and there, we kept our eye out for a dinner spot as well.  We ended up in another little square at a restaurant that served a tapa, entre, and drink of choice for a set price, and the price was right so we sat!  Pasta, paella, and wine, oh my!

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