Barcelona - Day 1

Back in 2004 on a whirlwind 11-day tour of five European countries, I flew into Girona airport, spent about 2 hours in Barcelona, then promptly jumped on a bus to Madrid. I didn´t know what I was missing!
This is a very walkable city with a lot of character. As soon as we got in this morning, we jumped on the Metro (very easy to figure out and can take you anywhere in the city) to get to Parc Guell, a whimsical park the architect Antoni Gaudi was hired to create in 1900. Initially, the park was designed to be a residential area for Barcelona´s wealthy residents, but after the project was abandoned in 1914, it became a public park for everyone to enjoy. And enjoy it we did! It´s a steep climb to reach the top of the park, but the sweeping views of the entire city of Barcelona can´t be beat, and we loved Gaudi´s signature glittering mosaic buildings, statues, and details throughout the park. We spent almost two hours searching for the famous lizard dragon fountain before we realized it was just inside another entrance to the park! Took lots of pictures!
Afterward, we hopped back on the Metro and got off around La Rambla. This is one of the more touristy areas of the city, but we are told no visit to Barcelona is complete without stopping here. We had a late lunch at a restaurant called the Attic, which was really delicious... octopus and beef carpaccio, a fried egg dish with jamon serraño, and two towers of fresh mozzarella and tomato... mmm....
Now we´re trying to stay awake so we can get over our jet lag and have a fresh, full day tomorrow. Lots to do and see here yet! We´re not off to France until Tuesday!