{adventures abroad} spain: day three - sunday in the barri gotic

on the morning of day three, we picked up a light breakfast and headed back down toward placa catalunya.

from the placa, we walked down avinguda portal d'angel. we heard some music coming from one of the tiny side streets and decided to investigate, following the sound down a narrow cobbled lane until we discovered some sort of religious procession emerging from a lovely little hidden courtyard. we entered through an old gate and found a little flower shop and a beautiful 15th century church!

we explored the charming cloisters of the little courtyard church and then left to find our way to the gothic quarter. we came to a 17th-century fountain that {according to our guide book} once served as the last watering stop for horses on the way out of barcino {ancient barcelona}. beyond the fountain was a square where two towers stood - left over from the walls that surrounded the city in roman times.

eventually we wandered up to the cathedral of barcelona, a 14th-century gothic cathedral dedicated to one of the patron saints of barcelona, santa eulalia. we toured the cloister, where thirteen geese are kept at all times, in honor of eulalia.

the front of the cathedral was under construction and {unfortunately} hidden behind a giant picture of what it was supposed to look like. a large crowd had gathered out in the square in front of the church and a group of musicians was seated on the cathedral steps. it was time for the sardana dances! every sunday at noon, locals of all ages come together to celebrate catalan pride with this traditional circle dance that everyone {but us} seems to know.

after being captivated by the sardana dances, we wandered around the narrow cobbled streets of the gothic quarter for a bit. everywhere we turned, there were hidden plazas and sunday concerts - a constant stream of soft music surrounded us on all sides. we toured the incredible picasso museum and shared a tortilla espanola at the museum's courtyard cafe.

we did a little more wandering and found ourselves in barcelona's ribera (el born) neighborhood, with its crowded cafes and narrow streets, old jousting square, and fascinating street art.
it was getting to be siesta time, so we looked for the metro (read: got lost looking for the metro) and took it back to our hotel.

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after our nap, we took our cava and cerveza and hopped on the metro again, bound for the magic fountains! as it happened, our arrival at the national palace coincided with the end of a futbol game... celebrating fans were out in droves, cheering and making mischief. the magic fountain itself was pretty impressive, albeit incredibly touristy - every twenty minutes or so there was a fantastic light and water show set to music. we sipped our bebidas and watched two or three different shows, and a few of the people too. one woman in particular was, well...mesmerized.

back in the eixample, we ate a delicious tapas dinner at a table outside - seafood croquettes, patatas bravas, and paella. they kicked us out at midnight so we went back to the hotel for some sleep!