Barcelona, Spain

I spent the first few days of December in Barcelona with several of my co-workers. We have an annual women's retreat, and this year's destination was sunny Spain! After a gloomy and rainy German fall, it was nice to have a few days of sun and temps in the 50s!

The retreat serves a few purposes: spiritual refreshment, community building and rest. We spent our mornings together in worship, and our afternoons and evenings exploring the city and building fun memories together. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

La Sagrada Familia,
This is an amazing cathedral. Having spent the last three years in Germany, I've seen my share of some pretty awesome churches. The Sagrada Familia was unique, in that it is still under construction. Every other church I've walked into, is super old. It was very different walking into a cathedral still in process. I'm not sure on all of the details, but it hasn't been completed due to some funding issues. It's slated to be done in 2020-something.

^It sticks out in the center of the city

^Some of the most beautiful stain glassed windows I've ever seen! We went early in the morning as the sun was still rising. 

^A really unique ceiling 

^We climbed up one of the towers for a great city view... this was the small, curvy walk up/down

^The facade of the cathedral was amazingly detailed, and told the story of Jesus beautifully. 

Barcelona Cathedral, 

^We went through this cathedral as the sun was setting, the sun's rays turned the church pretty shades of orange. 

^The baptismal 

Arc de Triumph,

^ Who knew? I thought Paris had the only one! 

City Gardens,

Castle,

^ We came across a really pretty castle ruins, overlooking the sea. The foliage on the wall was pretty. 

Guhl Park,

^ This was a well known park, set high above the city. The park's architecture was unique. 

City Views, 

^The Mediterranean Sea! 

^Interesting street performer... no head, or chair. Just a floating body. 

Paella Cooking Class, 

^Our team spent an afternoon with a local Barcelona gal, who teaches cooking classes out of her home. She had a great apartment, with a balcony that overlooked the city. She taught us how to make a traditional Spanish dish called paella. Here's a picture of the finished product, before we dove in and ate extremely well! Next time you're traveling to a new city, check out a site called eatwith.com. Locals join the site, and teach cooking classes at their home. It's a fun way to meet a local and eat some great food!