Epic Honeymoon - Day 30 - Barcelona

Our last day in Barcelona, 14 October 2017, began with a fleeting visit to Palau Güell, just off La Rambla. An example of Gaudi’s early work, we never planned to go inside – maybe we should have, because the exterior wasn’t particularly exciting! There were some cool adornments, but that was about it.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 29 - Barcelona

Park Guell, Barcelona.

The following day, we started with a general stroll around La Rambla and side streets, at first venturing down to the port area, but then coming back up. As it’s a hotspot for tourists, there’s always something going on around there.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 28 - Barcelona

The infamous Casa Milà.

The next morning we crossed La Rambla and headed towards Barcelona Cathedral, enjoying the scenery of the suburbs. If you see Barcelona from the air, it’s quite an intriguing view: All the buildings appear to be the same height and all laid out in a grid pattern, creating a maze-like effect. The feeling is similar on the ground, with large apartment buildings rising both sides of you, almost enclosing you.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 27 - Barcelona

It was a bit chilli in Barcelona.

We touched down at the heart of Catalunya in the mid-morning of 11 October 2017. The airport is a bit of a trek from the city itself, so we had to take two metro lines for a total of about an hour to get to our accommodation, but it was relatively painless – apart from my shoulders from carrying both suitcases up and down stairs! Emerging at Liceu station, we were thrust right into the hive of activity that is La Rambla, and thus began our time in Barcelona.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 26 - El Escorial

Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial.

After our chat with Nacho, we made some hasty plans to, the next day, visit one of the UNESCO listed sites situated a short journey from Madrid. The town of El Escorial is about 45 minutes by train, and is mostly famous for the large monastery, San Lorenzo of El Escorial. Arriving at the station, we walked through the Casita del Principe gardens, passing by the house of the same name, before trudging up the long, tiring slope towards the monastery.

Epic Honeymoon - Day 25 - Madrid

Parque de El Retiro, Madrid

Our breakfast visit to San Gines went ahead as planned, and we took in some lovely calories to get our day started. For about €8, we got two coffees and a serve of 6 churros with hot chocolate, so the prices are quite reasonable, also. The churros were delicious – less sweet than what gets served up in Australia. Definitely stop by when you visit Madrid, but come early or be patient – seating is limited!

Epic Honeymoon - Day 24 - Madrid

El Rastro Flea Market

The next morning, we took the metro from the happy-to-be-gay station of Chueca, disembarking at Puerta de Toledo. This was our only opportunity to check out El Rastro Flea Market, as it’s only held on Sundays. What followed was a tiring trudge through thousands of people also checking out the market. To be honest, it wasn’t really all that enjoyable. The stalls sell basically everything under the sun, but not for the bargain prices you might expect. My suggestion would be to come here early, before it’s too crowded, just so you can say you have been, but don’t get too excited about it!