Art of Barcelona Spain

I love Spain, but it’s been years since I last visited the city of Barcelona. I inherited my love of travel from my mother. She literally dragged my father (and 3 kids) to Europe every summer. Of course, I had no idea how good I had it. Although I do remember the art of Spain was a big deal for Mom. She raved about the work of Gaudi. Her excitement was palpable, and I remember the feeling of seeing my mom so happy. I could not wait to see the work of these masters once again but this time through the eyes of an adult.

The Art of Barcelona Spain

Yes, my love for art came from my mom. Spain was one of her favorite vacay spots. We made several trips to Barcelona, Madrid, the island of Mallorca and more. Now, my husband Rich and I were set to see Gaudi’s legendary park, church and other buildings but in a much more complete stage than they were in when I was a child. We originally planned to visit the incredible museums in Valencia, but the universe had other plans.

Valencia Floods

Two days before my husband and I were set to travel to Ireland, then continue on to the east coast of Spain, a historic tragedy occurred. Terrible flooding swept through Valencia – over 200 people were officially reported to have lost their lives. Cars were pilled high in the narrow streets. It was horrible. They are still dealing with the grief and cleaning up the mess. If you can afford to give any type of donation at this time, I strongly encourage you to do it. See below for direct links to donate money for flood victims, as well as one of my favorite charities, World Central Kitchen.

As we watched the events unfold, it became clear that our plans had to change. We were set to a review a hotel, so we immediately reached out because it was located north of Valencia and south of Tarragona (another town that got flooded). They advised us to reschedule our trip for another time. We had already set up other hotel and restaurant reviews in addition to tours. Our itinerary for both Dublin (which was the first half of our trip) and Spain were meticulously scheduled and tied together. So, changing at the last minute was quite frustrating.

Rearranging a Bucket List Trip

However we turned lemons into lemonade, and started searching on booking.com. Luck was on our side. We found some great options and created an incredible impromptu trip. Instead, we quickly rearranged our trip to simply stay in Barcelona with a few day trips.

*A reproduction of Banksy’s You Loot We Shoot at the Banksy Museum; Photo by Kathy Leonardo*

In the end, it all worked out great. In fact, it turned out to be a fantastic trip. We were able to experience even more art than previously planned. Plus we have already decided we will be returning for sure. I’ll be posting the highlights, the art, the food, and the hotels…CLICK HERE to read about my experience returning to see Basilica De La Sagrada Familia as an adult, or HERE to read a lodging review. Stay tuned for lots more.

CLICK HERE for a direct link to Global Giving’s Urgent Need for Flood Victims in Valencia Spain. Or HERE to donate to Chef Jose Andre’s World Central Kitchen…when a disaster happens, this nonprofit is there serving hot meals to the communities in need.

ETG wants to encourage our readers to visit official tourism websites for Barcelona as well as Spain – https://www.barcelonaturisme.com; https://www.spain.info/