GOTHIC QUARTER - BARCELONA

When my daughter and I were planning this trip and I saw Barcelona, Spain, on the cruise port list, I thought it would be a nice place to visit. But if I'm being honest, Barcelona wasn't on my bucket list of places I wanted to see.

Let me just go on record now and say, put Barcelona on your bucket list!

I had no idea when we first visited Barcelona that I would eventually return several more times. There was just something about this city that captured my attention, and that first visit to the Gothic Quarter was where it all started.

When people ask me what the biggest surprise of the trip was, I tell them that I didn't expect to love Barcelona. I knew I would love Italy and France, but I really didn't have any expectations about Spain.

My daughter, on the other hand, had a very long list of places she wanted to see. She had so many things on her list that we didn't get to see them all—which, as I have discovered on my return visits, is pretty easy to do in Barcelona. There is simply so much to see.

Exploring Barcelona on Our Own

We decided to explore Barcelona on our own rather than pay for a tour through the cruise ship. Not only was this a huge savings, but it also gave us the freedom to go where we wanted and spend as much time as we wanted in each place.

Barcelona has a great bus system, and I definitely recommend taking advantage of it if you're visiting on your own. We were given a booklet showing the different stops, and we could simply hop off when we reached the area we wanted to explore and hop back on when we were ready to move on.

The first place on my daughter's list was the Gothic Quarter.

As we exited the bus, we looked around trying to figure out where we needed to start. I noticed a crowd of people gathered in what looked like a town square almost directly in front of the bus stop, so my daughter and I headed in that direction.

She reached the square before I did.

Suddenly, she stopped.

Then she turned around with a huge grin on her face and told me to hurry.

As I reached the square, I looked to my left and saw this church.

I think my mouth just fell open.

It was breathtaking. Stunning. Beautiful. I could probably use every word I know that means it took my breath away, and none of them would quite describe how I felt standing there.

Barcelona Cathedral – La Seu

The Barcelona Cathedral, also known as La Seu, is one of the most impressive buildings in the Gothic Quarter. The cathedral dates back centuries and is a wonderful example of Gothic architecture, with its elaborate façade, towering spires, and ornate gargoyles covering the roof.

But it wasn't just the outside of the cathedral that impressed me.

We made our way inside, taking in all of the incredible architecture and details, and eventually found ourselves heading toward what we thought was the exit.

Instead, we discovered something completely unexpected.

A beautiful courtyard filled with orange trees and geese.

I don't know what I expected to find when we walked through the cathedral, but it certainly wasn't this peaceful little courtyard. After the imposing architecture of the cathedral, stepping into this open space with the orange trees and the geese felt almost magical.

It was one of those unexpected travel moments that you can't really plan for.

I just had to snap a picture of this little girl peeking through the fence. The geese swam right up to her and seemed to be enjoying her as much as she was enjoying them.

Sometimes it's the little things you stumble upon while traveling that become some of your favorite memories.

After leaving the cathedral, we wandered up and down a labyrinth of narrow, winding streets.

And it didn't take us long to get lost.

But honestly, getting lost in the Gothic Quarter wasn't a bad thing at all.

Every turn seemed to reveal something new. Old buildings, tiny streets, little shops, beautiful doorways, and glimpses of everyday life were everywhere we looked. There was no way we could see everything in the time we had, and I quickly realized that I could have spent the entire day just wandering around.

In fact, I would have loved the opportunity to spend the entire day there.

We had only explored a small area of the Gothic Quarter, but it was enough to make a lasting impression on me.

Looking back now, after having returned to Barcelona several more times, I realize just how little of this incredible city we saw on that first trip.

But maybe that's part of the magic of Barcelona.

There is always another street to wander down, another little square to discover, and another reason to come back.