Jet d’Eau | One Year, Two Backpacks, No Plan

The last week has been split between two great European cities; Geneva, Switzerland and Barcelona, Spain. Both metropolises have something different to offer and we thoroughly enjoyed our time in each.

Upon reaching Geneva, we were both struck by the astounding number of banks and watch stores that line the streets of the city center. The city is perfectly situated on Lake Leman (aka: Lake Geneva) and easily walkable with plenty of sites to entertain travelers. We spent a day exploring the waterfront; visiting the iconic flower clock, and huge manmade geyser that shoots water over four-hundred feet into the air. Many of the museums are free, and we found the History of Science and CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) to be particularly interesting. With a short bus ride from the city center, we were able to complete a four hour hike on Mount Salève; which was steep, a little muddy, and extremely well marked (as expected).

Geneva to Barcelona was a short hour and a half flight, the proximity of different countries/cultures in Europe is still incredible to us. The weather in Barcelona was less than favorable when we arrived, but luckily it drastically improved during our stay. The city has to be one of the top tourist destinations in Europe, there were people everywhere and it’s not even summer. After a day of wandering the city, we understand why. Barcelona is really a joy to walk and has a little something for everyone.

The art and unique architecture, that seems to be everywhere, keeps you constantly interested and eager to see a new part of this historic city. By far the most memorable site is Antonio Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia church, which is still in the process of being completed. Pictures don’t do this church justice, it’s one of the strangest religious buildings we have seen anywhere during our travels. We ate lunch in one of the parks nearby and were in awe about how different the building is compared with other churches in Europe, very original.

With everything the city of Barcelona has to offer, the highlight of our experience was watching their world renowned Barcelona Football Club play a match in Camp Nou. The energy in the stadium is amazing, the devotion and love of players goes beyond anything that we’ve seen at other sporting events. The game was against Mallorca and was an absolute blowout, Barcelona won five to zero (Go Barça’s!).

Tomorrow we leave Barcelona for Madrid and will visit one more locale before returning to the States.