A.K. Gold’s Favorite Spots in Barcelona

Insane, but true, I saw all these spots (and others) in less than 2.5 days in Barcelona.

• Museu Picasso--I contend that this Picasso Museum is better than the one in Paris. If you are visiting Madrid before going to Barcelona, go to the Prado and see Velasquez's Las Meninas, and then see Picasso's 50+ studies of the painting when you go to Barcelona. So freakin' cool. While it was a temporary exhibit, I credit this museum with introducing me to the amazing painter Jean Helion.
• Mercat de la Boqueria--as a Philadelphia resident, I have deep, deep love for Reading Terminal Market. The only place that rivals it in my mind is La Boqueria which is aesthetically beautiful, and where i bought the best chocolate covered almonds I've ever eaten.
  
• Sinagoga Shlomo Ben Adret--It was only in the last 10 years that archaeologists unearthed a couple rooms of the Synagogue which stood across from the town center until the 14th Century. It's fascinating from an archaeological, theological and social (in light of the inquisition and how modern-day Spaniards react to it) perspective. Definitely worth getting lost in the Barri Gotic to find. (If you pay attention when you're nearing the Sinagoga, you might notice Hebrew letters carved into the walls.)
  
• Park Guell and Sagrada Familia--Even if Antoni's architecture doesn't appeal to you in photographs (and yes, the term gaudy does come from his name), go to Park Guell and La Sagrada Familia. They are tremendous in person, and the history, urban planning theory, and aesthetics are totally fascinating.
  
• MACBA, Caixa Forum and the Fundacio Miro--Do you like art? Clearly, I'm really into it, in fact in 8 days in Spain I managed to see something like 12 museums. Needless to say, the MACBA, Caixa Forum and Fundacio Miro were three of my favorites with great exhibits--at the time--on photography, Miro, Joesph Sert, and Joseph M.W. Turner. If you're not quite as into art as I am, and only have time to go to one, make it the Fundacio Miro. The architecture is amazing--Sert designed it for his good friend Miro at Miro's request--and set in the beautiful Parc Montijuc.
  
• Museu du Xocolat--Yep, the Museum of Chocolate. Learn the history, smell the confections that are sold at the gift shop, but the real reason to come is to see the stand-outs from the annual chocolate sculpture contest held annually around Easter time. Ben Hur's Chariot Race, and La Pieta are the two that have stuck with me years later.