Barcelona | Exploring Catalan Storybook Charms

2026.02.19-20 Girona, Spain; Park Güell, Barcelona, Spain

Day 4: We set off early in the morning, heading north to Girona, a well-preserved ancient city in Catalonia. It is also known for the filming location for TV series Game of Thrones.

We gave ourselves a buffer hour to catch the high speed rail. However, I made a big mistake handing out some coins to a homeless man, which caused a bit of a panic. To make matters worse, we entered the metro in the wrong direction and got locked out. By the time we finally got to the Spain Renfe Train station at Estació de Barcelona Sants, we realized it was as big as an airport. We watched the clock ticking. Within 10 minutes, we had to figure out the correct platform entrance, get through the security scan, and dash to the platform track. By the time we sat down in our seats, the door closed within 5 seconds. It took me half of the onboard time (total of 40mins ride) to catch my breath…  

Here we were, full of sense of history and time-honored medieval city - Girona

This wide staircase was where Jaime Lannister charged up on horseback to confront the High Sparrow. @Girona Cathedral

Standing on this medieval city walls with a gentle breeze rolling in, all the crazy morning rush just fades away.

12:45pm, we had a Michelin recommended restaurant reservation at Normal (pronounce nor’mal, stress on the second syllable)

I couldn’t help but connect this dish to the Taiwanese street-style shrimp omelets; incredibly rich egg flavor

I booked the return time a bit too early because I had no idea dining at a restaurant in Europe would take hours, especially for such a fine restaurant. By the time we were stuffed and satisfied, we pretty much ran out time for another walk. We had no choice but to make our way to the station and say goodbye to this peaceful medieval town. 

Since we came home early, we had the extended comedy movie night: “I Don’t Know How She Does It” and “He’s Just Not That into You”

Day 5: After two days of intense sightseeing, Day 5 was a chill day. We had a morning walk along the pier. 

Taking our time at the restaurant @Can Solé, enjoying another plate of paella 

In the late afternoon, we arrived at Antoni Gaudí's another world heritage site: Park Güell. This is the second most crowded place we’ve visited, after the Sagrada Família.

This area was intended to be a residential district for the wealthy. Because of the World War I outbreak and other various reasons, only two houses were ever completed.

Can you spot Sagrada Família? 

The two straight-out-of-a-fairy-tale houses:

The pink house was designed by Gaudí's friend Francesc Berenguer as a model house. Gaudí purchased it and lived there nearly 20 years before he moved to Sagrada Família. The house now is functioned as Gaudí House Museum.

The entire park is filled with Gaudí’s signature touch at every turn.

"El Drac" the Dragon in Catalan, becomes the symbol of Barcelona

I'd like to end this post with a little story that we encountered on the metro. When we were on our way home on the metro, there was a homeless guy in the same car with us. I didn’t want to make big movements as I sidestepped away from him, just in case it came off as rude. A kind lady let us take her standing spot and stayed by our side, almost like she was protecting us until he got off. I was deeply moved by her kindness. There were a lot of stories about pickpocketing on the metro yet warmhearted thing happened too :)