Barcelona, the capital of Catalunya, suffered during the long years of Franco's dictatorship (1939-1975). It was a city struggling to maintain its own culture and politics despite repression from the central government. Barcelona's extensive historical heritage ranges from Roman ruins to state-of-the-art contemporary architecture, with a little Gothic and modernista (Catalan art) in between. Before we arrived Barcelona, we stopped at Zaragoza which is the fifth largest city in Spain, located midway between Madrid and Barcelona. It's full of ancient streets with some fascinating historic sites and some truly monumental buildings. The Aragonese cuisine is excellent and because the city remains largely untouched by tourism it has a more Spanish feel to it than the more popular cities and coastal resorts.  
 
Antonio Gaudi gave Barcelona the better share of his works of genius, including the unfinished church La Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and Casa Balto. The Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia, located in the Eixample neighborhood, is a must see while visiting Barcelona. This giant church, with it’s colorful broken tile mosaics, and unique sculptural design, is by far Gaudi’s most recognized work. Slowly but surely, construction is still underway today, with the aid of volunteer builders. The constructed areas are open to visitors and tour groups at an inexpensive price.  
 
Park Guell has the Dragon FountainGuell park at the entrance that contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. The Antonio gaudi parc guell contains large organic looking columns made from stone. Gaudi was strongly influenced by natural shapes and used them in his work. The multi-coloured tiled mosaic seats with vibrant colours tiles are truly breathtaking. The house in which Gaudi lived is now a museum and contains interesting furniture also designed by Gaudi.  
 
The Las Ramblas street is located in the center of Barcelona. This 1.2 kilometers long street is the most famous in the city so basically anyone who visits has to go here. The top of the Ramblas begins at the super popular and trendy Plaza de Catalunya. This plaza is the home to many posh shops, restaurants/bars and a huge department store called Corte Ingles (big chain in Spain). Most amazing are the street performers, who are dressed in costumes, and some dance and others play music. The main substance of the street acts are the human statues. They demonstrate their equally vast powers of concentration, remaining motionless for hours and hours. They make distinct movements only when someone drops some money into their hats.