Collserola y Tibidabo
For weeks we’ve spied a grandiose-looking church atop one of the mountains on the edge of the city. It is the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. To see it, we took the train to Baixador de Vallvidrera and hiked up Collserola.
Along the way we happened upon a stone cousin of our familiar wooden picnic table.
It was dramatic to approach the church and the small village around it from below.
Adjacent to the monumental twentieth-century sanctuary is the Tibidabo amusement park, easily recognizable from afar by its Ferris wheel. The amusement park itself isn’t much, but it seems to hang from the side of the hill and offers dramatic views of Barcelona and the coast.
After lunch at a touristy restaurant, the only game in town on top of the hill, we made our way down via bus del barri (neighborhood bus) and funicular.