Barcelona
I’m going to try to do less writing and more
pictures. Right now I am too busy
to write too much, plus I don’t think everyone wants to hear every little detail…
We arrived in Barcelona on Saturday, April 5
about 7PM. We checked into our
apartment and went to dinner. We
were very tired from traveling all day, not to mention our 7 day river cruise
and basically no ‘alone’ time. We
decided that Sunday would be a ‘down’ day – no plans other than finding some
food and doing a little unplanned exploring of Barcelona.
First of all, I have to rave about this
apartment we are staying in. It is
so delightful and well furnished!
There are interesting pieces of art on the walls. We will be very comfortable here. It also happens to be a block from the
Mediterranean. It’s in a very old
area (Gothic section of Barcelona) but has been upgraded completely. I am attaching the link to some
pictures of it, in case you are interested. The owners have several other properties also and are
reliable and easy to work with.
On Sunday, the weather was beautiful – we walked
down La Rambla – a very wide, touristy boulevard with lots of vendors and
street artists and con artists. We
then retraced our steps and walked down to the port and out onto the pier. This is a huge park and has lots of
restaurants and the marina. There
were a couple extremely large yachts in the port – actually there were 3
but we walked past 2 of them. One
was named Ace. Here is a link in
case you are interested in renting it…it will only set you back $1 million/week!
It is owned by the owner of FC
Barcelona (Barca). http://www.yachtcharterfleet.com/luxury-charter-yacht-27047/ace.htm
We went to dinner at a place recommended by
the owner of our apartment – Arcano.
It is located down a medieval path off one of the main thoroughfares and
then you turn down an even narrower path and the place is tucked into an
ancient building (the old royal stables) – and the food was great! We had reservations, fortunately,
because they turned some people away.
Great food and very cool atmosphere.
Monday we got a late start. We weren’t in a hurry, but our time
clocks are a little screwed up. We
are trying to adjust to ‘Barcelona time’.
Nobody gets up too early.
Lunch is at 2:30-3:30PM and dinner at 9PM! It takes some getting used to!
We finally got moving about noon. We decided to catch the double-decker
tour buses that travel around the city and briefly discuss various sights of
interest. We figured we could then
go back and visit them. Well, that
didn’t work out too well. We ended
up getting off and walking a ways uphill and then taking a “funicular” (aka – cable tram) to
Mount Tibidabo. Great views of the
city, there is an amusement park at the top that was closed, and also a Catholic church/cathedral (Temple
de Sagrat Cor). The cathedral was beautiful inside – all the walls were
mosaic! I’m not sure if the detail
will show up in these photos or not, but it was impressive.
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| Temple de Sagrat Cor |
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| Inside the temple |
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| The walls are all done in tiny mosaic tiles |
We then walked down the hill and caught the
bus back to the top of La Rambla and had lunch (at 3PM). After lunch we walked to the Carrefour
market and bought some stuff for dinner.
We were settled in for the night by 6:30PM and had dinner at 9PM. See, we’re getting the hang of it!
On Tuesday we had purchased tickets on-line
for a tour of Sagrada Familia. We
caught the metro (underground) and got there early (of course). I took a bunch of photos from the
outside before the tour. The tour
was good – interesting. We learned
the history of the church and the building of it (still under
construction!). They are trying to
complete construction in 2026 – 100 years from the time the architect died
(Antonio Gaudi). All we could say
while wandering inside and out was “WOW!”
How does anyone even conceive of an undertaking like this? Much less actually make it happen!
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| From the 'death' side of Sagrada Familia |
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| The front (Life) facade of Sagrada Familia |
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| Some of the pillars supporting the Sagrada Familia - there are 52 for the weeks of the year. |
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| Jesus on the cross (at Sagrada Familia) |
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| The stained glass is incredible |
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| More distinitive 'Gaudi' on the out buildings |
Tuesday we had dinner at a place just around
the corner called ‘Gildas’.
It was very good. It’s
right across the street from the Hemp Museum :-)
Wednesday we joined a group on a walking tour
of the old section of Barcelona, which is where our apartment is. It’s called the Gothic section and is
loaded with historical sites. We
are really happy we took the walking tour or we never would have ventured down
the narrow alleys and seen all the ruins and the old churches and streets. Below are some of the photos.
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| Dragons played a big role in ancient times. Killing the dragon was a common theme. |
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| The convergence of the ancient town and the new square. |
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| The Cathedral of Barcelona |
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| We were able to climb to the roof of the cathedral. |
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| Santa Eulalia memorabilia |
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| One of the old streets |
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| The small area in the corner is the home of the executioner |
Wednesday night, the owner of our apartment
(Rita) was in town and staying next door (in another apartment they lease). We had not met her before and invited
her over for some wine. She’s a
delightful and interesting lady who happens to be from Oregon! She left Oregon when she was 19 and
hasn’t been back – except to visit.
She has homes in Spain, Belgium and NYC, but spends most of her time in Spain. Anyway, we enjoyed visiting with her
and she gave us some more places to see in Southern France when we get there in
the next few weeks.
Thursday we hopped on the metro and headed to
Parc Guell and the Gaudi House Museum.
It was a full day of walking – up the hill to the Parc and then all
through the park – finally getting in (they limit the number of people who can
enter every half hour. We spent
about and hour and a half wandering the park and enjoying all the architecture. Arne says Gaudi was either crazy or a
genius! I think he was a creative
genius! I can’t describe his
creations in words, but it’s like nothing you will see again. Here are some photos from Parc Guell
and the museum.
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| Arne at Parc Guell |
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| Me, in front of the Gaudi House Museum |
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| The stairs in the Parc Guell - note the mosaics on either side |
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| Concave bowls in the roof of the gathering place - all with mosaic |
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| The benches in the main plaza area |
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| The support structures for the path above |
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| More of the supports |
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| The famous lizard |
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| Some of the wood chairs designed by Gaudi |
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| More chairs |
After leaving the Gaudi Museum, we stopped at
this hole-in-the-wall for a late lunch.
It wasn’t our best choice but it did wasn’t bad. We then headed for the Parc de la
Ciutadella. This was a quick visit
because our feet were killing us and it was cocktail hour! :-)
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| Arne and the Arc de Triomf |
No need for dinner tonight, so we are staying
in and having bread/crackers and cheese and olives. But wait, Rita’s husband, John, has joined her tonight and
we were invited over this evening.
Had an enjoyable evening getting to know Rita and John and meeting their
two kitties. They have a friend in
Seattle who started a Gin Distillery!
We will have to visit it when we get home -- It’s called Oola Distillery and it is on E. Union.
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