Barcelona
Leslie and I arrived in Barcelona (Barthelona) early in the morning on Wednesday, April 27. Our hostel was in a great location, right on the Placa Reial, a lovely square located just off of La Rambla, which is the main pedestrian street in the city. As we were checking in that morning we ran into our friend Lynn, another English assistant from Lyon. It turned out that she had stayed in the hostel the night before and was just checking out. If Leslie and I had been on schedule, we would have arrived in Barcelona the night before and been there the same time as Lynn, and we hadn't even realized it!
Because Leslie and I were still a little sunburned, we decided to devote Wednesday to sight-seeing and save the beach for the next day. The fist thing we saw was the Gothic cathedral, which, of course, was under construction. It seemed like al of Europe was under construction this past year, just in time for Leslie and I to visit. I mean, you'd think these famous sites were really old or something! Next we went to the Placa del Rei, the square where Ferdinand and Isabella welcomed Columbus back from his trip to the New World. Then we hiked up to the summit of Mont Juic, where there's a very large park. The Olympics were held in this park in 1992, and Leslie ad I got to see the Olympic Swimming Complex, the Olympic Stadium, and the Olympic Gallery. We also saw the Palau Nacional (National Palace), which is located inside the park. From the front gate of the palace, you have a great view of the Placa d'Espanya, a large square located at the foot of Mont Juic, and the Magic Fountain, which is located there. Of course, there was a great deal of construction going on in the square.
From the Placa d'Espanya, we took the metro out to see La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral designed by the architect Gaudi in the very late 19th/early 20th Centuries. This cathedral was also under construction, but that's only because it hasn't been completed yet. It won't be finished for another 30 years. The cathedral was very unique, constructed with interesting architectural shapes and unusual, brightly-colored stained glass windows. A few years ago I read a really good book, Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, about the construction of a cathedral in the Middle Ages. Touring the construction site of La Sagrada Familia made me feel as if I were actually in the book. Not only did we get to walk around the inside of the unfinished cathedral, we also toured a small museum documenting the construction and planning of the church. Several original models by Gaudi were on display there. After the cathedral, we walked over to see another building designed by Gaudi, the Casa Batllo, which is a fun and funky house.
That afternoon, we took a stroll down La Rambla, which, as I mentioned already, is a long tourist street. Kiosks line either side selling everything from postcards to flowers to live roosters who cock-a-doodle-doo at you as you walk by. Another interesting feature of La Rambla is the all the people who come to beg there. You know the people in large cities who dress up in costumes and stand silently by the side of the road, trying to get tourists to leave money in a hat? Well, the people who did that in Barcelona were the most impressive ones I've ever seen. There was one guy who fixed a working cock to his chest, then painted himself and the clock, so it looked like he was a bronze statue a the clock was a part of him. Leslie and I also visited the Mercat Boqueria, a large covered market located just off La Rambla.
That night we had dinner at a tapas place, then went to Sugar, a bar Lynn had recommended. The atmosphere there was definitely interesting; it was rather small, and all the lights inside were red. From there we went to a second bar, where we had our last caparinia in Spain.
The next day, Thursday, we walked out to the beach. On the way we passed the commercial port and Barceloneta, a small area of Barcelona located across the bay from the main part of town. The beach in Barcelona was really nice, although a little rockier than the beach in Cadiz. Later that afternoon we did some shopping.
That night we took a train to Cerbere, where we caught a night train to Nice. On our train to Cerbere we sat across from a large group of German students on a field trip to Spain. We had a bizarre conversation using both my rather poor German and their rather poor English; when we absolutely couldn't figure out how to communicate a certain word, one girl would run to the front of the car and ask her teacher for a translation.
I loved Barcelona. I really couldn't pick out a city that I enjoyed visiting more than the others, but I think that, of all the cities I saw during my April vacation, Barcelona might be the one I would choose to live in. The city is beautiful, and it has everything you could ever want. There's the beach, good shopping, and plenty of nice restaurants and bars, not to mention a rich culture and history which make it a great place for sight-seeing.
Because Leslie and I were still a little sunburned, we decided to devote Wednesday to sight-seeing and save the beach for the next day. The fist thing we saw was the Gothic cathedral, which, of course, was under construction. It seemed like al of Europe was under construction this past year, just in time for Leslie and I to visit. I mean, you'd think these famous sites were really old or something! Next we went to the Placa del Rei, the square where Ferdinand and Isabella welcomed Columbus back from his trip to the New World. Then we hiked up to the summit of Mont Juic, where there's a very large park. The Olympics were held in this park in 1992, and Leslie ad I got to see the Olympic Swimming Complex, the Olympic Stadium, and the Olympic Gallery. We also saw the Palau Nacional (National Palace), which is located inside the park. From the front gate of the palace, you have a great view of the Placa d'Espanya, a large square located at the foot of Mont Juic, and the Magic Fountain, which is located there. Of course, there was a great deal of construction going on in the square.
From the Placa d'Espanya, we took the metro out to see La Sagrada Familia, a cathedral designed by the architect Gaudi in the very late 19th/early 20th Centuries. This cathedral was also under construction, but that's only because it hasn't been completed yet. It won't be finished for another 30 years. The cathedral was very unique, constructed with interesting architectural shapes and unusual, brightly-colored stained glass windows. A few years ago I read a really good book, Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, about the construction of a cathedral in the Middle Ages. Touring the construction site of La Sagrada Familia made me feel as if I were actually in the book. Not only did we get to walk around the inside of the unfinished cathedral, we also toured a small museum documenting the construction and planning of the church. Several original models by Gaudi were on display there. After the cathedral, we walked over to see another building designed by Gaudi, the Casa Batllo, which is a fun and funky house.
That afternoon, we took a stroll down La Rambla, which, as I mentioned already, is a long tourist street. Kiosks line either side selling everything from postcards to flowers to live roosters who cock-a-doodle-doo at you as you walk by. Another interesting feature of La Rambla is the all the people who come to beg there. You know the people in large cities who dress up in costumes and stand silently by the side of the road, trying to get tourists to leave money in a hat? Well, the people who did that in Barcelona were the most impressive ones I've ever seen. There was one guy who fixed a working cock to his chest, then painted himself and the clock, so it looked like he was a bronze statue a the clock was a part of him. Leslie and I also visited the Mercat Boqueria, a large covered market located just off La Rambla.
That night we had dinner at a tapas place, then went to Sugar, a bar Lynn had recommended. The atmosphere there was definitely interesting; it was rather small, and all the lights inside were red. From there we went to a second bar, where we had our last caparinia in Spain.
The next day, Thursday, we walked out to the beach. On the way we passed the commercial port and Barceloneta, a small area of Barcelona located across the bay from the main part of town. The beach in Barcelona was really nice, although a little rockier than the beach in Cadiz. Later that afternoon we did some shopping.
That night we took a train to Cerbere, where we caught a night train to Nice. On our train to Cerbere we sat across from a large group of German students on a field trip to Spain. We had a bizarre conversation using both my rather poor German and their rather poor English; when we absolutely couldn't figure out how to communicate a certain word, one girl would run to the front of the car and ask her teacher for a translation.
I loved Barcelona. I really couldn't pick out a city that I enjoyed visiting more than the others, but I think that, of all the cities I saw during my April vacation, Barcelona might be the one I would choose to live in. The city is beautiful, and it has everything you could ever want. There's the beach, good shopping, and plenty of nice restaurants and bars, not to mention a rich culture and history which make it a great place for sight-seeing.