Barcelona during a pandemic - part 3
The final day, Barcelona closed for business
After a very bad night’s sleep - excess of alcohol seems to have a nasty effect on me these days (getting old!) - we finished packing and checked our luggage into the communal area storeroom. When our Sagrada Familia tickets got cancelled on Thursday, I booked for a morning visit to Parc Guell instead and despite the lockdown of all public buildings starting today, this still appeared to be opened and we’d had no emails to tell us otherwise.
Went out in search of breakfast but very little was open, so instead had an awful sandwich from a convenience store and ate it in the little square above Urquinaona metro station. got our metro tickets to Alfons X, with no problems and the metro was very quiet with warnings requesting people to keep a safe distance from others. The shuttle bus to Parc Guell was running, and we were the only passengers on board but when we arrived at the park, there were a few people around (probably nowhere near as busy as usual though). Got a little confused as to where to locate the enclosed area of the park as the rest of it was quite attractive anyway!
The Gaudi museum
There was a fair bit of construction work going on in the restricted area, which is why it wasn’t top on my list to visit as it did hamper the view somewhat. I also didn’t expect such a built-up area just outside the two fairy-tale looking gatehouses, so I confess that it wasn’t as magical a place as I’d been hoping for when I learned about this park so many years ago. The weather had also decided to join in with the disappointed vibe as it was overcast, and the view of the city was obscured by fog/smog/haze. Still, it was good to get out to visit something, given that nothing else was open across the city.
Don't get me wrong, the construction here was stunning, just smaller than I expected and half under scaffolding
but as you can see from this pic, the park behind looked so exotic!
and to try to keep my blog as "honest" as possible - here's the other view, with scaffolding
I also did have a slight issue with the security, they were totally unapologetic about standing in the most scenic places, blocking views and getting in all our photos. Of course if it was busier, I guess they'd be ducking out of the way constantly, but their hard uncaring attitude did taint it a little for me.
and sadly the gatehouses were closed to the public due to the lock-down. so cute though!
We left the restricted area and explored the main area of the park some more, which I actually preferred as it was greener and more interesting overall. The sound of the parakeets in the palm trees really made you feel like you were in some exotic location.
We followed signs to a viewpoint, which took us beyond the park boundary to Mirador de Joan Sales. I’m sure on a brighter day it would have been a wonderful spot, it did make me think of the wonderful miradouros in Lisbon, but on this day it was just a concrete clearing, with a few locals sitting around chatting and I wanted to get back into the pretty park to sit and eat the rest of our breakfast snacks.
loved this house!
smoggy views
back in the park (public area)
Having explored all the park, we headed back to the entrance/shuttle bus, to see police bikes arriving, approaching everyone in the park to inform us that we had to leave. They’d now decided to close the park too. People were a bit panicy about getting a shuttle bus back downhill but the staff at the bus stop assured us there was no problem and a bus soon arrived.
Back at Alfons X we decided to walk to Sagrada Familia, to see it from the outside at least. A fairly uneventful walk, but we did get to see some of the suburban areas of the city, with people calmly walking around buying provisions from the supermarkets and corner shops - no evidence of the panic buying which had already started in the UK (I dreaded to think whether we’d manage to get loo roll once we got home, having seen pictures of people stockpiling it!)
The area around Sagrada Familia was quite busy with more tourists at a loss of what to do for the day. There was an opera singer performing outside the Nativity facade with a crowd of people standing around her. I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed at the first site of the Basilica. The nativity facade, which was the part of the building constructed during Gaudi’s time, really stood out in contrast to the modern and less detailed elements around it, and I wasn’t expecting to see all the tall security fences and armed guards around the building!
ahem, yeah i did take a few construction photos - occupational hazard! :-)
However, upon walking around the building, we got to appreciate it more and I loved the Passion facade, looking like something H R Giger would be proud of.
We went to get something for lunch from the co-op open nearby and I got myself a coffee from one of the small cafes opposite, drawn in by the fact that they looked to be an independent trader and had written Fuck Covid-19 on their window. We sat in the park opposite the Nativity facade to eat. Lunch was also disappointing, I still felt very hungover though, so everything tasted like dirt and I was craving something hot and starchy, which sadly couldn’t be fulfilled. I noticed that it had gone quiet, with less people around and assumed that the singer had been asked to move on and the crowd dispersed, however nobody came to ask us to move and the sun was finally starting to come out.
I did feel for these poor guys looking rather bemused, dressed like this for a stag do I guess!
However, I was also aware that if there were no buildings open, that also meant no loos, so we reluctantly decided to walk back to our accommodation, looking at some interesting buildings on the way.
El Buho!
wishing we'd known this market was open - right near our accommodation!
The rest of our afternoon was spent in the lounge and terrace of our accommodation, wishing we still had access to our room to use the kitchen. The terrace at least was a lovely place to sit and enjoy the sun, so I stayed there for a couple of hours until the shade took over.
We decided to head to the airport early, in case the airport bus stopped running and in the hope of a decent meal. No problem getting a shuttle bus and it was bizarre to drive through the now empty streets of what was such a vibrant city.
At the airport, there was nothing to eat land-side as we were at the older terminal and there was only a branch of Eat open, which didn’t have much left on their shelves, so we decided to chance it and go through security 3.5 hours early!
loved this sculpture though
I was delighted to see there was a restaurant as soon as we got through security and duty free, specialising in Catalan food - the irony that our only chance to have traditional food was at the airport going home!
saved by an owl! :-)
I still had to play it fairly safe as I was still feeling rough, so opted for a burger, which was lovely but quite small - served on a single slice of bread instead of within a bun, looking longingly at the tomato bread served on the table next to ours. I was happy to have a meal though, and a chilled, relaxed final couple of hours.
Our flight was slightly delayed, but given that we were leaving a day early, it wasn’t really an issue for us and we finally made it home in the early hours, disappointed to have had to curtail our trip but mostly enjoying the experience we had overall.
my only souvenirs of the trip
Would we go back? Not sure, neither of us fell in love with the city, despite it having some wonderful elements. Friends have suggested this might have been down to the strange atmosphere, but I loved the lack of crowds and ability to wander with no stress, something which would never happen on a usual visit. However now that I am back in lock-down UK, I am feeling differently, as the calm acceptance of what was happening from the people we met is such a harsh contrast to the aggression and panic-buying in London; but maybe that is the same there too, not seen by the tourist on their fleeting visit. I do feel I have only scraped the surface, so maybe if we were to return, I would combine it with a visit to somewhere like Girona to take a break away from a busy modern city.
full gallery for the last day is here: https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/Barcelona-2020/Barcelona-Saturday-14-03-20
After a very bad night’s sleep - excess of alcohol seems to have a nasty effect on me these days (getting old!) - we finished packing and checked our luggage into the communal area storeroom. When our Sagrada Familia tickets got cancelled on Thursday, I booked for a morning visit to Parc Guell instead and despite the lockdown of all public buildings starting today, this still appeared to be opened and we’d had no emails to tell us otherwise.
Went out in search of breakfast but very little was open, so instead had an awful sandwich from a convenience store and ate it in the little square above Urquinaona metro station. got our metro tickets to Alfons X, with no problems and the metro was very quiet with warnings requesting people to keep a safe distance from others. The shuttle bus to Parc Guell was running, and we were the only passengers on board but when we arrived at the park, there were a few people around (probably nowhere near as busy as usual though). Got a little confused as to where to locate the enclosed area of the park as the rest of it was quite attractive anyway!
The Gaudi museum
There was a fair bit of construction work going on in the restricted area, which is why it wasn’t top on my list to visit as it did hamper the view somewhat. I also didn’t expect such a built-up area just outside the two fairy-tale looking gatehouses, so I confess that it wasn’t as magical a place as I’d been hoping for when I learned about this park so many years ago. The weather had also decided to join in with the disappointed vibe as it was overcast, and the view of the city was obscured by fog/smog/haze. Still, it was good to get out to visit something, given that nothing else was open across the city.
Don't get me wrong, the construction here was stunning, just smaller than I expected and half under scaffolding
but as you can see from this pic, the park behind looked so exotic!
and to try to keep my blog as "honest" as possible - here's the other view, with scaffolding
I also did have a slight issue with the security, they were totally unapologetic about standing in the most scenic places, blocking views and getting in all our photos. Of course if it was busier, I guess they'd be ducking out of the way constantly, but their hard uncaring attitude did taint it a little for me.
and sadly the gatehouses were closed to the public due to the lock-down. so cute though!
We left the restricted area and explored the main area of the park some more, which I actually preferred as it was greener and more interesting overall. The sound of the parakeets in the palm trees really made you feel like you were in some exotic location.
We followed signs to a viewpoint, which took us beyond the park boundary to Mirador de Joan Sales. I’m sure on a brighter day it would have been a wonderful spot, it did make me think of the wonderful miradouros in Lisbon, but on this day it was just a concrete clearing, with a few locals sitting around chatting and I wanted to get back into the pretty park to sit and eat the rest of our breakfast snacks.
loved this house!
smoggy views
back in the park (public area)
Having explored all the park, we headed back to the entrance/shuttle bus, to see police bikes arriving, approaching everyone in the park to inform us that we had to leave. They’d now decided to close the park too. People were a bit panicy about getting a shuttle bus back downhill but the staff at the bus stop assured us there was no problem and a bus soon arrived.
Back at Alfons X we decided to walk to Sagrada Familia, to see it from the outside at least. A fairly uneventful walk, but we did get to see some of the suburban areas of the city, with people calmly walking around buying provisions from the supermarkets and corner shops - no evidence of the panic buying which had already started in the UK (I dreaded to think whether we’d manage to get loo roll once we got home, having seen pictures of people stockpiling it!)
The area around Sagrada Familia was quite busy with more tourists at a loss of what to do for the day. There was an opera singer performing outside the Nativity facade with a crowd of people standing around her. I have to admit I was a little underwhelmed at the first site of the Basilica. The nativity facade, which was the part of the building constructed during Gaudi’s time, really stood out in contrast to the modern and less detailed elements around it, and I wasn’t expecting to see all the tall security fences and armed guards around the building!
ahem, yeah i did take a few construction photos - occupational hazard! :-)
However, upon walking around the building, we got to appreciate it more and I loved the Passion facade, looking like something H R Giger would be proud of.
We went to get something for lunch from the co-op open nearby and I got myself a coffee from one of the small cafes opposite, drawn in by the fact that they looked to be an independent trader and had written Fuck Covid-19 on their window. We sat in the park opposite the Nativity facade to eat. Lunch was also disappointing, I still felt very hungover though, so everything tasted like dirt and I was craving something hot and starchy, which sadly couldn’t be fulfilled. I noticed that it had gone quiet, with less people around and assumed that the singer had been asked to move on and the crowd dispersed, however nobody came to ask us to move and the sun was finally starting to come out.
I did feel for these poor guys looking rather bemused, dressed like this for a stag do I guess!
However, I was also aware that if there were no buildings open, that also meant no loos, so we reluctantly decided to walk back to our accommodation, looking at some interesting buildings on the way.
El Buho!
wishing we'd known this market was open - right near our accommodation!
The rest of our afternoon was spent in the lounge and terrace of our accommodation, wishing we still had access to our room to use the kitchen. The terrace at least was a lovely place to sit and enjoy the sun, so I stayed there for a couple of hours until the shade took over.
We decided to head to the airport early, in case the airport bus stopped running and in the hope of a decent meal. No problem getting a shuttle bus and it was bizarre to drive through the now empty streets of what was such a vibrant city.
At the airport, there was nothing to eat land-side as we were at the older terminal and there was only a branch of Eat open, which didn’t have much left on their shelves, so we decided to chance it and go through security 3.5 hours early!
loved this sculpture though
I was delighted to see there was a restaurant as soon as we got through security and duty free, specialising in Catalan food - the irony that our only chance to have traditional food was at the airport going home!
saved by an owl! :-)
I still had to play it fairly safe as I was still feeling rough, so opted for a burger, which was lovely but quite small - served on a single slice of bread instead of within a bun, looking longingly at the tomato bread served on the table next to ours. I was happy to have a meal though, and a chilled, relaxed final couple of hours.
Our flight was slightly delayed, but given that we were leaving a day early, it wasn’t really an issue for us and we finally made it home in the early hours, disappointed to have had to curtail our trip but mostly enjoying the experience we had overall.
my only souvenirs of the trip
Would we go back? Not sure, neither of us fell in love with the city, despite it having some wonderful elements. Friends have suggested this might have been down to the strange atmosphere, but I loved the lack of crowds and ability to wander with no stress, something which would never happen on a usual visit. However now that I am back in lock-down UK, I am feeling differently, as the calm acceptance of what was happening from the people we met is such a harsh contrast to the aggression and panic-buying in London; but maybe that is the same there too, not seen by the tourist on their fleeting visit. I do feel I have only scraped the surface, so maybe if we were to return, I would combine it with a visit to somewhere like Girona to take a break away from a busy modern city.
full gallery for the last day is here: https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/Barcelona-2020/Barcelona-Saturday-14-03-20