Our third and final day in Barcelona

Barcelona, day three.

After breakfast in the hotel we located the nearest stop of the blue bus that takes tourists on a ride to the upper parts of the city. Once again we decided to take the entire route before picking a few places to return to. The tour includes stops at various museums including that of Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Higher up we came along Park Güell and decided to return to this place. Along the rest of the tour we were shown the FC Barcelona stadium and the Olympic village.

At the entrance to Park Güell

We remained on the bus and got off at Park Güell. This was meant to be a residential neighborhood with large opulent villas, park grounds and a market. It completely failed, and is now a park with a couple of the villas in use as a tourist shop and the park maintenance operations. A third villa is located higher up and seems to be lived in. The market place is a haven for musicians and its ceiling is inlaid with tile mosaic art. All over are columns holding up the roof structure which in itself is a plaza surrounded by a serpentine bench, it snakes along the edge of the plaza. The idea here was that people would be encouraged to have conversations, because the serpentine effect causes people to face each other. Another function of this bench is to collect rain water for use in the park as irrigation and to supply the water features. A large stairway leads up to the market area and a mosaic tiled lizard guards the entrance.

This villa is now the gift shop

One of the villas now used for park operations

This villa appears to be occupied

After taking this all in we walked the many paths through the park. Fantastic views of the city in all directions demand photographers to aim and shoot. The lush greenery combined with local, more drought resistant vegetation are a wonderful mix. We spent the rest of the day in this park and enjoyed a wonderful late lunch with some white wine.

The market place

Ceiling detail in the market place

Looking out from the market place

On the serpentine bench

Ditto

Serpentine bench tile work, Gaudi gave the tilers free range on the design

Tile work detail

The bench drains through these holes into a gutter that feeds cisterns with water

The outer gutter on the serpentine bench

Along the many walking paths in the park

The view of Barcelona

A look back

Intricate stone work holds up the upper walkways

A stone wave

The market below and the serpentine bench above

The lizard guarding the entrance

Back on the bus we arrived at the soccer stadium and got off to check out the FC Barcelona gift shop. We chose a couple soccer jerseys and matching scarves for the boys, gifts well received by our soccer playing sons.

A late afternoon stroll along las Ramblas finished with a dinner at a restaurant in the marina area rounded out our day. The evening air was wonderful and the dinner excellent. At one point our waiter tripped and broke a plate on the floor, resulting in a small cut in Shelagh's ankle. The poor waiter was beside himself with concern and came with tissues and bandaids to stop the bleeding. After much fuss, and Shelagh convincing the staff that she was all right we were served free desserts, with a local drink called "Crema Catalán"' it reminded us of Bailey's. We returned to the hotel in the evening for our last night in this great city.

The entrance to a home on Las Ramblas

They have their own "arc de triomphe"

The Catalonian presidential palace, probably the only building without grafitti

Upper crossover from the courthouse to the palace

In the morning, after breakfast we said goodbye to the hotel staff and walked uptown to the bus stop, dragging our suitcases, looking so touristy. The bus connection to the airport is simple, no problems. Barcelona is a wonderful place to visit, and we highly recommend it.

Walking to the bus stop, adios Barcelona...

I must thank my brother and sister in law, Bart and Wilma, for making this trip possible.

Bart booked the flight, and Wilma booked the hotel, and gave us this holiday! Wonderful people.

Three days in Barcelona

Arriving at the airport you always seem to be a bit concerned about where to go next, which is the logical way to go. Not so in Barcelona, the bus terminal is right outside the airport's exit. When a bus pulled up, I asked in my best Spanish if this bus would go to downtown, or "ciudad centro". The bus took us straight into town and the bus stops were announced by a display visible to the passengers. We left the bus at Plaça de Catalunia and started walking. We had a reservation at a hotel just off "Las Ramblas", the main drag through the city. Hotel Moderno is a three star, very comfortable place and comes highly recommended. Our walk lasted only ten minutes and we had arrived at our home for the next four nights. Once settled into our room we wasted no time and got to exploring the city...

Along the Malecon

It becomes quite clear that the city's main drag "las Ramblas" divides it into a left and right, or yin and yang. The west side seems to be more seedy, where sailors look for entertainment, and the east side seems more touristy. We strolled along the narrow side streets, looking at everything with wide open gringo amazement. Graffiti all over the place, but it is beautiful graffiti. Not just simple tagging.

Damn good graffiti

A few hours of sauntering brought on an appetite and we soon found a place to rest our laurels and order some vino tinto and a pizza. The small plaza contained a random selection of visitors from all over the planet. Our pizza was delicious as was the wine. During our dinner we were entertained by a couple of quite talented musicians playing guitar and accordion. As time progressed the sides of the plaza became occupied by people waiting for a place to sit and order drinks and food, some people would leave and their seats would be filled immediately. It is a brisk business, this wining and dining in Barcelona.

Las Ramblas

We were immediately at home in this city, the cultural energy is enormous and you can't help but to be enveloped by it. Young artists and musicians are everywhere as well as travelers with backpacks loaded to the brim with stuff, pots and pans dangling from beneath, looking for the local hostel or just to sleep on the beach. Strolling along Las Ramblas you come upon "tableaux vivants" or living statues, people posing motionless, 'till someone drops a coin in their basket, then they come alive and take on a new frozen stance. Vendors selling anything from cheap kitchey tourist crap to budgies.


Las Ramblas is a wide centre walkway with traffic on both sides. Restaurants have tables set up "al fresco" in the center and the waiters serve you while dodging traffic, playing "frogger", with your order from the main establishment across the street. The service is old fashioned European style, where the waiter will bring a dish from the kitchen and serve it onto your plate. We ordered a couple of Sangria and a large Paella to share. The food and wine were excellent although a bit pricey.

Delicious Paella

We were told by my brother Bart, and his wife Wilma, that there are two tourist bus systems operating in the city; the red line and the blue line. During our first day strolling through town we came upon a kiosk selling tickets to these busses. The tickets are valid for as many days as you purchase and are quite good value. One system stays closer to the coast, while the other goes more into the hills. You can hop on and off at any stop, and the route covers pretty much all of the things you would want to see in Barcelona. At some stops the red and blue lines converge and you can step over onto the other line.


Our first afternoon in town was amazing and once back at the hotel we crashed into bed with big plans for the next day...