Barcelona, Spain
/Ahhhh….Barcelona, it's such a wonderful city. We spent two days wandering around the city, and it certainly wasn't enough time. The architecture, both old and new, was fascinating as well as the long history of the area. The people were gracious, and the food was amazing.
Clyde and jackie looking over a map of Barcelona
The first thing we did was to hop onto a tour bus to get an overview of the city.
As we traveled around the city, it was a conglomeration of every kind of old and new architecture that can be imagined. Clyde graduated as an architect and so we both had admiration for the historical and futuristic architecture to be found in the city.
The tour-bus stopped at two buildings designed by architect Antoni Gaudi. His buildings, including the famous La Sagrada Famlia Bascilica, are fanciful futuristic pieces of art. The outside and insides are equally engaging. I don't think there is an architect out there who has achieved the intriguing pieces of architectural art that he accomplished in his lifetime.
CASA BATILLO
Antoni Gaudi ~ architect
The first building we stopped at was Casa Batillo. It was built in 1877. Besides its artistic value, the building is very functional, much more characteristic of modern times than in the past. The home is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Casa Batillo
La Pedrera (Casa Mila)
Antoni Gaudi ~ architect
Our second Antoni Gaudi building was La Pedrera (Casa Mila), built between 1906-1912. It, too, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
La Pedrera (Casa Mila)
Clyde was tired and returned to the hotel, but Jackie and I continued on the tour.
The view of the city from the museum.
We enjoyed the walk along the broad walkway to the waterfront.
There are beautiful sculptures everywhere.
We gathered up Clyde to go out to dinner but along the way we enjoyed some Flamenco Dancers.
We found a restaurant called Tipico – mi Burrito y yo . Since the word burrito was something we recognized, we tried the food. AND, no, they don't serve what we call burritos! But the food was delicious, and the folks who worked there were very friendly.
The next morning, we decided to meander around the city. We took off walking and went wherever direction we decided to take. It was fun to stroll down narrow alleys with homes and shops along the edges.
This building was once a bullfighting ring, but when Catalonia outlawed bullfighting, it was turned into a Mall.
Our tour bus stopped at the Museu Nacional D'Art De Catalunya on the top of a mountain overlooking Barcelona. Unfortunately, it was a Monday, and the museum was closed.
Jackie and I decided to walk back to our hotel from the museum. We had no idea of how to get there but figured if we walked toward the waterfront, we'd eventually find it. We wandered through all kinds of neighborhoods, it was a wonderful adventure. We made it to the waterfront as night fell. It was too early for dinner, so we enjoyed exploring the waterfront.
Jackie is taking a photograph of the VERY large statue of Christopher Columbus on the waterfront.
There are so many very narrow streets that we found this kind of personal transportation was more familiar than cars.
A giant bubble maker
When we came across a church, and if it was open, we would go inside and look at the wonderful architecture.
I can't remember what church this was,, but I have never seen mermaids on the façade of a church before this!
La Sagrada Familia Basilica
Antoni Gaudi ~ architect
After lunch, we caught another tour-bus and headed to another of Antoni Gaudi's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the La Sagrada Familia Basilica. There are some places in the world that photographs simply can't embrace. The Grand Canyon is one of those many places; another is La Sagrada Familia Basilica. Its grandeur, its size, its details…all too overwhelming to be able to capture on film.
La Sagrada Familia Basilica
We returned to our hotel and rested, then decided to walk down to the main road, catch a bus and try another area of Barcelona for dinner. However, when we got to the main street that runs through Barcelona, we encountered a grand demonstration…or rather a series of demonstrations! I'm not sure this is correct, but I understood that in Barcelona, everyone who has something they want to protest could do it at certain times of the year. Therefore, there were protestors both for and against various subjects, although not near each other. It was a grand procession of free speech and a very organized way of allowing free speech.
No busses or cabs were to be seen, so we turned around and went back to mi Burrito y yo for dinner. It was fun to be greeted like an old customer. We laughed and enjoyed conversations with the employees. And, the food was, once again, excellent
Our hotel had an elevator with walls of mirrors. Our images went on into infinity. I tried and tried to get a photograph of that infinity, but couldn’t do it. Jackie took this photo.
Jackie on her hotel room balcony waving good night to us. The next morning we left this wonderful city and head to the Dali Museum in Figueres
For more information about Barcelona CLICK HERE