After 5 days in Seville, we no longer needed a map to get around which probably means that it's time to move along. Getting to Barcelona required a 2hr plane trip, and then an AeroBus ride (runs only to the airport and city center) which dropped us at the plaza, a short, 10-min walk to our apt rental. Barcelona has a beautiful airport, and the 30min bus ride for 6euro to the airport to city center is a thing of beauty. So far, so good! We are in a perfect location ... just a block off the Ramblas, on a quiet pedestrian-only street.
Day 1. Start with the HopOn/HopOff bus to get the lay of the city, which has a distinct north/south section as well as the Gothic quarter and the waterfront.
Chris Columbus ... pointing somewhere
Gothic Quarter
Gaudi architecture doesn't photograph as well as it looks in life.
Gaudi. I really liked it! The colors, and tiles, and lines (or lack thereof...)
We hopped off at the Sagrada Familia and were able to get tickets after a 15min wait. Definitely not something you can do in the high season.
This cathedral is not disappoint.
By far, my favorite.
Future churches will be forever spoiled!
Instead of gold and silver chapels with painted statues, there were columns of stone and stained glass.
nice....
a very simple alter
Pillars to look like palm trees
Intricate detail in stone sculpture
From the Sagrada Familia, we took the bus over to the park, also designed by Gaudi. I definitely did not expect to like his work so much. But I definitely do love the color and tile and fanciful design.
The Parc Quell was initially intended to be a 'planned community' ... that did not pan out, but the park is stupendous.
A typical home in the "community"
Park grounds
Amazing what they did with stone.
Barcelona does not disappoint! From the waterfront to the hilltop with all the historic stops in-
between, we thoroughly enjoyed our first full day in the city. Nothing beats being in a city that is alive and humming at 11p.m.!Day 2. Fat Tire Bike Tour at 11:00.
We really like the way you get to view a city from a bike. In these small groups, you get to zoom around the city streets with courage you'd never have on your own, and you stop every 5 minutes or so for a history story about Barcelona. We've yet to be disappointed. Next will be Paris ... #4 and final tour.
Palau de la Música Catalana
Opened on the 18th of February 2004, the Petit Palau hall is a new auditorium intended for events that require a smaller seating capacity than the Concert Hall. Its dimensions and excellent acoustics make it particularly suitable for chamber music concerts. Our guide said tickets can be reasonable ...
check back here later...
every city needs one of these ... wait, every city has one of these ...
Beautiful beach front ... which is not natural!
Sand hauled in from Egypt and dredged each year to rebuild the beach.
Here we are later that night, back at the Petit Palau hall where we got tickets to hear 4 guitar players.
Anything to be inside a Gaudi-designed structure!
Wow
And the concert was amazing!
To top of a great day, just around the corner from the Petit Palau, we found a delightful buffet of tapas! A wonderful selection of every meat/fish/vegie combo you can imagine (and that's not even starting on the dessert tapas) ... and the best part, is that they are right in front of you. What you see is what you get. So much easier than trying to decipher menus and garbled translation.
You select as many tapas as you want - all are the same price 1.65euro. You keep track of "your tab" by adding the wooden stick from your tapas to the container on the table.
clever...
cute cute cute
Day 3 was our last full day in Barcelona.
1. Visit the City Museum that has large roman ruins excavated under the grounds of the museum.
2. Visit the Picasso Museum, free in the afternoon on Sunday.
3. Eat at Cera 23, the #10 restaurant in Barcelona, recommended to us by Michelle. We couldn't get a reservation on line, so we are going over when they open at 1pm on Sunday.
The city museum was amazing because so much of the excavation was intact, under the museum grounds. You take an elevator down to 10-15 BC, and walk back up through history.
wine making room
Original Roman Steps. Queen Isabella bade Chris Columbus adieu here.
Yummy yummy lunch at Cera 23. #10 in Barcelona.
We found it through Michelle because of these drinks ... a Blackberry Mojito. Best thing ever.
And their Sangria wine was also delish.
Last stop ... a church. Fitting.
Feb 24th.
Headed back home to Freihung, where we look forward to long, hot showers, laundry, and Michelle, of course! I picked up a head cold our last night in Barcelona and really felt like crap on the long day of travel to return from Barcelona to Nuremberg. It wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have a 3-hr layout in Vienna, probably the only European airport I've been in w/o a broad assortment of cafes and restaurants. We caught the last train out to Nuremberg to Freihung, where we arrived at midnight and walked the final 1km to Michelle's home.
No doubt about it, it's always good to be home.
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