With that.. Megan and I seized the opportunity to head to Spain from Bordeaux. We made a pit stop in Irun (San Sebastian) on the northwest coast before taking the 6-hour train ride to Barcelona. While most of the cities that I have been to thus far have had plenty to do for a couple days stay, this one left me wanting more. Barcelona had so many things to offer. How does a girl do it all in two days?? Lets just say I am definitely going to be in need of a new pair of Nikes when I get home!
--> I don't really know how to explain Barcelona except that there are several different "categories"... We'll start with the "Old city." Barcelona used to be an old Roman walled city (those Romans sure did get around!). Portions of the Roman city still remain, tucked in the Gothic quarter, but they are harder to spot due to the way they are mixed in with the rest of the tightly packed buildings. So we opted for a walking tour. This picture of me is decked out in my "nerd gear," as I like to call it. Camera in hand, headphones, with radio transmitter around my neck to hear the guide better, in my ears, and my purse tightly tucked under my arm to combat pick-pocketers. What you can't see is my passport protector strapped around my waist, under my clothes and my "Eyewitness travel Europe tourism" book and map of Barcelona in my bag. All I need is one of those khaki safari hats and my sunglasses on and my look would be complete.So the coolest part about Barcelona being an old Roman city isn't the usual old churches, but that they have actually uncovered some of the old city remains-- of which is underneath the current city! They have created a history exhibit that you can go down into, beneath the streets and see. I liked the way we did it though, which was to look down into the windows (like a basement) of the museum at the remains, so you got the perspective of it being under your very feet. This tour also took us to the chapel where Columbus returned to share with the king and queen about his discovery of a new passage to Asia... Of course we all know that it wasn't really Asia...
--> Along the line of the old city wall line is an immensely popular pedestrian street, La Ramblas. At the top is the square shown in the picture, with pretty fountains. True confession: I am a sucker for street entertainment. I could be captivated for hours by street magicians, men without heads, mediocre musicians, women dressed as fairytale princesses, or the everyday person completely covered with silver spray paint pretending to be the tin man. I absolutely love it. La Ramblas had an incredible selection of this particular type of entertainment, as well vendors selling everything from turtles to beautiful paintings. At the bottom end of the street is the seafront, as well as a giant monument to Columbus... and my first-ever sighting of the Meditteranean Sea.
--> The Barcelona seafront was redone and made to be vacation resort caliber in 1992 in preparation for the Olympics. Supposedly, it was so successful they never looked back. They even still call the area, with the high rise hotels along two miles of sandy beachfront, the Olympic Village. And yet another form of street entertainment... sand castle building!
-->It's also worth noting that the 1992 Olympic grounds (the stadiums and pools and fields) were built on a mountain/park on the western edge of the city near the castle of Barcelona. Atop a mountain, the views from the stadiums overlook the entire city. We did go up the mountain and see the castle and view... Can you imagine watching the world's best high divers with this in the background? Ah....
--> Of course we had to "experience the culture" as well. My Spanish is quite sparse... "Hablo muy poco Espanol" (with a charming smile of course). In the cultural department, having a real conversation with the locals was pretty much out of the question. So we opted for food :) Sangria and Paella. Yummy yummy. Of course they had to serve the sangria in a fish bowl sized glass! Luckily, it was our last "experience" of the day.Outside the "old city" is a whole new world architecturally. Barcelona has had two very famous artists, Antoni Guadi and Pablo Picasso, with very unique styles. Guadi's mark is more noticeable from the street because he was an architect. Bold colors and designs-- it was right up my alley. There were museums, a park, a church, and other various buildings he had designed. We only had two days in Barcelona, and I hope you've already begun to understand the vastness of what the city has to offer, so of course we had to make choices about what we wanted to see. We chose the park, which houses his home and church, Sangrada Familia. The park felt a lot like an oversized playground and his home, designed by him, reminded me of a lifesize gingerbread house. My pictures really didn't do it justice, so if you have time, please google Park Guell in Barcelona. (http://www.gaudidesigner.com/uk/parc-guell.html)
--> And the church, an incomplete masterpiece. Guadi died before the completion of La Sangrada Familia. Gaudi started work on it in 1883 and worked on it until his death in 1926. Located perfectly in the middle of the city, it is supposed to be a symbol of the identity of the Barcelona. It is being built, based on the original designs Gaudi had, completely on the donations of the people. Because of this, its completion is slow going. The side of it shown in this picture is a representation of the Easter story underneath four of the twelve spires representing the twelve disciples. The following is a website that shows more pictures of the beautiful church: http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/index.phpI easily could have spent days exploring Barcelona. There was so much to see and do. Hopefully, someday, I'll have the opportunity to go back :)
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