The next 5 blogs will cover our adventures in the Mediterranean (April and May 2018) which we shared with our son-in-law’s mom, her husband and another couple from the US.
To have some relaxing time before boarding our cruise ship in Barcelona and to adjust to an 8 hour time difference, we arranged to stay for a few days at an AirB&B near Las Ramblas in Barcelona This area was perfect for seeing the many sights of this delightful city (usually that is an oxymoron for us but Barcelona really is lovely). On arrival, we took the bus from the airport to Placa de Catalunya, near our accommodation and then walked to almost everything from there.
Our first challenge was locating our AirBnB at Carrer des Tallers, 69. We found the street with no problem and thought we were close when we found #70. No such luck so we asked several locals if they knew where #69 might be, but no one knew. So after walking back and forth, up and down the street with our suitcases in tow, we discovered #69 across the street from #54. Who would have known? You sure have to leave your assumptions at home when you travel abroad.
Click on the any of the photos to see all four photos
The highlight of our stay in Barcelona was seeing several of Antoni Gaudi’s buildings. I can’t believe we hadn’t heard of this outstanding architect from the early 1900s as his commissions were beyond anything we have seen before.
If you have limited time to visit Barcelona, your priority should be to see Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) Church. We visited here twice, once with some new friends from Desert Hot Springs who were traveling on a cruise ship one day ahead of us. The photos only give a brief view of the exterior and interior that is beyond words.
We also visited Casa Batllo, a family home which has become a museum of sorts. You can really see Gaudi’s attention to images seen in nature (note the froggy balconies and dragon back roof edges). We spent more than an hour exploring the multiple levels of this home including the very interesting roof – no sharp corners in this place.
That same morning, we walked a few blocks to Casa Mila (La Pedrera). This building is a renovation of a previous apartment building but Gaudi’s influence is apparent mostly on the roof with its strange chimneys. There is also an exhibit of his ideas on construction in the elaborate attic of this building.
We ran out of time to see Palua Guell near Las Ramblas and Park Guell, which is a short taxi ride from the Placa de Catalunya area. On a clear day, the park would be an excellent place to see views of the city and enjoy some green time.
The Las Ramblas runs from the Placa de Catalunya to the ‘Inner Harbour’ of
Barcelona. This pedestrian walkway is a very busy place, at any time of the day. Small shops line the street along with kiosks selling tourist knick knacks and several restaurants in the ‘street’. Often, there are buskers set up in bizarre costumes to entertain the strollers. They remain motionless until you feed the 'kitty' in front of them.
As we wandered about the Gothic Quarter (Barri Gotic) just east of Las Ramblas, we stumbled upon many Roman ruins. Barcelona (Barcino in Roman times) was a walled city so you will find watch towers, walls and aqueducts around the corner from small shops, medieval churches and 'modern' buildings (1800s).
Wanting to find some green space, we walked further east of the Gothic Quarter to the Parc de la Cuitadella and found the Parliament buildings of Catalonia, an interesting fountain (La Cascada), the zoological park, the 1992 Summer Olympics village and a marine beach.
One morning, while exploring the city, we noticed groups of people walking with flags toward a central area. We followed at a distance and came upon a Catalonia separatist demonstration in one of the plazas – this conflict has been present for several hundred years but recently came to a head when some of the separatist politicians were arrested. The rally, to protest the charges, was orderly with lots of heavily armed police presence but we didn’t stick around, choosing instead to wander about looking at recycle bins, mega yachts, aquarium, fountains and the ever-present graffiti.
On the advice of our traveling companions, we visited and found ourselves returning several times to the Tosca Tapas Bar on Carrer de Sant Pere Mes Alt. We had first seen it after touring the interior of Palua de La Musica (a very ornate music hall). The pillars, seen below on the right, are a beautiful forest of mosaic trees - breathtaking. Unfortunately, we didn’t see a performance at the music hall but did enjoy a few minutes of a children’s choir rehearsal while on our tour.
Barcelona is a cosmopolitan city with over 55 museums, including one featuring Picasso (Jim thought the art on the building facade was children's art - lol).
Next up: Our first 12 days from the Holland America cruise on the Mediterranean Sea