Barcelona
Wednesday, September 1, 2004
We left Cincinnati for Barcelona on
Delta
via Atlanta on Tuesday (August 31) afternoon. We arrived in Barcelona on Wednesday
morning around 11am. We took the train from the airport directly to the Sants
station (about a 20 minute ride) in the Barcelona Fair area near the
business district of Barcelona. The hotel we stayed at,
Expo Hotel Barcelona is located right across from the station.
After checking into our room and freshening up we went to Las Ramblas. We took the Metro
to the Catalunya stop at the west end of Las Ramblas. The Metro is the most
convenient way to get around Barcelona. A 10-trip pass costs around 6 Euros.
Las Ramblas is a mile long stretch of promenade lined with vendors, cafes,
fruit and meat stalls and bookstores. It runs between Placa de Catalunya and the
Placa del Portal de la Pau.
We had lunch at a Tapas Bar called Irati Taverna Basca
in the heart of Las Ramblas. The Tapas was excellent with a lot of seafood choices.
We got some Chicken Nuggets for Maya from McDonald's - Maya wasn't ready for Tapas just yet!
We then walked east to Mercat de la Boqueria - a market packed with stalls filled with
colorful fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. You can also find souvenirs and painting from local
artists here. The vast array of available choices was overwhelming.
We then headed towards the Harbor/Marina area and decide to take a late afternoon Harbor cruice.
The boat took us to all points of the harbor and turned around just short of the breakwater.
By now we were pretty tired, so we headed back to the hotel. We had dinner at an Italian restaurant
across from the hotel and went to bed.
Thursday, September 2, 2004
We slept in late on Thursady and woke up about mid morning, had breakfast and headed to the Port
area. We went to the Moll de Barcelona area where L'Aquarium is situated. We spent most of
the afternoon at the aquarium and attractions around it and Maya enjoyed it very much.
We then walked to the other side of the port to the Maremagnum area to board the
Transbordador (cable car). This cable car runs right over the entire port area to
Montjuic, offering a spectacular views of the entire city in all directions.
Montjuic is a park that overlooks the city with winding hilly roads filled with joggers
and cyclists. There are great views of the city and the harbor from up here and it is home to
many museums including that of the Spanish artist Joan Miro - Fundacio Joan Miro. The 1992
Olympic stadium and rink are located here as well.
On the cable car we met two sisters and one of the sister's boyfriend from Madrid - Natalia, Carlos
and Beth. They were so helpful and talked to the locals and found out where we could buy a collapsible
stroller for Maya. We then took the cable car back to the port area and headed to Avenue Diagonal
in the L'Eixample area looking for the stroller. We forgot her stroller in Cincinnati and we were
getting way too tired carrying her around up and down the subway escalaters. Unfortunately, by the
time we got there the store was closed and we had to wait till the next morning to get one.
We had dinner in the Port Olympic area. The marina here is surrounded by numerous restaurants
and night clubs. We ate at La Barca Del Salamaca,
a very good seafood restaurant. I had a fish and shell fish platter that was huge and delicious.
By the time we were done with dinner it was around 2am and the nightclubs were on full swing (of
course what do we know about that?! We have a 2 year old with us).
Friday, September 3, 2004
After having breakfast we headed back to L'Eixample to get a stroller for Maya. Having goten the stroller
things got easier for us as we didn't have to carry Maya all the time and she could take her naps while
we had a chance to still be on the move. We decided to take a bus tour of the city,
Barcelona Bus Turistic operated by
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona.
One can hop oo and off of these busses that ran a figure of eight around the city stopping at
various attractions.
One of the higlights of Barcelona is certainly
Antoni Gaudí's Architecture. Although his work is spread
across the city we had the opportunity to see
Casa Mila in the L'Eixample district and
El Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (Expiatory Temple of the Sacred Family), Gauid's most
famous work.
Casa Mila is an apartment building situated at the intersection of Passeig de Gràcia and
Carrer de Provença. It was completed in 1910 and is typical of Gaudi's innovative, complex and
futuristic designs. it was nicknamed La Pedrera (the quarry) by the public at the time.
The construction of Sagrada Família,
a neo-gothic style church began in 1882 and is still under construction a hundred years later.
Gaudi died in 1926 at the age of 74. The tallest tower stands at aproximately 500 feet.
Although construction is still taking place, one can tour the inside of the church. There is a
musuem dedicated to Gaudi's life on the ground level as well as a musuem in the basement housing
the history of the temple along with displays of the various types of granite used in the temple
construction. Both the interior and exterior of this structure is impressive with masonry displaying
intricate details.
The
Gothic Quater known as
Barri Gòtic houses the oldest buildings in Barcelona, some dating
back to medieval times when the Romans settled the city.
Other places we saw on the bus tour were the Olympic Village, the Olypic Stadium,
Place d'Espania
and the
Main Royal Palace,
Palau Reial Major, which was built in the Roman period and was the
residence of the local Roman Governer. Since then sveral Spanish royalty have occupied the Place.
After a long day of visiting various tourist attractions we went back to the hotel. We had dinner
at a mediterranean restaurant accross from the hotel. We went to bed relatively early as we had to
catch a flight to Mallorca early next morning.
