A test of my spanish,,,,,,,,in Spain!!!!
Trip Start
Sep 30, 2006
1
11
55
Trip End
May 24, 2007
Barcelona, Spain
Saturday, October 21, 2006
British Airways did nothing to prove me wrong on their cabin service and food. Go Qantas!
Arriving quite late in Barcelona I managed to get to my hotel and basically zonked pretty quick.
Wednesday I was up and about, walking around this large metropolis.
Michael & Heidi joined me in Barcelona Wednesday night. My hotel was about 5 kmīs from theirs, I was further east and close to the beach while they were north of the main shopping districts.
And, talk about shops. This place is made for chicks with cash. I was astounded by the number of shops for clothes and other necessary chick things but I didnīt know they lvoed their darn shoes here. I thought that was more for Italy.
Luckily for the blokes there are quite a few bars, restaurants, tapas bars and outdoor cafe dining (of course) evenly intermingled between all of the shoe stores.
Thursday was a leisure stroll south of the shopping area and into the marina and beach areas. The beach was quite decent, as was its surrounds.
We enjoyed some local cuisine for a late lunch. We had some taste-bud-blowing tuna & ginger in oil, some extremely salty cod and a black rice dish with a variety of seafood in it. The food was great. The service was average.
I left Michael and Heidi to go on the cable car. This carries you across the harbour and up to a hill. It was very high but not too scary:-)
At the end of this I decided to keep walking up the hill to see if I could find the Olympic Stadium. I did. But first I passed the īKieren Perkins poolī, the outdoor pool where he won his first gold in the 1500mīs here in 1992. The pool looked pretty crap really but it had a nice view of western Barcelona.
A little further around I found the Olympic Stadium (hard to miss). Of course it was shut but one is able to walk the entire circumference and the grand leading entry. The stadium is not as big as I thought but its splendour kept me interested. I think we won 3 gold medals at the 1992 Olympics but I forgot who the other 2 were (if there were 2).
Friday we ventured to a real bullfighting ring (I think it is still in operation) but of course it was closed. Further north we found probably one of the most photograped churches in the world. Familia de Sagrada (Iīll check that spelling later for you). This church has been in the building stage for the last 100 years and they estimate another 30 until it is complete. It is an absolute work in progress. They have opened it for tourists (AU$18-20) and boy do they flock in. Luckily, once inside we were able to see quite a lot of interesting history of the church, and its artistry and stonework adorning it. To see it when it is completed would be an absolute treat. A lot of roof and ceiling work is presently being undertaken.
Further north we went to a park dedicated to Gaudi. Iīll be honest to say this didnīt blow me away but the grounds are magnificent. The idea 100 years ago was to create an area for about 80 or 100 families to live in a different style of community, mainly focused around some amazing architecture, not just for the houses but the grounds and walkways in between. Nevertheless it never reached its peak and it stalled in the early 1900īs. It is now a national reserve and something that is free for tourists to enjoy.
In the afternoon I headed to Poble Espanyol (not a typo). This is a purpose built recreation of an earlier style of a spanish village, in its most accurate form. In here there are a large number of restaurants and souvenir shops all nicely nestled in a village of nice little winding streets. A delight for tourists. It also has a great view of Barcelona.
Tonight we dined in the centre of Barcelona ordering about 8 or 9 different traditional tapas dishes - we wanted to taste a variety on offer and what a treat. The flavours are still swirling in my mouth.
Saturday I hooted around a bit to see some things that I hadnīt yet got to before saying goodbye to Michael and Heidi for god knows how long:-(
Michael and Heidi, Thanks for your hospitality in Denmark and for joining me in Barcelona. I am sure I have enjoyed Europe much more than I would have without you both.
It was great to see you both again. We will catch up again soon. And, good luck with everything!
I hope I wasnīt too much of a pain in the ass!
Whenever we do meet again, it will be too long:-(
To try and describe Barcelona in a couple of sentences I would try with this:
A highly livable city of about 3.5million people situated on the beach.
The atmosphere is great. The people seem nice. They love soccer.
It is a concrete jungle and therefore not the sexiest city I know of but it has a lot going for it.
It oozes class, history, structure and style. They love soccer.
Everyone could live here. But you would probably have to like soccer!
I head to Madrid tomorrow for a couple of days before heading back to South America on Tuesday. I bet they love soccer in Madrid too. Perhaps more?
Adios.....
