As soon as our British Airways flight landed, I knew we had made the right decision. I couldn't stop smiling as soon as I saw the bright blue sky and felt the warm air on my skin. Barcelona is part of the Catalan region of Spain, and although their main language is Catalan, they also speak and understand Spanish so I had a lot of fun trying out my Spanish on the very nice guy at passport control.
J and I found the Aerobus that took us into the middle of the city, and we hopped off at Plaza Catalunya and headed down Las Ramblas in search of the Hotel Meridien Barcelona. Of course, we immediately got lost, and I thanked my lucky stars I remembered enough of my high school Spanish to ask a very nice security guard how to get to our hotel. Check-in was painless, and J was excited at the prospect of staying at a 5 star hotel. Our room was great, much more spacious than one could expect of a European hotel, and it's at a great location right on Las Ramblas so we're in the center of it all.
We unpacked quickly and immediately headed out to check out two different neighborhoods - the Barri Gotic and La Ribera. First on our list, el Mercat de la Boqueria, which was just a hop further south on La Ramblas. It's a very famous outdoor supermarket that sells just about every kind of food imaginable. We saw lots of stalls selling juices, fruit, aged meats, nuts and seafood. We were a bit overwhelmed with all the sights and smells and agreed to return later after we had worked up an appetite.
We wandered east until we stumbled on the Esglesia de Santa Maria del Pi and the Plaza de Sant Josep Oriol which was right behind it. The church is from the 12th century, but it wasn't really much to look at other than its giant rose window, and we enjoyed the plaza much more.
Along the way, we also saw all sorts of tiny streets that I was tempted to follow.
We continued east until we finally got to the Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia, which is a combination of 14th and 19th century architecture. As soon as we entered, the cloisters grabbed my attention. It felt so tranquil, and it's populated by 13 geese that supposedly represent the age of Santa Eulalia at the time of her martyrdom. Every time the bell tolled, the geese would start honking like mad, which I found absolutely hilarious.
We wandered around inside the church, and there are some bits that just took my breath away. For instance, the intricate woodcarving on the choir stalls was absolutely amazing.
You can also take a lift up to the roof and get a great view of the city. Barcelona's skyline is both old and new; you see Gothic bell towers surrounded by cranes and sky-high hotels.
After we left La Catedral, we were both pretty hungry and decided to stop in at Los Caracoles for lunch. The restaurant is supposed to be one of Barcelona's best known restaurants and well-known for its snails and rotisserie chicken. I wasn't that interested in snails, so I ended up enjoying the best rotisserie chicken I have ever eaten in my whole life. J had ordered the steak, but I gave him a hunk of my chicken after he was finished with his dish, and he agreed that it was the best chicken ever. The ambience is also very old school and tavernish, and the walls are filled with pictures of famous people that have eaten there in the past. Although most of the items on the menu were quite expensive, the service and food were both excellent.
Full and happy, we made our way to the neighborhood of La Ribera, which lies just east of the Barri Gotic. We visited the Esglesia de Santa Maria del Mar, another 14th century Gothic church, but the church was completely full so we couldn't enter. Instead, we bought some gelato from a shop in the plaza and walked around the Passeig del Born, a pretty stretch of trendy shopping.
We weren't too far from the Parc de la Ciutadella so I led J even further east until we finally entered lush looking park. We came across a building known as the Castell del Tres Dragons (the Castle of the Three Dragons), which looked like a giant play castle someone had built for their very spoiled kid.
From the castle, we also spied the Arc de Triomf with its strange-looking Islamic style brickwork.
J was looking pretty miserable from the heat and all of the walking, and we decided to hoof it back to the hotel although we weren't finished exploring the park. I was also looking forward to seeing our hotel room again since I was much hotter and dirtier than I had been in quite some time. Once we were back at the hotel, it was a hot shower and room service before we both zonked out for the night.
Some random observations:
1. Barcelona has the most beautiful lampposts I've ever seen.
2. Lots of women were wandering around extremely scantily clad, and European women are slim enough to make California girls look like heifers.
3. Every single building, and I mean every single one, has juliet balconies.
4. Barcelonins love their fruit juices, hams, and smoke shops.
5. A lot of the shops were closed since many of the locals skip out of town in the month of August.
6. There's lots of graffitti everywhere, but not scary graffitti.
7. There are benches and water fountains everywhere, even in completely empty streets.
8. A lot of the homeless people that we saw had pets - dogs or cats.
9. Many Barcelonins do not speak a lick of English so bring your phrasebook.
10. It's a great city for bicyclists since the bike lane is actually on the pavement with the pedestrians and not on the road with the cars.
No comments:
Post a Comment