old tiger's Blog

Our final day day..in Barcelona..turned out to be a bit of a bummer..
we decided to take the funicular towards the hill called Montjuic..
starts somewhere downtown Barcelona..it's about 700m going up..
the funicular was O.K...stunning views..on reaching the hilltop..
brisk walk to Pueblo Espanol..damn..it was closed..bummer...
so we went to a museum called Joan Miro..but as I told before..it's art..
Miro was a good artist maybe..but I did not capture his art..surrealistic??
we walked around a bit on this Montjuic hill..and went back by bus into
Barcelona town..went straight by subway to Barcelona Sants..
train to Madrid second class..in fact..I had been in Spain before..but never took
a train??we got our tickets..went back to the youth hostel..and had some
cheap food..tomorrow was gonna be a busy day..train to Madrid..
Tiger

So..next day..was almost entireley spent on visiting the art works of Gaudi..
we started with the cathedral la Sagrada Familia..
we went by subway..to really capture the immense structure of this cathedral..
in fact..it's not finished..because Gaudi was run over by a tram in 1926
and died..his work unfinished..the architectural style was certainly ahead of his time..we climbed the spiralled stairs...and evey angle looked different..it's worthwhile to buy a little guide book in English..
there's a place called nativity facade..which is really impressive..
we wandered around a few hours..and found everything very interesting
after 2 hours in this masterpiece..we took another subway to watch
another work of Gaudi=Parc Guell..it's bit far by subway..we got down at Lesseps and made a brisk walk to the entrance of this futuristic parc..
it looks very strange to walk through this parc...there is a giant figure
carved out in form of a dragon/lizard type thing...and a famous bench
with tiles in a special style and colour..seemed like a nice picnic spot..
all very colourful..we went back by subway to Barcelona town..and saw casa Milo=in fact a building with not 1 straight wall..8 floors high...
and signed Gaudi...very strange building..we did go to a Picasso museum as
well..it's bit north of he Barri gotic..intersting museum..but usually..
I did not like art musea too much..they all look bit the same..
we intended to visit Montjuic..el pueblo Espanol etc..
but we lacked the time to do this..so next day..
we made plannings to do this..it had been a hectic day anyway...
and also book a train ticket from Barcelona Sants to Madrid Atocha..
Tiger

I'll try to find some links on Gaudi's works..
then I'll put my posting on what we visited in Barcelona town..
http://images.google.be/images?q=antoni+gaudi&hl=nl&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=images&ct=title
http://www.bcn.es/gaudi2002/english/index.htm
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/gaudi/sagrada-familia.html
Tiger

so..the Ramblas..Barcelona's strolling avenue..
nice to watch the locals..enjoying their stroll..
we did the whole Ramblas up to Pla?a de Catalunya..
big square..and a hub for subway traffic..
we went into the big superstore el Corte Ingl?s..
super de luxe goods..for super de luxe pesetas..
my wife was crazy about browsing trough these stores..
bought some Spanish soap..ask for Maya soap..lovely scent..
if i remember 5 floors high in this supermarket..anyway..
after that we finished our afternoon..in the Barri Gothic..
that's the old city of Barcelona..with little alleys..the cathedral..
typical old buildings..the cathedral..is worth a glance inside..
Spain is very catholic..no shorts,miniskirts alllowed..
it's gothic in style..massive structure really..it was possible..
to go up to the roof..but we did not do that..
in the evening..we found a very cheap restaurant..
soup..vegetables..some meat..for a give away price..
and a glass of good old real Spanish sangria after food..booh..
we took a subway back to the youth hostel..
the Barcelona subway(el metro)was very well organised..
we took a 10 ticket multi pass..so we could travell bit subway.
the next day..Sagrada Familia,Parc Guell,Picasso museum etc...
the works from Gaudi are really something..art at the utmost..
I'll tell you all in a later posting..Tiger

so..next morning..breakfast at the Youth Hostel.
and off we went..by subway..towards the *ramblas*
Barcelona is huge..its streets are in a paralell pattern..
wide boulevards..hectic traffic sometimes..
the ramblas..is a 1,6kms long walking street=traffic free..
it starts at Pla?a Portal de Pau..that's the harbour regio..
there is a monument dedicated too Columbus..
it's possible to go into this 60 m.high monument..we did not go..
ramblas...is a delight to stroll trough..it goes all the way to a square
called Pla?a de Catalunya..the ramblas is specially interesting later
in the early evening..when the Catalans make their walks..it's always full
of animation,street buskers,little shops,flowers,caf?'s,restaurants..
we took some refreshment at Pla?a Reial..a side street of ramblas.
palm trees even there..very relaxing..bit further up the ramblas is a
Spanish marketplace called Mercat de Boqueria..
now..if you do Barcelona..don't miss this..really worthwhile..
it's smelling herbs,fruits,flowers..and listening to hectic Catalan talking..
we bought a bocadillo there=like a bread roll with a filling..
spanish ham(jamon)is famous..so.I tried it out..
we strolled about an hour in this market..bought some food for the day..
fruits etc..rather much cheaper then Belgium..i bet..nowadays..
it's become as well expensive..Barcelona is a big big city..
lots of tourists flock to its historical buildings,caf?s,restaurants etc..
I will give you all a link here about Barcelona..and continue my ramblas
adventures in another posting..Barcelona will take some posting space..
http://www.barcelona-on-line.es/eng/turisme/bcn_rambla.htm

Tiger