Later on Saturday, we landed at Girona airport (1 hour NE of Barcelona) which is a cheaper alternative to fly from Bournemouth. There was a very convenient bus service to the Estacio del Nord (North bus station). From there, we just hopped in a cab to our hotel in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona (Barri Gotic). We ventured 1.5 blocks onto La Rambla, a main pedestrian thoroughfare in the heart of Barcelona. There is a pedestrian area that runs down the middle, with flower booths, street performers, sidewalk cafes, tapas bars, and you name it, all up and down this area, about 1.5 km long.
On Sunday morning, we ventured out among the city, starting with a double-decker bus through 2 routes in the city. We ventured along the port, along the Mediterranean Sea, though the Barri Gotic, and all through the city. The highlight was seeing Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia, what some deem as great modern architecture, and others consider a gawdy, tacky, overdone construction disaster. The cathedral is still unfinished, despite continuous work since Gaudi's death in 1926.
There were a lot of other sights.....structures/murals by Joan Miro, more buildings by Gaudi, ancient Roman walls, Gothic churches, meandering old-world narrow streets, open-air plazas, the 1992 Olympic stadium and Olympic park. And if you are not afraid of heights, you can also take a tram to the top of Montjuic to see a spectacular sight of the city and seafront, although we did not have time to see. There were so many things we did not get a chance to experience, such as Picasso Museum, Gaudi's Museum, many more churches, etc. If you plan to travel to Barcelona, I recommend at least 4 FULL days to be able to see some great things.
What I was really surprised to see was all the tourists on La Rambla and in the gothic area. We sat at a cafe drinking Estrella Damm cerveza or sangria, while watching all the INTERESTING individuals go by. We expect that most of the people walking by were tourists, but still was quite a sight. Everything from flashy, to fashion wanna-be's, to downright tacky, to tragic. Jeans, capri pants, parachute pants, white go-go pants, moccasins, white dress shoes....we saw it all.
Dinner was at Les Quinze Nitz in the Placa de Reial, where the food and wine was reasonable but the line to wait was a little lengthy. It was a nice relaxing evening, and we overheard someone at the next table talking about growing up in Springfield, Missouri. Small world!!
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