Day 35, Barcelona
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| Bubbles in the park |
Having learnt our lesson with city sightseeing tour buses and still wanting to see as much as possible of this big city, we opted for a cycling tour of Barcelona. We had read good reviews of Barcelona CicloTour so we booked ourselves onto the 11:00am 3 hour tour of Barcelona by bike. With some time to kill before the tour started, we ventured back out onto La Rambla in search of data SIM card, since UK SIM had stopped working because of our exceesive data roaming. Vodafone was more than happy to take our money and the problem of remaining connected to the rest of the world was solved
Barcelona is well setup for bikes and for most of our tour we were riding in well demarcated bike lanes, along pedestrian only streets, or through parks. There was however short sections where we had to take particular car with the kids riding on unfamilair bikes on the busy city streets, despite there being more than a dozen in the group making us hard to miss.
The bike tour was an awesome way to see the different districts of Baracelona. Our tour guide Simon was a bit eccentric but extremely knowledgable and a lot of fun. Not sure our tour too strictly followed the map on thier website - but we still had 3 hours of seeing lots in the areas of Barcelona we would not otherwise had the time to visit. We started with a visit the some of the large boulevards of Barcelona, being shown where the old and (not so old) city started and stopped. The new part of Barcelona - Exiample has been well thropughout with wide streets and bikes. Exiample means "expansion" in Catalonian.
Our first landmark stop was Plaça de Catalunya - where we visited the tourist information centre yesterday, before heading to Casa Batlló - where we also finished up our walking yesterday. Our english guide would stop to give us a story and some history at each of there landmarks.
We then continued past another Gaudi creation in La Pedrera - Casa Mila - which is another of Gaudi's more significant works. So much so that it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. It is impossible to capture the uniqueness of this building in a photo.
Our next stop was Gaudi's most famous design/creation - Sagrada Família. We have booked tickets to tour the basillica tomorrow, but we quickly got an appreciation of what we were in for tomorrow. There were thousands of people in and around the basillica, admiring its granduer and size. From the outside it is easy from all the cranes that it is still very much a work in progress. The close-up of the facade (picture below) is of the Nativity facade - just one of three that adnore the church. This is were we will be enter tomorrow and the towers that we get to climb for views over Barcelona.
Our first landmark stop was Plaça de Catalunya - where we visited the tourist information centre yesterday, before heading to Casa Batlló - where we also finished up our walking yesterday. Our english guide would stop to give us a story and some history at each of there landmarks.
We then continued past another Gaudi creation in La Pedrera - Casa Mila - which is another of Gaudi's more significant works. So much so that it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. It is impossible to capture the uniqueness of this building in a photo.
Our next stop was Gaudi's most famous design/creation - Sagrada Família. We have booked tickets to tour the basillica tomorrow, but we quickly got an appreciation of what we were in for tomorrow. There were thousands of people in and around the basillica, admiring its granduer and size. From the outside it is easy from all the cranes that it is still very much a work in progress. The close-up of the facade (picture below) is of the Nativity facade - just one of three that adnore the church. This is were we will be enter tomorrow and the towers that we get to climb for views over Barcelona.
We then passed La Monumental - Catalonia's last commerical bull fighting ring (now a museum), onto the Arc De Triof and the Ciutadella Park. The Arc was built as a gateway to World Expo when it it was hosted by Barcelona in 1888 in Ciutdella Park. Barcelona's biggest park - built on the grounds of a former military barracks, is not only significant because it hosted the World Expo in 1888, but today in hosts the Barcelona Zoo and the Catalonian Parliment. It has plenty of green space to relax in from the hustle and bustle of Barcelona, and the kids had a great time chasing a buskers bubbles - as they did in London's Trafalgar Sq.
It was then onto the Barcelona foreshore past buildings built to house the olympians for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. We rode alone the Platja de la Barceloneta - the beachfront path, which was not overly busy given the weather of the day. Warm, but overcast I gather it was a lot quieter than it would usually be. Not too mention that our tour guide didn't top for our free drink on the beach.
We then rode past Port Vell with some of the biggest, most luxurious boats/yachts I have ever seen. One boat (if you'd call it that), had a platform on the back that lowered into the water complete with (not only one, but) two full sized twin engined speed boats. I guess the vessels in this marina would more aptly be described and luxury yachts or mini ships!!!
We then rode past Port Vell with some of the biggest, most luxurious boats/yachts I have ever seen. One boat (if you'd call it that), had a platform on the back that lowered into the water complete with (not only one, but) two full sized twin engined speed boats. I guess the vessels in this marina would more aptly be described and luxury yachts or mini ships!!!
Once I picked my jaw up off the ground, I had to find the rest of the group, as I had fallen behind gazing at the marina in wonder. We then headed back into the streets of old Barcelona seeing some remnants of the wall that once surround Barcelona, before arriving at Plaça de Sant Jaume. This plaza is significant because it was the centre of the old town and is home to both Town Hall and and Generalitat de Catalunya - the government of Catalonia. We're told that Catalonia has been fighting for a long time to be an independant state - not part of Spain.
Ironically, it was in this square that we witnessed a fight between what seemed to be a local and an Asian family. Simon quickly told us that it was probably a pickpocket gone wrong. The Asian family were certainly laying into the local kicking and punching him without the perpetrator fighting back. Simon explained that as long as the pickpocketer doesn't fight back, he cannot be charged with anything and after the police detain him, he would be let back out on the street to do it all again. Apparently, if it is petty theft (below a certain amount) and no other crime has been committed (such as assault), the perpetrator would not be charged with a crime. WOW!
With the on and off showers that had plagued us most of the morning getting heavier, we made our way back in the direction of Plaza Real, its narrow streets and eventually La Rambla. Before we knew it, the bike tour had come to an end, but it was a awesome way to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. This will definately be the way we cover the larger cities in future.
Time for lunch, we found a nice cafe just off La Rambla for a late bite to eat. Just happened to have fast WI-FI, so I could continue to upload photos off my phone onto Google Drive. Heaven forbid I lose my phone and all the wonderful photos we have to remember our trip by. Kristie also ran off and did some shopping while the kids had iPad time before working out what else we wanted to see in Barcelona before Sagrada Familia tomorrow.
Next on the list of the must sees was the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria - La Boqueria for short. But before the seeing the culinary delights the market had to offer, we were tempted by a little chocolate shop called Chök The Chocolate Kitchen. And not only because of the Thomas family's love of chocolate, but also because it was somewhere Kristie could finally sample some genuine Spanish Churros. Needless to say, the girls and I did satisfy our senses also. Kristie had a Churros, Madi had some chocolate mousse cake thingee, and Sierra had a chocolate coated biscuit lollypops. All very very yummy.
Then when we got to the market - La Boqueria, it was then an overload of the senses. Sight sound and taste. We bought more food, Macaroons, Chocolate balls (truffles), Nectarines, and a lemon tart. Food food and more food. I feel we only saw a fraction of the market, but it was so busy, we soon made our way back out to La Rambla.
We then walked down toward the beach and the Mirador de Colom - a Christopher Columbus monument. Here - as in all the other cities of the world the girls have visited, they climbed all over the statues proudly having their photo taken. We then headed along Av. del Paral.lel to the Funicular station to get up to the top of Montjuic.
A short ride and we disembarked the Funicular and boarded a cable car for the ride to the top and the Castell de Montjuïc. Being so late in the day and wanting to look around at the summit, it was a one-way trip for us hoping that we would find our way down on the public bus system.
The cable car ride up provided spectacular views inland over the city of Barcelona, despite the clouds starting to set in on a nice sunset. Once at the top we spent about an hour circumnavigating the castle. It was too late in the day to go inside, but the walk around was well worth it - closing out our visit to Barcelona by seeing the remaining areas of the city that we had not yet seen. On the far side of the castle, the views out over the port and sea were really quite pretty despite being industrial.
With darkness descending, it was time to make our way down (at least part way down) Montjuic to our campervan for dinner. The bus trip (standing room only) also showed us just how much there was going on in the parklands above Barcelona. It all seemed dark and quiet on my little walk from the campervan last night, and I didn't think there was anything up her except parkland and empty Olympic sporting areas, but from the bus ride down it seemed that there were restaurants, bars and nightlife up here also. The bus conveniently dropped us almost right outside our car park campground.
After dinner in the campervan, at around 9:00pm we headed down to the Font Màgica de Montjuïc. Barcelona's Magic Fountain of Montjuic was a sight to behold. We had a little glimpse on our arrival yesterday, but to see the fountains perform to music and light was really something. Sierra described it as "four different shows to music, which got a bit boring in the end as the fountains began to squirt water in the same ways again". As much as I admire her journal writing, this was the understatement of the century.
You have to see the fountain to believe it. I have never seen so many variations of (as Sierra puts it) "water squirting" in different patterns, shapes and textures. Combined with lighting and music it was brilliant. A must see on any visit to Barcelona.
Then when we got to the market - La Boqueria, it was then an overload of the senses. Sight sound and taste. We bought more food, Macaroons, Chocolate balls (truffles), Nectarines, and a lemon tart. Food food and more food. I feel we only saw a fraction of the market, but it was so busy, we soon made our way back out to La Rambla.
We then walked down toward the beach and the Mirador de Colom - a Christopher Columbus monument. Here - as in all the other cities of the world the girls have visited, they climbed all over the statues proudly having their photo taken. We then headed along Av. del Paral.lel to the Funicular station to get up to the top of Montjuic.
A short ride and we disembarked the Funicular and boarded a cable car for the ride to the top and the Castell de Montjuïc. Being so late in the day and wanting to look around at the summit, it was a one-way trip for us hoping that we would find our way down on the public bus system.
The cable car ride up provided spectacular views inland over the city of Barcelona, despite the clouds starting to set in on a nice sunset. Once at the top we spent about an hour circumnavigating the castle. It was too late in the day to go inside, but the walk around was well worth it - closing out our visit to Barcelona by seeing the remaining areas of the city that we had not yet seen. On the far side of the castle, the views out over the port and sea were really quite pretty despite being industrial.
With darkness descending, it was time to make our way down (at least part way down) Montjuic to our campervan for dinner. The bus trip (standing room only) also showed us just how much there was going on in the parklands above Barcelona. It all seemed dark and quiet on my little walk from the campervan last night, and I didn't think there was anything up her except parkland and empty Olympic sporting areas, but from the bus ride down it seemed that there were restaurants, bars and nightlife up here also. The bus conveniently dropped us almost right outside our car park campground.
After dinner in the campervan, at around 9:00pm we headed down to the Font Màgica de Montjuïc. Barcelona's Magic Fountain of Montjuic was a sight to behold. We had a little glimpse on our arrival yesterday, but to see the fountains perform to music and light was really something. Sierra described it as "four different shows to music, which got a bit boring in the end as the fountains began to squirt water in the same ways again". As much as I admire her journal writing, this was the understatement of the century.
You have to see the fountain to believe it. I have never seen so many variations of (as Sierra puts it) "water squirting" in different patterns, shapes and textures. Combined with lighting and music it was brilliant. A must see on any visit to Barcelona.
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