Today is Friday, September 15, 2023. We are in Barcelona, Spain just doing our own thing. However, today, we went on a scheduled tour to see The Best of Barcelona.
We rose early be cause we wanted some coffee and breakfast before heading out. Our hotel is in a perfect location, is expensive because of that, and is extremely…AUSTERE! Ther3 is no restaurant, no coffee maker, no coffee in the lobby,…. We fortunately found a little coffee shop just across the street that was open that early.
The bus picked us up around the corner from our hotel (it would not fit on the street we’re on), and we joined a small group f English-speaking people for a guided tour.
We passed the Christopher Columbus monument by the Harbor (many are protesting the statue because of the Native Americans having founded the new world before he did; therefore, perhaps, it’s days are numbered). We went to El Born to visit Santa Maria Del Mar Church, some of the neighborhood historic buildings, a present-day schoolyard where many children were killed during a bombing in the Spanish Civil War (1930s), Protest Square (where demonstrations and celebrations take place—Catalonia lost 5be civil war against Spain but continues to pursue its freedom), the Cathedral of Barcelona, built for the nobility at the site where St. Eulalia was martyred, the Pont del Bisbe (Bishop’s Bridge, aka the Cursed Bridge—there is a skull and knife carved under the bridge, which gave rise to many myths/legends), and the Gothic Quarter.
We traveled to Parc Guell, where Gaudi, the famous designer/artist, lived until shortly before his death and from where he could monitor the progress of the Sagrada Familia Basilica that he had envisioned and designed. The colors, layout, vegetation, charming construction of the houses, walls, and railings were whimsical and spectacular to say the least.
We rode together to have an awesome Catacolonian lunch close to our next stop. By this time, it began to drizzle. No issue because we were going to be indoors for lunch. Lunch was on our own, so we all ordered what we wished. John and I went with Catacolonian fare: paella and fedeuia (spelling is incorrect, I’m sure, but it has noodles instead of rice), toasted bread with tomato, and cava white wine sample. Of course, it was delicious!
The drizzle turned into heavy rain, but we were headed by bus to tour Sagrada Familia Basilica,still under construction since 1882. Of course, we got pretty wet when we walked from where our.bus dropped us off. Our guide was delighted with the rain because of the severe drought conditions recently in Barcelona. We definitely could empathize with him and rolled with it. The Basilica is beyond stunning both inside and out! It is huge already although only a few of the final 18 towers have been completed! Because of the heavy rain, we were unable to get pics of the Basilica from the best vantage points, but we plan to try again tomorrow. No photos of ours could even begin to do it justice!
We got even more drenched as we climbed atop the steps of the Barcelona Museum of Art to see Barcelona from what could be a perfect spot so much higher than the city! But…the haze and heavy rain took over to make that effort fruitless. We will try again tomorrow.
We drove through a Mont Juic (the Jewish Quarter), where a beautiful park, zoo, and so on) could be visited. The Olympic Stadium, complete with the torch, looks spectacular from the bus window, and we hope to get a better glimpse tomorrow.
The rain cleared up by early evening, so we ventured out to stroll and see what we could see. We stopped for tapas to share, tortilla de patate and baked provolone with toasted bread. The flan was no rival to some we’ve made at home. Nor was the tortilla de patate significantly different from the frittata we sometimes make.
Tomorrow and Sunday will be red Hop on/Hop off bus days!
Our Travels 