Early start – it was Barcelona day!
Bleary eyed and cold, I jumped on my 8am flight in the pitch black. Damn you sun! But what waited at the end was the promise of sunshine and good times. I met up with Betty and Kath at the airport, and we headed into town. Our guest house is very cute, and is on the first floor of the building. To get to that floor, you can either get in the lift (suitable for only ONE person), or make your way up the narrow staircase. We had a nice little room, with a balcony that opened out to the street – we could stand on it, but there wasn’t room for much else.
We headed into town for the afternoon and yes, Barcelona is impressive. The architecture is amazing! Gaudi buildings are dotted throughout the city, and tourists are always at the base of them, staring up at them through their cameras. I didn’t know much about Gaudi before arriving in Barcelona, so in case you didn’t either, he is architect who designed a number of innovative buildings in Barcelona. One of the most famous is the Sagrada Familia, a gothic church he started in 1882, and is still yet to be finished. Estimates have it being finished somewhere between 2020 and 2040…. Nothing like having a deadline! Monday has been earmarked by our tour guide (Betty) as when we plan to check out some of his most famous work.
As we walked, I couldn’t help but think about how much it reminded me of Paris. Now, my disclaimer here is that it has been 10 years since I was in Paris, so it actually may look nothing like it, and my memory is a bit faded! I think it was because the street was quite wide, with cafes along it. Unlike Amsterdam, the weather was great, and we were able to eat outside. We had lunch at a little street cafe in Plaza de Catalunya (a square in the middle of town). Like most towns, people gather in the square, eat, feed the pigeons etc. Was a great atmosphere and wandered around people watching, while Betty and Kath spoke to the tourist information lady trying to find a tapas walking tour!
We set out on Las Ramblas, one of the main streets here, & started walking. I continued to be amazed at the architecture & buildings. Gaudi buildings gothic buildings, cathederals & churches. And people, so many people! There are only around 1.6m people living in Barcelona, so I can only put it down to tourists.
We stopped in at the main fresh food markets, where there was seafood, fruits, cured meats, coffee and spices. More than anything it was the colours that got me. There were so many colours of fruits! Reds, greens, pinks, yellows, oranges. It just made me want to eat it all. That’s the thing here, you want to try everything!
