Pic TR: Barcelona

[Fuzz]

As our first holiday since moving to Yurp, we decided on a short trip to Barcelona. Flew out on Wednesday night, came back on Sunday. While I've given up the snow and mountains (no more 15-minute drive to skiing), being able to travel so easily is awesome.

My first impression of Barcelona was frankly not that great. We stayed just off La Rambla, which is very touristy and lined by brand name stores that you can find anywhere: Starbucks, Burger King, etc. Yes, the streets of Barri Gotic were quite atmospheric, but I'd seen the same or better in other places like Croatia, Italy, etc. But gradually Barcelona grew on me. It is not a city that you can rush through and see the sights. You have to slow down and wander the streets to get a feel for the place. Unlike many other cities, the old parts of town are very vibrant and lively. Lots of young locals, packed restaurants. A lot of Catalan pride. The food was great. The weather was quite warm; did drizzle for a bit here and there, but nothing too bad.

1. We stayed just off La Rambla, near Placa Catalunya. La Rambla is the big tourist spot and honestly not much different from any other tourist strip. Lots of out-of-towners, souvenir shops, many overpriced restaurants, some very good restaurants.

La Rambla by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

2. Placa Catalunya, at the northern end of La Rambla, was another tourist hotspot. Large open space with a fountain and a few memorials/statues. Lots of pigeons, which kept all the kids happy.

Placa Catalunya by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

3. The one good thing about La Rambla/Placa Catalunya is that it is very central to most things with lots of Metro lines -- so getting places is very easy. The stations and trains were very clean, efficient, easy to navigate, and not very crowded.

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

4. We went to Parc Guell. Instead of going through the front, we got off at the Vallcarca station and walked up to the park. Offered some nice views of the city.

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr




5. It was a good thing we went this way because we got to a high vantage point with good views of the whole city:

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

6. Barcelona from Parc Guell:

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

7. Parc Guell is definitely an awesome place. Very surreal, like something out of Dr. Seuss. Curving naturalistic stuff mixed with straight lines.

Parc Guell by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

8. Parc Guell:

Parc Guell by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

9. Barcelona Cathedral was near our hotel so we popped in one afternoon. Like most other gothic churches in Europe; very pretty:

Barcelona Cathedral by FuzzSummit, on Flickr


10. Barcelona Cathedral:

Barcelona Cathedral by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

11. The big decision we had to make was whether to do a regular Camp Nou tour or go to the Barca-Sevilla game on Saturday night. I really wanted to do the game, but the problem was that the game started at 10pm and we had an 11:3am flight the next morning -- it would have been very hard for our 6-year old (and he loves Barca and would have been crushed if I'd gone without him). So we opted for the tour instead. It was fantastic. Unlike any other large city I've been to, the city completely identifies with FC Barcelona. Yes, there is also Espanyol, but FCB dominates (at least from a visitor's perspective). The tour really impresses the unique cultural pride that is FCB. You really get to understand their motto: More than a club.

Camp Nou by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

12. My son was over the moon:

Camp Nou by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

13. On our list was also La Sagrada Familia, probably Barcelona's most well-known site. We bought tickets online and skipped the line (although it looked like it was moving pretty fast). It is a very interesting place -- almost schizophrenic. On the outside it is very gothic and grim, almost Mordor-like feel. On the inside it is very bright and cheerful, almost like something out of Rivendell or Gondor. I saw so many similarities between the church and places in the LoTR movies.

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

14. Tell me this wouldn't feel at home in Mordor...

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

15. ...complete with quite disturbing figures:

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

16. The inside is a completely different affair (although with a hint of a modern megachurch):

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

17. This reminded me of the white city of Gondor:

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

18. Very colorful stained glass windows:

La Sagrada Familia by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

19. Also visited Casa Battlo, another famous landmark on Passeig de Gracia. Definitely recommended. Very whimsical house designed by Gaudi.

Casa Battlo by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

20. Casa Battlo:

Casa Battlo by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

[Fuzz]

21. And last but not least, we walked around a lot. Wandering aimlessly around Barri Gotic. Again, another thing I would strongly recommend. Once we got away from the major tourist thoroughfares (especially northeast of Via Laietana), it felt like we were in the real locals' city.

Barri Gotic by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

22. Barri Gotic has many places where old buildings sit next to modern ones, creating quite a visual juxtaposition:

Barri Gotic by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

23. Placa Reial is/was a major tourist spot. It is lined with tourist restaurants.

Placa Reial by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

24. Barri Gotic

Barri Gotic by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

25. Although very famous, this bridge was built much later than the surrounding buildings:

Barri Gotic by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

26. Barri Gotic:

Barri Gotic by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

27. The southeastern end of La Rambla spills out to the Mediterranean, with the prominent Columbus Monument there, to commemorate the fact that Columbus returned from the New World and reported to the King and Queen in Barcelona.

Columbus Monument by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

28. Port Vell is a new development -- a port for luxury yachts and a mega-mall full of shopping, restaurants, a huge movie theater, and Barcelona's aquaruim. While the mall is just like any other mall, it is nice to walk along the open water and away from the narrow city streets:

Port Vell by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

29. View from Port Vell:

Port Vell by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

30. Just off Barri Gotic is the Arc de Triomf and a large surrounding park. Very popular on the weekend:

Arc de Triomf by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

31. We got to see a demonstration while we were there, protesting the austerity measures:

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

32. Catalan pride is very evident in Barcelona. Almost no Spanish flags anywhere, but lots of Catalan flags everywhere.

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

33. Catalan pride:

Barri Gotic by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

34.

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

35.

Barcelona by FuzzSummit, on Flickr

[gointhedistance]

Wow - absolutely beautiful places and amazing execution of the photogs.... very cool to see you having a good time!

[PassTheDutchie]

fotos excellentes, per usual!

[Benny Profane]

Did you get any sort of sense of the hard times in Spain from this visit? Any open displays of poverty?

I just read that there is a new high speed train from Paris to Madrid. Cuts it down from 12 hours to 9, and Barcelona is about 6. Benny is pleased.

[Ksyrium]

top notch Fuzz, thanks for sharing

[spook]

great pics

[Fuzz]

Thanks. I wish I had the opportunity to read up on the city a bit more. Work kept me really busy before the trip and so I landed with very little idea of what to do/see.

Benny, not sure about poverty. I mean, yes, there were a few homeless people here and there, just like any other large city. Of course, I was in the more touristy areas, so it's hard to tell. Plus I'd never been to Barcelona before, so cannot tell if it's better or worse than other times.

As much as I enjoyed Barcelona in February, I imagine it's even better when it's warmer and sunnier (albeit more crowded).

[oftpiste]

and the food?

[Fuzz]

and the food?

Food was very good. To be honest, I didn't have time before the trip to look into much, so we ended up looking for stuff on the fly (Google). Tried to avoid really touristy stuff (e.g. on La Rambla). Found some smaller places around Barri Gotic with what looked like many locals. Had a shoulder of lamb that was possibly the best I've ever had. Good sausage and ham.

The biggest challenge we had was the dining time. The seemingly better/local places didn't open until 9pm, and that was a bit too late for us with a 6-year old who's tired after a whole day of walking.

[Benny Profane]

Ha. Spain, the land of the 8pm early bird special.

[Tippster]

Heh. Try being in your 20's and going to a club before Midnight.

People aren't necessarily poverty-stricken in Spain, Benny, they're unemployed. There's a difference (for now.)

[t.odd]

great photos, thanks for posting those...nice to let the brain float to some different places for a bit!

[XXX-er]

Did you get any sort of sense of the hard times in Spain from this visit? Any open displays of poverty?

we bike toured the Camino last september, we noticed construction cranes were standing but not moving cuz there was no building going on, condo developments shuttered, a golf course with nobody living in the surrounding realestate if you wana call that an open display of poverty and that was across northern spain which would not be as well off as the Catalan region

I don't remember seeing a whole lot of homelessness and people were still going out to bars & resturants

[hev]

Awesome photos Fuzz. Always enjoy your shots.

Hit a similar set of spots last September as a stop-over on the way in/out of Croatia - http://adamhevenor.com/galleries/barcelona-and-croatia/

[RockChalk]

I spent the summer before my senior yr of hs on my own in barca and Malaga, this TR conjures up some special memories.

Thanks and great photos!

[Fuzz]

Hit a similar set of spots last September as a stop-over on the way in/out of Croatia - http://adamhevenor.com/galleries/barcelona-and-croatia/

I remember checking out your shots before -- very nice trip. Looks like you visited Mostar? How was it? How many days did you spend there? I'm thinking of returning to Dubrovnik for a longer time and going over to Mostar for a day or two.

[hev]

Mostar was interesting. It was a great perspective on the region but seriously sobering compared to eating shell fish and swimming in Croatia. It was also far from Dubrovnik partly because the border crossing into Bosnia is very slow. Once there though it is quite interesting. There's not much to see outside of the old-town and bridge but that is worth the drive.