It was a bit cooler this morning. Looking out the window across our terrace and seeing a sky full of
chattering swallows and the sound of church bells ringing across the city was just beautiful.
Today's plan was bus turistic again, this time the
blue route. For the first stop, we hopped off at Gaudi’s
Homage to God, La Sagrada Familia. An amazing homage, spectacular and grandiose
in vision and size, a work in progress since 1882, and not likely to be
completed for another decade or so. God
mustn’t have thought too much of it though, because Gaudi ended up getting hit
by a tram and dying a few days later, mistaken for a vagabond. :-(
There were a lot of people here, a real
lot. The research said to buy tickets
online beforehand, but I kind of only planned on looking at it from the
outside. But on arrival, we decided to
give it a go and see if we could get in.
But nup, there were no available tickets.
And the crowds kept coming. Ken and
Shaz decided to come back tomorrow and see it inside. We’ll come back when it is finished. :-)
We managed to get back on the tourist bus
despite the crowds, with only a shorte wait as we were happy to ride on the lower
deck. Next stop was Tramvia Blau –
Tibidabo. We jumped on the little
blue tram that chugged its way up some reasonably steep hills, then transferred
to a funicular that took us up a really steep hill to the highest peak overlooking
Barcelona. Damn that funicular. Gave me an earworm all day.
 |
| Funiculì, Funiculà |
Getting off the funicular, we were presented
with an amusement park on the top of the mountain! We decided to avoid the rides, instead opting
for a light meal and drink on the terrace overlooking all of Barcelona. The guy serving in the food kiosk had perfected
slow service. Glacial is a term that
came to mind. Eveennntttuuuallly we had our ham rolls and Estralla and sat on the terrace and soaked
up the sun and views.
On the very top of the hill was a very
impressive cathedral so that warranted further exploring and the lighting of
candles.
At the bottom of the funicular ride was an
outdoor bar with panoramic views and so it was time for drinks again. They had Hendricks Gin, so it was G&T
time today.
Then something I’d been waiting for since
arriving in Spain finally came true…. Pintxos!!!
Oh and they were so good. Shaz found the perfect pintxos bar at Irati Taverna
Basca. Heaven. I’m really loving Barcelona food, and pintxos are
to die for.
Tummy full and pintxos need sated for now
we made our way to Plaça Reial again and relaxed and chilled.
The girls had had enough so they retired back to
their accommodation, while Ken and I continued on exploring around Barri
Gotic. So many little streets, shops,
squares. I could explore here for a lifetime and still not find everything or eat in
every café and restaurant and bar.
We came across a farmer’s market in Placa
del Pi and visited the Esgesia de SantaMaria del pi, lit a candle and met
the cathedral cat.
Oh, and apparently the rose in this church is the largest in Europe. And it has a cat...
A special treat; there was a Spanish guitar concert on
with three renowned Spanish guitarists playing tonight. The earlier plans of flamenco dancing were dropped
and tickets arranged.
We continued walking, coming across squares
with kids playing soccer and squares named after George Orwell.
Since we missed the Catedral yesterday, we
dropped in during mass. And lit a candle.*
Not yet seeing enough churches, we then walked down
to Esglesia de la Merce. And lit a
candle.*
Now we were at the bottom of La Rambla, so
had to do the tourist thing and walk along it.
It was teeming. Buskers dressed
as Predator, Dali inspired half human half bikes, and women with drawers coming
out of them. Market stalls selling all
sorts of goods and souvenirs, and a constant sea of people moving in both
directions.
We escaped the tentacles of La Rambla and
headed back into the busy, but quieter by comparison Barri Gotic where the
delights and surprises outdid themselves when we happened on a Xurros shop.
Menu in Catalan was a bit difficult, and we
ordered the wrong thing, but the waitress knew what we wanted and we were served
up a plate of xurros with a beautiful light and fluffy melted chocolate dipping
sauce. Did I say I wanted to live in Barcelona?
I’m loving it more and more each day.
We headed back to La Placa del pi to await
the girls before our concert, biding time with more beer.
A queue emerged suddenly from nowhere so we
sculled our beers and joined the line as the seats were not allocated. The girls arrived shortly afterwards and we
made our way into the little chapel beside the church.
The concert with Pedro Javier Gonzalez,
Xavier Coll and Manuel Gonzalez was really amazing, with a mix of solos
performances, duets and some pieces which had all three guitarists playing. I enjoyed it thoroughly, even if I was so exhausted I nearly nodded off.
Dinner tonight kept the awesomeness going
with a very tasty grilled rabbit at Sagarra.
Oh and the dessert was truly drool worthy. Goats curd with honey and walnuts. I’m eating so many things I’ve never tasted
before and loving every second of it! Their
coffee was really amazing too!
Tomorrow we are off on the next part of our
adventure. Picking up our car and
driving to Carcassonne.
*Note: the number of candles lit may have been embellished slightly. Or not, I truly lost count.
Also, more photos if you are masochistic, or not bored yet can be seen at the end of this link.
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