Parc Guell

(taken 22:16)

Ahh! A cupper. Karen is finishing off her night with cappuccino. Well actually this is before dinner. See the Blackberry in hand? Yup, she’s doing emails and talking to the office. She’s got a 4-part tapas meal coming, which includes 2 seafood items I am sure to be eating. And I have a seafood paella coming as well. I better walk a lot more tomorrow!

(taken 19:47)

This is the place we had dinner last night, Las Gaz, (is there a pun there). It is a cool place and a very busy Tapas Restaurant. We are walking by here on our way home. We walked all the way down Las Ramblas, past the Columbus Monument and then along the water front (Port Vell and the Marina). Nice walk, but longer than I expected (is that a theme?). Time to head home, wash up and go out to dinner. Already late for us, we really are getting into this Barcelona lifestyle.

(taken 18:50)

Hard Rock. We made it. Karen collects shot glasses from every Hard Rock and Planet Hollywood she goes to. It has been a while since she has been to a new one. But Hard Rock Barcelona is the newest edition. It is a nice bar. Looks fairly new. It is right off of Placa Cataluna and a block or so from the start of Las Ramblas. Another chance for us to meander down that street.

(taken 18:03)

Our buses reflection in another bus. This is a boring ride. The problem with touring Barcelona by bus is that nothing worth seeing is within easy reach (or even sight) of the bus. Further, we are on a part of the ride where there is a lot of traffic and far distances between objects of interest. A running joke on the bus is the reference to all the great sites we are not seeing, which are not open just now. We did go by the drop-off area for Mount Tibado, which we plan to see on Wednesday, so it was worth getting and idea about that area. Other than that…

(taken 16:18)

Did I say the walking was over? Well I meant the walking on flat land. Geez. The bus dropped us off about a half mile from the park and the walk to the part was straight up hill! And that was the easy part. Inside the park, you simply go higher and higher. Finally, Karen would go no higher. I did, straight up some rather slippery stairs made of stone. At least 2 people almost wiped out going down as I was going up. I took other slippery stairs down, just to be safe.

This is a cool place. For fear of gushing more about Gaudi, I will have to again say words can not do it justice. The architecture is just too cool. It is whimsical, but also has consistency or method to it that is almost classical.

Enough on that. We are heading back down the steep slopes to hop the bus and take it back to Placa de Catalunya. Karen plans to buy some postcards and key chains at the tourists shops on the way down.

Temple Sagrada Familia

(taken 14:21)

It was a long walk, but we got here. We first swung past Casa Mila’ but the line to enter was long and we are tired of lines. We also figured we would be stuck in a long line here at Sagrada Familia. But, in fact, the line was not an issue. 15 euros later and we were inside. I have the tour book with me, so I read the detailed description of both the Passion Façade and the Nativity Façade. It is probably impossible to describe the incredible nature of this structure. For one thing, they are still busy working on it. Outside, but especially inside. I think I read the expected completion date is 2020 (but I am not even sure of that). The project began in the 1860’s. Traveling all over the world and seeing so many ancient cathedrals – objects of history – it seems strange to see history in the making in the form of a modern day cathedral. But that is what this is.

We are now across the street, enjoying a light lunch (salami for me, cheese for Karen, both on bread) and admiring the structure. Gaudi must be much revered in Barcelona. It is a neat town with many positive attributes (sea, mountains, culture, history, etc.) but Gaudi’s work sets this town apart and gives it a unique identity.

Well we are done walking. We are hopping the bus and taking it to Parc Guell, yet another Gaudi masterpiece.

Break Time!

(taken 13:34)

We continue down the street toward Casa Mila’ another Gaudi gem. But were over take by thirst and stopped at this fine establishment. Like so many places, it has out door seating, which we enjoyed. It is on Passieg Gracia, but unfortunately, I failed to get the name in the photo!

Gaudi 1

(taken 12:44)

Well we never did get on the red line bus. The line was just tooooooo long! Man, it is a mob seen around Placa Cataluna with all the tourists. And this is not even peek season. Since much of the Gaudi stuff is really not that far from the Cataluyna, we decided instead just to walk up Passiag Gracia and follow the route of the bus, with the idea that we could pick it up later.

On our way, we got detoured. An older man started talking to Karen (this does happen from time to time). He said he designed leather clothing and in fact owned his own shop which supplies some of the finest retailers in the world. Karen started telling the guy that she is in retail and works for a company that owns malls in America. Turns out this guy is married to an American and has a home in Flushing, NY. He gives Karen his business card. Mr. Solerno and his company is called Solerno Design. He starts telling us the best places to go eat and then says he will show us.

5 minutes later we are in his leather goods shop (and factory) and he is trying to sell us each a leather coat. This went on for a good 30 minutes. He was ready to give us the deal of a life time. 2 $3000 coats for a total of $910 each! Amazingly, Karen passed on the deal and we got the heck out of there. Mr. Solerno looked really bummed. I think at 70 years of age, he looked us as his last best hope to prove he was still a super salesman.

Anyway, back on our path, we reached here Balto House. One of the Gaudi architectural gems. It was a house owned by an aristocrat who hired Gaudi to design it. It is now a museum and for 13 euros each, you can get in there. It is pretty cool place. None of the walls are flat (where do you mount the plasma, I ask). It looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, to be exact. It is easy to see why Gaudi is so revered.

Starbucks!

(taken 11:41)

Probably a little difficult to see, but this is our first trip to Starbucks in Barcelona. They are nearly everywhere, though not in our neighborhood. Our choice for coffee has been the little café at the end of the street. He makes café con leche. No cappuccino. The coffee is excellent and reminds us of the coffee we got in Italy.

At any rate, our day has started out slowly as we seem to be adapting to the Spanish lifestyle: late to bed, late to rise. We are not taking a siesta, however, so we are very tired by the end of the day.

We started our day out by picking up the Bus Turistic, which has a stop very close to our condo. We picked up the blue line, which took us past the Olympic beach area, and within proximity of the Picasso Museum, the Cathedral and Gothic Quarter and finally at Placa Cataluyna. This is where we got off, to switch to the red line, which will take us through the Eixample area and much of the Gauidi stuff.

Before hopping the red bus, however, we had to run down to Starbucks and get a “real” coffee, and more importantly, on we could take with us in a cup. I did not try to pay with my Starbucks card this time. It was too crowded. But I will before we leave.