Gaudi is most famous for the work he did on La Sagrada Familia, the cathedral which was constructed beginning in 1883. It is still a work in progress, although, in our humble opinion, it is not the most traditional cathedral you have ever seen. It is a one-of-a kind, for sure.
Between the two days here, there are 10 tours offered from shore excursions. They range in time from 2 ½ to 4 hours and cost from $55 to $120. One of these tour leaves from Barcelona tomorrow for Madrid for 2 nights and three days, arriving back in Cadiz.
Things to see on the tours (or on your own) include the La Sagrada Familia, consecrated by Pope Benedict XIV as a basilica in 2010. Also, there is Gaudi's Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, as well as Park Guell. Seeing Casa Batllo is like stepping into a Star War's film with the odd-looking chimney caps on the roof.
Many tours to museums are offered to those that like history and art. You can also do a walking tour of La Rambla, the tree-lined pedestrian walkway that is the most lively street in town. This avenue is dotted with historical buildings, cafes, shops, street artists, and vendors. And you can find Burger King, KFC, McDonald's, and Starbucks. And they are quite busy places with all of the younger crowd. Unfortunately, along with this crowded place comes the always present pick pocketing. There was a direct warning in the Daily Navigator warning of different types of scams and techniques that are used to rob the folks. The gentlemen in our group were warned not to carry their wallets in their back pocket, and the ladies were told not to carry large handbags or back packs. We have heard stories firsthand about bags and even pockets being slashed with knives to steal your things. It is a shame, but even some gypsies put their children to work, stealing from unsuspecting elderly people. It could be as innocent as watching some of those "painted" street artists that barely move. While you are watching, your pockets are being emptied. Not the way we want to spend a vacation. So ladies, leave the good jewelry and brand name handbags on the ship. And watch those cameras. We personally know of an elderly couple that got lost in the Gothic area at night, and got mugged (yes, they can be violent), and their cameras, money, credit cards, and passports were stolen. And that was on a pre-cruise back in the 90's. We never forgot it.
Another area we hope to cover tomorrow, is the Olympic Harbor and the Maremagnum commercial section and shopping mall. Always great pictures to take, and several interesting places to eat. Always lots of tourists there, but that is part of the fun.
One area of the city was dedicated for the site of the 1992 Olympic Games is Montjuic. You can overlook the harbor and city, and see the venues of the games. A cable car takes people from Montjuic to the Marmagnum Mall, probably a fun ride, although we have never done that. There is also a village up there that is the remains of a Spanish settlement. Now it has touristy cafes and souvenir shops. We have gone to a flamenco show with tapas in this village a few years ago.
Another fun trip out of town is one to the Montserrat Monastery, located on a mountain ridge six miles long and three miles wide. The elevation is 4050 feet, and the ride up there is on a switch-back road with hairpin turns. The patron-virgin, the black Madonna, is housed in this Benedictine Monastery, founded in the 11th century. Years ago, we had the pleasure of hearing the oldest boys' choir in Europe., the Escolans, singing in the loft of the monastery. It was spell-bounding, even though we only caught the end of the performance. Also at that time, we waited in an impossibly long line to view the black Madonna and child, which was surprisingly small in stature.
So today, we left the ship around 10:30am. No shuttle for us, as the walk was the perfect way to get where we were going. The fare today was 5 euro for a round trip, which was good for only one day. As the ship was in Terminal C, we had further to walk. But the weather was wonderful…..the sun was out, and there was a pleasant breeze. There were other ships in port, but mostly ferries. One cruise ship was docked very close to town, and that was the Silverseas Muse. A fairly new ship, we do not have the stats on this fine small ship. Having sailed on the Silver Whisper on the west coast of the USA, we can highly recommend absolutely everything about her. It is pricey, but it is also all-inclusive.
Walking over the bridge, we watched a helicopter take off from under us. Just like being in a James Bond movie scene, as the chopper flew right over our heads. The view from the top of the harbor bridge was spectacular. Within an hour or less, we were at the base of the Christopher Columbus Statue at the bottom of Las Ramblas. It was here that we ran into friends Eddie and Lee, who had also walked her from the ship. The remarkable thing is that they are both in their 90's, so that is wonderful. They were proud that they could still do it. We took several photos of them in front of the Columbus Statue, and they got our photo as well. Hope we are still able to walk like that when we reach that age.
From there, we walked up Las Ramblas, passing many landmarks, cafes, souvenir stands, and street artists. You know the ones that paint themselves, and "freeze frame" in an odd position. You might think they are statues, until they flinch. And of course, if you take photos, they expect tips. And like we stated earlier, watch your pockets.
One place we like to stop at is the St. Joseph Market or La Boqueria. It is a large public market where you can find fresh goods, meats, fish, cheese, and produce. You can also purchase food-to-go and freshly cut fruit, and several varieties of squeezed juice. The original building was actually created in 1217, and officially inaugurated in 1853. One very famous product they sell are the iberico jamon, huge legs of cured ham. You can see how they slice the meat thinly off of the bone wile t is attached to a stainless steel framework. It can be quite expensive. It was incredibly crowded today with many locals trying to shop, and also eat lunch. Unknown to us, another cruise ship had docked right behind us in the port area. It was the MSC Fantasia, built in 2008. One of 12 ships, it is 137,936 gross tons with a capacity of up to 4363 berths. No wonder the streets had gotten so crowded. We ended up taking lot of pictures, but bought nothing. It was getting too close for comfort, so we continued going uphill to our final destination……lunch.
And that happened to be at the Hard Rock Café for two things. Lunch and a city t-shirt. We located the new shirt in the correct size, then had a five minute wait to get a table inside. This was the first time we found space to dine in here. This time we ordered the cobb salads and two ½ pint beers with a small side order of garlic bread. The restaurant filled up with customers by the time we left at 2pm…..many of them families with young kids.
An hour had flown by all too quickly, so we figured it was time to move on. Right across the street, there is a large square with several decorative fountains, trees, and views of the city. It is called Plaza Catalunya. This is where you can get on and off the local buses (Ho Ho). Needless to say, it was quite crowded. Last year, while we were here, there were demonstrators that were supporting refugees from other countries. There was also a noticeable presence of police with a show of force and police vans parked nearby for possible arrests. We felt that any moment a riot could occur. So we did not linger for long. All of that was gone today, and all that was left were the monuments, statues, and a bunch of vendors selling balloons, toys, and food for the young kids. If you continued from this point, you would end up on Passeig de Gracia, and Gaudi's house among other sites.
Last year, we tried to find our way to La Sagrada Familia Cathedral, but never made it. We understand that getting inside now, has to be reserved well ahead of time. You cannot get in that easily. So since we have toured there many times over the years, we did not feel the need to get into that mess of a crowd. And besides, this is another famous area with pick pockets.
We headed for the Gothic area instead, as it would take us back down to the bottom. From the top at the square, we could see the 13th century cathedral with spires that are also similar to the big one La Sagrada. We went up a side street to take photos of the Palace of the Music, as it has a unique façade. Bet Gaudi was here too. A line of tourists were going inside, but we just took pictures of the front, the best thing to do here.
The square in front of the church was full of folks at the side cafes enjoying lunch and sipping wine and beer. More street vendors were doing the huge bubble thing for the little ones. Tables and tents were set up with many treasures offered. From here, we walked the winding streets and alleyways full of squares, fountains, and palaces. When we began going down tight, narrow lanes with no people, we thought it best to make our way back to Las Ramblas.
We took a lucky turn, and ended up coming out at the Burger King corner. Perfect, as one of us had spotted a souvenir tent with some unique jewelry. One necklace happened to be a pretty close match to a pair of earrings I already own. The price was right at 8 euro, so a keepsake from Las Ramblas was finally found.
It was more crowded now as the afternoon wore on. So in order to avoid the crowd at the Columbus Monument, we went straight in the direction of the cruise terminal. Should have checked with a map, since not all the streets run parallel. We ended up heading for the hills of Montjuic, and there were no side streets that crossed over to the marina road. So we back tracked and ended up finding the right way back.
Walking over the bridge, we spotted the new cruise ship that had docked near the Amsterdam. Sure made us look puny, as this ship was big….like twice as big. No wonder the city was full of tourists. This is a good time of the year to be here, although, because summertime can be very hot, and even more congested.
Got back by 4pm, and relaxed again until it was time for dinner. All of us were there this evening, sharing our stories of the day, which is always fun. One of the hot soups was minestrone, so one of us had two bowls. Never know if it will be offered again, if at all. Then another good entrée was the Mexican dish of carne asada, another favorite
treat. A scoop of pistachio ice cream for dessert was perfect.
Maureen Jim, and Barb had left the table early to see the local performance of Flamenco Fiesta, a group of dancers with expressive and beautiful numbers. It began at 9:30pm, one show for everyone. Too early for the rest of us, since we did not choose to rush through our meal. Maureen laughingly said she needed to go and see if the dancers were a younger group than the ones that performed two years ago. That kind of says it all. Not that the older dancers are not good, they lack the energy of the younger crowd.
Looking forward to another full day in Barcelona tomorrow.
Bill & Mary Ann
Busy harbor
Commercial harbor as well
Cranes for a big port
Could this be a fishing boat?
An incredible amount of gulls following
They must be dumping the by catch
Smart birds know a source of food
Local tug
Castle on top of Montjuic
Gangway went off on deck two
Our window garden
The chopper lifting off
Went right overhead
Harbor bridge that lifts for ship traffic
Large ferry
Walk across the bridge
Gondola ride from Montjuic to the Olympic Harbor
Silverseas Muse – a fairly new vessel
Looking towards the World Trade Center
A large ferry
Amsterdam docked in C Terminal
Far away from the bridge and town
The Muse
Harbor front road
Gondola goes over the Columbus Monument
Wide streets in Barcelona
Walk towards downtown
Top of the gondola ride on Montjuic
Many tourists are squeezed inside the cab
Olympic Rings from 1992
View of the massive colonial buildings
A famous icon near the Columbus Monument
A port building
Gargoyles on the roof
The monument is at the bottom of Las Ramblas
Excellent info
Which way to go?
The perfect photo
Columbus points the way (there are tourists under the statue)
Friends, Eddie and Lee
Iconic statue
One of the lions at the statue
Old remnants of the old city
Modern mixed with the old
Will explore here today
Romanesque arches
Many tourists today
There is a person under all that paint – very odd indeed
The start of the main street
Sycamores line the street
Many families on vacation
Treasures
Love the balconies
Some balconies are very nice
Crowded avenue
Unusual dediction
Tempting works of art
Sidewalk cafes
People lugging suitcases from the hotel to the ferries
Three foot long straws
A McDonalds you could easily pass by (understated)
Good signs for tourists
The Theater del Liceu
Old buildings everywhere you look
Clever cactus pots for the fridge
Spring flowers
Balconies and fire escapes
Pretty as a postcard
St. Joesp Market (Boqueria)
Iberico Jamon – cured hams
Juices and fruit cups
Fresh veggies
Gosh these looked good
Breaded and fried calamari
Iberico pork on a cutting device
Fresh produce
Empanadas – spicy or no spicy
Mystery meat – cabrit sencer? Anyone know what this is?
Pick up spot behind the market
Assorted fish
Many varieties
Many unusual parts are sold
They sell a lot of fish
Fresh
Snapper and shrimps
Some of the shrimp were still alive
Large unknown fish
