Barcelona

Barcelona was wonderful!  One thing about Europe - they have such great public transport.  Using Google maps, you can put in your destination and it tells you which bus or train to take.  We walked out of the airport, hopped on the bus and were soon on our way.  It didn't take long at all for us to notice how smooth the roads were.  In Malta, every road you drive on is filled with pot holes; the kind that swallow a small car.  In Spain, not only were the roads great, but the ride itself was smooth.  Not once did the driver slam on the brakes, take a corner on two wheels, throw passengers and luggage to the floor or any of the other crazy driving that seems to be the norm in Malta.

I found our hotel using Booking.com.  I chose one in a central area that had great reviews and a very good price.  After I made the reservation I took a closer look at the reviews.  They were all positive, but I noticed an interesting theme that made me wonder what we were in for.  The name of the hotel was La Franca but it was called the love hotel.  The reviews talked about how great the service was, how nice the rooms were, how quiet the rooms were; the things you look for in a hotel.  But digging deeper I also notice comments about how discreet the staff was, how interesting the parking situation was, comments about the windows being blacked out, and most alarming, how there were mirrors everywhere.  If not for the great reviews, I may have changed the reservation, but we decided what the heck, we were up for the adventure.  As we approached the address, we didn't see a big sign that you typically associate with a hotel.  Instead, there was a small plaque at the entrance to an underground driveway.  We approached just as a cab was pulling up, but when he entered the driveway, someone drew a huge black curtain closed behind the car and in front of us.  We thought maybe we have the wrong entrance, so we walked around the block.  Nope, that was the only way in.  The black curtain was now open, so we slowly made our way down the driveway.  On one side we could see what looked like huge parking spaces, but they were all blocked by the same black curtains.  A man appeared out of nowhere and asked us, very nicely, what we wanted. We asked if this was the hotel and he ushered us into a nice lobby.  We were given our room key and shown to our room.  The room was beautiful, but indeed, there were mirrors everywhere, including a very large one angled right at the king size bed.  But that turned out not to be a problem.  The windows were painted black (we couldn't get them open) and when you turned out the very, very dim lights, it was pitch black!  There was a big screen TV with about 5 free porn sites.  I know, the place sounds like a rent by the hour place, but really, I would stay there again.  The rooms were great; it was by far, the most comfortable bed I've ever slept on in my life.  I think the mattress was a high quality memory foam pillow top.  Our room had a nice sitting area with 2 comfortable couches.  The staff was awesome and the location was good.  We did laugh every time we left and came back though.  If there was someone in the lobby, we were ushered to another door and a different elevator.  The curtains were always drawn shut so you couldn't see who's car was parked, nor could you see who was getting out of the frequent cabs that pulled up.  If we both arrived at the same time, we were asked to wait till they got out of the cab and into the hotel.  It became almost a game to see if we could catch a glimpse of any other guests. 

 

Mic had been to Barcelona before, and he was excited to show me the Rambla.  It is the most famous boulevard which cuts through the heart of the city center.  The crowded street is popular with tourists and locals alike. The middle part of the Rambla is pedestrian only and bordered by trees. Kiosks, flower stalls and street artists are in abundance here. Traffic passes on either side of the pedestrian area and there are many narrow streets and alley ways fanning out like a maze where you can find thousands of little shops, cafes and restaurants.  There is a huge fresh market and we headed there first.  It's called La Boqueria market and you could spend hours wandering around in there.  This market is bustling with people and it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the contrasting colors and range of produce that is available. The market has many stalls selling vegetables, fruits, fresh meat, cheese, candy, nuts and local seafood as well as a few tapas bars with local dishes on sale.

The first mention of the Boqueria market in Barcelona dates from 1217, when tables were installed near the old city gate to sell meat. From 1470 onwards, a pig market was held at this site; at this time it was known as Mercat Bornet.  Until 1794, it was known simply as Mercat de la Palla, or straw market.  Later, the authorities decided to construct a separate market on La Rambla, housing mainly fishmongers and butchers. It was not until 1826 that the market was legally recognized, and a convention held in 1835 decided to build an official structure. Construction began in 1840 under the direction of the architect Mas Vilà. The market officially opened in the same year, but the plans for the building were modified many times. The inauguration of the structure finally took place in 1853. A new fish market opened in 1911, and the metal roof that still exists today was constructed in 1914.  'La Boqueria is also a great place for taking photos, as many tourists do. It might irritate the locals a little bit, but given its location on Las Ramblas, the main tourist street, it is to be expected.  The piled up fresh fruits and vegetables and splendid displays of fresh fish make for some wonderful photographs.  After trying some of the amazing fresh fruit juices, we decided it was time for some real food.  We wandered around a bit and finally found a little cafe and had some sandwiches.  It was now late afternoon and a great time for a siesta.  When in Spain, right?  We woke up quite late, which was perfect for dinner.  We found a nice little tapas place near our hotel and had some great tacos.  Even though it was close to midnight when we finished, there were a lot of people out, so we walked down to the waterfront near the Arena de Barcelona.  It was a beautiful night and people were enjoying the night air.  There were a lot of street vendors and we saw the same thing no matter where we went or when.  They were selling selfie sticks, sunglasses, refrigerator magnets and fans.  They did a booming business apparently because everyone had a selfie stick and every bus or train we took, we saw almost all of the ladies fanning themselves.  It was pretty hot, so it was at least a useful item.

The second day we decided to check out the beach.  In Malta, most of the 'beaches' are in fact rocks.  There are very few sandy beaches and the ones we do have are very crowded.  We had a nice day just laying on actual sand and walking along the promenade, where we found a few small street markets.  I had looked at the restaurant options and was delighted to find a Vietnamese restaurant not too far from our hotel.  At dinner time we set off for a nice walk in a different direction.  I absolutely love Barcelona, in part because it is a very walkable city.  Not only walkable, but bikeable.  There are dedicated bike lanes, but unlike the ones I was familiar with, these really are just for bikes.  The bike and car lanes are separated by, essentially, a speed bump running between them.  The sidewalks are very wide and very clean, unlike Malta.  In Malta, the sidewalks are littered with dog droppings.  They are extremely narrow, barely wide enough for one person.  The sidewalks are chipped and cracked, often with gaping holes.  There is always construction, so you find yourself weaving in and out of scaffolding or workers and their gear, ladders, or buckets.

 As we walked along, we admired the different architecture, often right next to each other.  The people were very friendly, even though neither of us speaks Spanish.   We arrived at the restaurant and our waiter seated us, but didn't look too happy to be working.  I knew exactly what I wanted and looked at the menu to find it, but it was in Spanish.  I asked him if he spoke English and he said yes.  When I describe what I wanted, however, I was met with a cold, blank stare.  I again asked if he spoke English, again he said yes, but wouldn't answer any questions and just continued to stare at me in a very unfriendly way.  I know what the dish was called in Vietnamese, (I thought he might speak that), but got the same blank look.   Eventually I ordered what I thought might be what I was looking for, but who knew.  It's a very common dish, one I've had at every Vietnamese restaurant I've ever eaten at.   Mic had better luck finding what he wanted on the menu and we sat back and waited.  I guess he did understand me, for the most part, because I got what I wanted even if the spring rolls were the wrong type.  The food was actually good, so we walked home satisfied. 

Of course no trip to a major city is complete without a hop on hop off tour, so that was on the agenda for day 3.  We never actually hopped off the bus though.  We enjoyed our drive around town, there were some spectacular buildings.  I'm not very interested in architecture, but there were some beautiful buildings and some I would politely term 'different'.  One of the odd ones is the Torre Agbar building which marks the gateway to the new technological district of Barcelona.  It was designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and supposed to represent a geyser rising up into the air.  The locals call it by some different names, el supositori" (the suppository), "l'obús" (the shell) and other, more phallic names.  It's design combines a number of different architectural concepts, resulting in a striking structure built with reinforced concrete, covered with a facade of glass, and over 4,500 window openings cut out of the structural concrete. A defining feature of the building is its nocturnal illumination. It has 4,500 LED devices that allow generation of luminous images on its facade. In addition, the outside of the tower has temperature sensors that regulate the opening and closing of the window blinds of the facade, reducing the consumption of energy for air conditioning.

Other, more beautiful, buildings are those designed by Antoni Gaudi.  One such building is La Pedrera.  This is one of Gaudí's main residential buildings and one of the most imaginative houses in the history of architecture.  This building is more a sculpture than a building.  The facade is a varied and harmonious mass of undulating stone that, along with its forged iron balconies, explores the irregularities of the natural world.  UNESCO recognized this building as World Heritage in 1984.

Casa Batlló is the result of a total restoration in 1904 of an old conventional house built in 1877.  Gaudí used for it the typical constructive elements of the Modernisme (Catalan Art Nouveau) that include ceramics, stone and forged iron.  Even though it was highly criticized by the city during construction for its radical design that broke all the bylaws of the city, in 1906 it was awarded by the Barcelona City Council as one of the three best buildings of the year.

La Sagrada Familia is the most famous of Gaudí’s works.  The church presents a great depiction of the relationship between man, nature, and religion through its architecture and facade sculptures. Construction of Sagrada Família had commenced in 1882 and Gaudí became involved in 1883, taking over the project and transforming it with his architectural and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted his last years to the project, and at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.  Sagrada Família's construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and was interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress in the 1950s. Construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with some of the project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date of 2026, the centenary of Gaudí's death.

The bus tour took all day but we saw most of the sights we wanted to see.  The following day we decided to take the Montjuïc Cable Car.  Its a gondola lift that goes up in the hills around Barcelona.  It was a hot day and the lines were long but for once, a tourist attraction actually did something about it.  They provided large umbrellas for people to use and they had misting fans.  Even on the platform, we had a great view of the harbor area.  On the way up the hill, the view got even better as you could now see the entire city below.  After a very expensive beverage at the cafe on top, we opted to walk down.  It was a steep hill, I'm glad we were headed down and not up.  The bus tour talked about parrots living in the trees and we finally got a glimpse of them.  We could hear them all around us and after a lot of eye strain, we finally saw them.  I later found out they are called Monk parakeets.  They can be seen in several Spanish cities including Barcelona, Madrid, Tarragona and on the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands. They generally only live in urban areas.

 For dinner that night we decided on something special.  The Areanas de Barcelona is a former bull fighting arena converted into a recreational complex with a large roof top terrace.  It's a beautiful building from the outside.  There is a glass elevator that takes you to the roof top where there are several very nice restaurants.  We had a fabulous meal with an even better view of the entire city at night. 

After dinner we walked over to the Magic Fountain of Montjuïc.  The fountain, like most of the surrounding developments, was constructed for the 1929 Barcelona International Exposition.  It was badly damaged in the Spanish Civil War in 1936 and was not repaired until 1955.  In 1980 music was incorporated in the light show.  In 1992 it was completely restored  for the summer Olympics.   Performances include film, classical, and modern music, such as The Godfather, The Lord of the Rings, Gladiator, a Spanish zarzuela movement, and "Barcelona" by Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé.  Today, the music ranges from modern pop songs (ex. Katy Perry's "Firework") to classical, and changes during each half-hour performance. Smaller fountains line the walkway up to the "Magic Fountain". You can see some of the show from the top of the art museum which is directly above it. Local vendors flock to the area to offer wares from Spanish fans to beverages, but be wary as this activity can be considered illegal. This is a great free feature that brings wonder to the whole family. And of course, we went on a night it was not in operation.  But we did enjoy the walk, there was still a lot to see. 

On our last day I did some shopping.  We found a giant flea market and spent several hours poking around in there.  It seemed to be mostly junk, to me at least, so I decided to head over to the Rambla again and explore the little side streets on my own.  I also stumbled upon another Vietnamese restaurant.  This time the service and the food were great.  I also found a beautiful church tucked back in a small square.  It had a wonderful little garden with statues and fountains.  I visited the La Boqueria market again and took more pictures.  This time it wasn't as crowded and I had time to see more of the venders offerings.  There were some butchers who had quite the display of meat including penises, testicles, brain, tongue and some parts I was unable to identify.  I spent all day shopping, but actually bought very little.  It's quite handy on by budget traveling with just a carry on!

 

After my shopping trip we met back up to go back to the Magic Fountain.  We were still out of luck with regards to the light show, but it was still a very beautiful area.  There were a series of steps and each level had its own fountain.  There were beautiful columns and gardens all around.  Montjuc Castle sits at the very top and it's a beautiful structure.  It was certainly worth going back to see during the day, but I would love to have seen the light show.

 Soon enough it was time to head back to Malta, but it was a wonderful trip.   I loved Barcelona!  The people were friendly, it was a very easy city to get around, wonderful transit system, wonderful bike lanes, so many things to see and do.  I would love to go back, but there are so many other places I want to see.