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Published: August 27th 2011
Fat Tire Bike Tour
Chris, our guide, Was fantasticJust noticed that I have not been putting dates associated with these locations so I will do that from now on. Sorry for the mixup. Lots of times I am posting these a good bit after the actual stay so dates would probably help folks make sense of it all, if anyone cares. 😊
The trip to Barcelona from Madrid was our first train trip of this vacation. We were very impressed with the comfort and efficiency of the train systems in Spain. That said it's a good thing I had a great book ("Heretic", by Bernard Cornwell - final book in the 3 book series " The Archers Tail" - highly recommended if you like great historical fiction centered in the late 14th century) because the scenry was pretty drab. Barren, hilly, lowlands and dusty plains with not much special to speak of along the way. However the train was a high speed version and the trip took a little over 2 hours with just a few stops. We pulled into Barcelona Sants station and (thanks to Deb's trusty BBerry with navigation) we found the closest Metro line to Liceu (on the L3 or Green Line). That cost 1.50
Bike Tour
Deb has a good ride! euro for a ticket. After the short 3 stops trip we made our way to the street level with luggage in hand. The stairs brought us out onto La Rambla which after the quite, tranquel, emptiness of Madrid made us think we made a wrong turn and ended up in NYC on Times Square. The street was mobbed. We had read that it was always busy but we were not prepared, mentally, for the crowds. La Rambla cuts a north/south line through the center of the Old Gothic quarter of Barcelona, called Barri Gotic. The Barri Gotic is the oldest part of the established city (which dates back to the Romans in 43BC when it was created as a retirement city for old generals who deserved a reward for services to the state. I digress. So, we navingated our way through narrow winding streets (goes without saying really - hehe) to the next apartment in our travels.
This one was smaller than our Madrid place but it was all on one level. It had AC but it was a noisy potable unit with a long, wide exhaust hose that limited its portability. But it was comfortable and we felt it
Sagrada Familia
Huge, unbelievable and epic. Supposed to be complete in 2036 but there is still tons to be accomplished, literally! was a good deal for the money. The biggest problem was no WiFi. That hurt but there was not much we could do. The landlords were nice and did have a list of free WiFi locations for us so we just went with the flow. We arrived there on Wed in the afternoon. Same eating culture existed in Barcelona as Madrid so we were out of luck for a leisurly lunch. We did some unpacking and headed out to see about getting some provisions to stock the fridge. Found a small place off Placa St. Jaume (very close to the apt) that carried soda, water, bread, eggs, cheese, milk and coffee so we were set. For some reason we were tired and decided to walk a little around Gotic but eat in and relax so that is what we did.
Part of that relaxing included reading some of the brochures they had left around for us to peruse. One perked our interest in particular and we decided take it in on the morrow.
Sign up for the Fat Tire Bike tours started at 1100 again in the Placa St. Jaume. Deb and I queued up and went along for
Arc de Triumph
Apparently built because they wanted one too - just like Paris what was a really great 3 hour slice of our time. Our tour guide, Chris, took us all over the Gotic, Eixample, and Ciutat Vella areas of Barcelona with stops showing highlights along the way. Then toward the end, we made a stop on the Barcelonetta beach for a light lunch and drinks followed by a short ride back. Turns out that Chris is a Hokie (for those not in the know that means he is a graduate of VA Tech, my Alma Mater as well) and graduated in 2000 a few years after me (1979). He has lived in Barcelona as an expat for 8 years and loves it, great and very knowledgable city guide. Loved that tour. We did one in Paris when we were there last and if a city has one we recommend going. In our experience it has been low stress, high pay off. Very relaxing. Some of the pics will show where we stopped along our city trek. Oh, and the weather was cooperating as well which always helps.
While researching our travels we were reminded over and over about the presence of pickpockets and thieves especially in metropolitian settings. Deb was a
Palau De La Musica Catalana
This concert hall was inspired (not built) by Gaudi. David Byrne (Talking Heads) played here. victim before in Paris so we took it seriously. We travel with a special fanny pouch that has a few features to help deter or slow thieves (without weapons that is) down. It is made from flexible but durible tightly woven nylon. It has a band reinforced with steel cable that prevents it from being slashed with a knife. The plastic snap connectors on that band have a velcro cover that make a lot of noise if someone tries to get to the connectors to undo them. Finally, it has 3 zippered compartments and all of the zippers can be clipped into a single locking hook that is meant to slow down thieves and give you time to notice movement. We felt pretty safe and secure.
Well I'm hear to tell you that if we didn't have that pack we would be out about 500 euro today. Here is what went down.
The day after our bike tour we were inspired, after seeing Antonio Gaudi's Sagrada Famillia (first pointed to by "Stac" back at AFAMS), to see more of his work in this, his home town. So, we began the day by heading to the Metro stop called Drassanes
Casa Batilo
Truely inspiring! Defies categorization. Having said that I don't know if I could live in it. A little too weird but so cool. It would be great in a Tim Burton movie. (one below Liceu) to get us to Casa Batilo, one of Gaudi's famous home designs. It was mid morning on Fri and the platform was crowded. Deb and I were standing, just chatting and unknown to us at the time there were other people targeting us as victims. The Barcelona Metro has little displays hung from the ceiling to let passengers know when the next train will be arriving. I recall seeing 2 minutes. I had the "special" butt pack on "bandolier "style so the pouch was over my heart, all zippers clipped-in and band fully secured. The train was pulling into the station and Deb and I held hands getting ready to board. The train stopped, doors opened and folks started to exit. Immediately after the surge to board began. I have been in cirumstances like this before in other large city subway systems. It gives you an appreciation for the plight of sardines (well if they weren't dead). Folks surged to fill the void left by those having just left. Deb and I got seperated in the shuffle with her ahead of me but still in my sight. I remember the hands pushing me from many directions but
Hike to Park Guell
Yes It really was as steep as it looked, but Park Guell was awesome and Gaudi was a genius. I vividly remember (after the fact) my left arm being raised higher than normal. The surge continued and I , for some reason, was pushing as well sort of fighting and urging the crowd to move in. Although I was pressing down on the arm that was lifting my left arm up I made no extra effort to lower my arm.
Unknown to me then, a second hand from another accomplice was working the clip on the zippers to get the zippers free in the small gap made from my left arm raised away from the pouch. The push began to let up , Debi was still ahead and she turned around to find me. Whe she did she saw me but at the sam time saw the hand working the zipper clip. She called to me and at that moment I heard a voice to my left say "andiamo" (Italian for lets go). I remember glancing left to see a tall young man and just below him a short blond young women. The boy and I made eye contact that lasted a nanosecond if that. The girl just booked with him and in an instant they were gone
Pavillion at Park Guell
You really have to see it to beleive it. It's like alice in wonderland. and the doors were closing. I remember I got my left arm back then and immediately went to the pouch. I found all the zippers unclipped. I looked in the important pouch and thank God they never got in there to get the money. All this happend in less than 15 seconds. I flipped out and the rest of the day everyone looked like they were out to rip us off.
That event had a lasting effect but we still had a glorious time in Barcelona as the pictures will attest. The food was fabulous, weather to die for, lovely people, and a history older than I had imagined. Plus I have been growing fond of FCBarcelona the fantastic football team that resides here. I still have to watch more Torino Seri A soccer because it is after all my sudo-hometown for now. But Barcelona is an awesome team. The intelligent passing game is a thing to behold. We left Barcelona with mostly great memories and a lot of knowledge about its history and the diverse spanish culture. On to Marseille and the next part of our adventure.
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