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Published: January 12th 2008
The first time I was in Barcelona I spent a grand total of an hour, seeing little more than the
Sagrada Familia (which was impressive btw).
This time thankfully, I got a night and the better part of an afternoon. Doesn't sound long but I had the priceless advantage of a local as a guide and chauffeur! 😊
We weren't flying in early to start with but the flight delay by over an hour meant that we were too late to catch the special Christmas lighting at the Sagrada Familia and at many places. The rain was also keeping people behind doors so it was a rather quiet Saturday night in the Catalonian capital.
We drove around town for an overview and swung by
Camp Nou, where to my surprise, some dedicated shemales perched by the roadside touting their services despite the weather. Even though it wasn't exactly legal business and conducted in full view of some policemen no less, everybody seemed oblivious to the going-ons.
We also passed the stylish Art Hotel as we took in the glitz of the trendy marina with its well-heeled clientele of trendy locals and inhibition-free tourists.
Dinner was in
a eatery in the outskirt Molins de Rey and comprised a refreshing plate of russian salad,
patatas bravas (of course) and another typical dish
embotits iberics - a long-ish, wide-ish sort of toasted baguette topped with at least 3 different types of cured meat the likes of
chorizo and
jamon. I didn't have space for dessert that night.
The next day we were mercifully graced with an extended sunny spell that made our walk around
Parc Guell most enjoyable. Gaudi's creations were definitely curious and a musician playing amidst the tall white pillars of the open hall with its acoustics-boosting ceilings certainly enhanced the experience. The alfresco cafe with a rather tropical setting sitting atop the park offers nice views over the city and out to sea and must surely be very popular in the summer.
Torre Agbar, the architectural statement by a local water supplier, looks like the glittery mosaic sister of London's Gherkin and shares similar monikers such as cucumber and other less repeatable ones.
We explored some shops on our way to the Sant Feliu market where the little stalls were ablaze with bright Christmas decorations including the traditional wooden Tio (supposedly a magical
character that defecates presents in a little game that the children play on Christmas day itself) and other Caga figurines of politicians with their pants down. These were quite entertaining as the faces of these figurines change each year according to which politicians was under public fire at the time of production. Santa Claus dolls were either posing or hanging acrobatically off roofs in many stalls but I was told that he was a recently imported character in the festivities. The true traditional decorations were the
pessebre, which depicts the bible's nativity scene. A life-sized version is constructed yearly at
Plaça Sant Jaume between the townhall of Barcelona and
Generalitat de Catalunya.
We also strolled down the pretty boulevard of
Les Ramblas and entered the dizzying labyrinth of
La Boqueria, enticed by the fascinating display of local foodstuff and mouth watering selections of fresh fruit juices, chocolates and sweets. One stall was actually called Vidal Pons, the exact last names of J!
I attempted to buy some Catalan books but found to my surprise more Spanish ones instead. Did get a verb conjugation book and another featuring fairy tale favourites in the end. I suspect I might have
better luck with the latter.
Left for Arbeca in the afternoon, passing the imposing Montserrat on the 1.5hr journey. I resolve to visit the monastery there some day.
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