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Published: August 30th 2012
Louise reflects....
Well my thoughts of ‘stepping out’ into Barcelona nightlife last night came to naught as jetlag set in big time and I was asleep by 9pm. I had a leisurely sleep in this morning until 8.30 am while Wigs went off on an early morning sortie and then while he made a few blog posts I set off on my quest to test out my lack-lustre Spanish on some poor unsuspecting Hotel Avenida employee.
I managed to throw ‘desayuno’ (breakfast) and ‘habitacion quatro, seis, uno’ (room four, six, one) around and a threw in a ‘café solo’ (black coffee) just to impress and before you could say ‘delusions of grandeur’ the breakfast waitress and me were…acquainted. Topped off with a ‘hasta manana’ and I reckon she really is looking forward to seeing me tomorrow! (not!)
Sadly, most of the breakfast buffet was the same as any breakfast buffet anywhere in the world – juice, stewed prunes, yogurt and cooked Bain Marie scrambled eggs. What gave it a bit of Catalan flavor were some chorizo sausages that were spicy and delicious! As you can see Hotel Avenida is a bit of a baroque extravaganza – cool in
an ‘over the top’ kind of way but the clientele are a little too elderly and culturally ‘disconnected’ for my liking. Just a few manners seem to go a long way - personally I wouldn’t last 5 minutes in hospitality – people are so presumptive and rude they would draw my ire in a nano-second!
Both Wigs and I were a bit spatially challenged as we made our way to the assembly point for the Fat Tire Bike tour of Barcelona. We made it to Placa Sant Jaumes with a minute to spare and joined a group of about 16 people on a 4-hour tour of the main sights of the city. Most of the group were Aussies with one couple from New York and another a Latvian woman with a Jordanian boyfriend who met in London – she was a waitress, he a chef! (Got that detail outta them over lunch!)
Our tour guide who was also named Jordan had an amazing knowledge of history (delivered with laconic humor) – just my kind of fella! We set off around the streets of the city – sometimes through small, protected laneways and sometimes in convoy out onto the
streets of traffic all travelling on the other side of the road! Needless to say a few initial nerves were expended but then it was …well…easy as riding a bike! As we progressed into the day a bank of seriously ominous looking clouds appeared and a few sporadic blobs of rain started to fall. When we were at the Parc de La Ciutadella (a beautiful public park built on the site of a military citadel with a dark history) the guide declared that the last summer rain had resulted in floods and he feared we might strike similar weather in less than 20 minutes.
Rather than cycle down to the beach we made our way to a tapas bar where poor Wigs met his gluten nemesis in a set of shelves loaded with delicious food all balanced on ‘pan con glutin’ – bread with gluten – so that even after interrogation of the chef it was agreed there was nothing in the place he could eat. Bravely he set out into nearby alleys to find a meal whilst I set about devouring a smoked salmon and white onion tapas, a olive and anchovy tapas, a cream cheese, capers and
tomato salsa tapas and a potato frittata tapas with a generous tumbler of summer wine (fruit punch and red wine) all for 11.6 €!
While we were at lunch the rain got worse and in Melbourne terms it wasn’t too bad but for riding bikes on smooth marble tiles or cobble stones it was declared a ‘cancellation’ so we made our way back to the bike shop without completing the tour. Poor Wigs, who had finally found a restaurant to serve him a gluten-free meal had about 5 minutes to eat his lunch before I had to drag him away because Jordan was eager to get back to the bike shop before the heavens opened further! Oh the suffering of the coeliac!
We picked Jordan’s brain about the best things to do in Barcelona in the rain which resulted in the most amazing walk through the El Raval district through ancient alleyways where we bought a leopard skin print (pillbox) umbrella for 5€ and ‘dos café espresso’ for 3€. Phoenix found a few prime places for future sorties and there was a surreptitious posting of a double whirlpool sticker I a doorway already well tagged with street art.
Fetching leopard print umbrella
This fountain was supposed to be pickpocket central but i was the only one there!
(Side note: As I type Phoenix has left the building with his selection of paste ups and some PVA purchased earlier from the hardware store in department store El Cortes Ingles…I have dutifully informed him that I will continue the holiday without him should he meet with any issues with the policia!
We found ourselves in the rain in Placa Rieal, that all the guidebooks declare as the centre for pickpocketing and nefarious activities – but as you can see from the photo I had the fountain and square to myself and n’ere a robber to be seen! We found a sign that seemed to suggest something about Jesus’ colon that was a bit confusing but we moved on and consumed a fantastic espresso and cricket ball sized nectarine that buoyed our energy and capacity to navigate the streets to the La Funicular, a tram like set of carriages that took as up a steep incline to the Montjuic district where we spent a few hours in the Fundacio Joan Miro.
What an astounding place! Quite like Sydney’s Mrs. Macquarie’s chair in appearance this area this is set high on a hill overlooking the city and contains a
set of parks and art museums including a purpose built space for the works of Miro. What times he lived through and how devoted he was to his and the ongoing patronage of experimental art he was – the Fundacio Joan Miro is chock a block with every Miro piece you have ever seen in books or anywhere for that manner with a special section where the work of the artist who has received the Miro Foundation prize is exhibited in a beautiful white gallery. The roof terrace featuring a series of outdoor sculptures that proved too much of a photo opportunity for us – aah you sure can pick Aussies abroad eh?
The artist featured was Mona Hatoum who had about 20 incredible sculptures on display – can’t explain how incredible this work was – Google her! As for Senor Miro – simply incredible!
The trip back was through the underground in peak to the Ramblas that was packed to the sides with soaked Catalonians and tourists when we found our way above ground. The amount of spruikers selling crappy overpriced umbrellas on cue was astounding – but I already had my exotic wonder so I managed
Dave does a Miro!
Thankfully he didn't impersonate it too closely! to resist their tenacious selling techniques!
The basement of the El Cortes Inglese department store had a Supermercardo that proved to be a gluten-free heaven to balance out the lunchtime gluten hell and so we stocked up on treats including some snacks called Happy Sticks! Mmmnn gluten-free-licious! (Seriously they actually tasted quite good!)
With our Vodaphone micro-SIM card purchase in hand we headed back to the Avenida for a couple of shots of Uncle Jimmy (Jameson Whiskey) and aqua.
What a day! Fulfilled an Alain de Botton ‘pathetic travel experience’ by foregoing dinner for a packet of chips. Happy to save the big night out for tomorrow. For now - Bed.
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Anita Roberts
non-member comment
wow!
Barcelona looks a lot more fun when you're lugging a toddler around! now imagine all that with a 2 1/2 year old Will for company!!