Barcelona Overload

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Oh my goodness there is SO much to see and so much history but don't worry we aren't even going to try to cover all that we saw yesterday. The fact that we have fabulous wi fi and a blog didn't appear says it all - it was a big day. Also I have never depleted my phone (camera) battery totally in one day!!

The Hop on Hop off bus was excellent but we decided to do both runs back to back which covered everything from the old town to the beach to the new town and ALL in between. Upon reflection we should have had a break because we were in overload after 4.5 hours!!

For me the most striking thing was the modern architecture slap bang alongside something old and significant which is not a revelation but I didn't think would be as noticeable. The other thing was the use of the word "controversial " when discussing some of the modernisations to Barcelona. Obviously the work done around the time of the Olympics, for example, caused much angst and many old buildings were lost due to the need to "update" the city. There were relatively few really old monuments which surprised me - maybe this is coming from Italy where everything seems to be preserved and honoured??

The highlight, which will surprise no one was the first sight of the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's church - amazing doesn't even come close but I won't go into that now as we are about to go on a tour of it shortly. It was lovely to see some sand and sea and the beaches were being very well patronised. The other impressive building was the Sant Pau hospital - an art nouveau site by Luis Montaner. It has been fully restored and was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. We zipped by the Olympic Stadium and the Montjuic gardens and fountains, more of the new modern architecture including an apartment by Gaudi and on and on. I will quickly post some photos before you fall asleep.

The day finished in a very special way meeting our dear friends Jim and Patricia for dinner - a true "Godincidence" that our holidays overlapped by one day. We were very Spanish and met for a drink beforehand and then had tapas, finishing our meal after 11pm and walking through the streets where people were still eating and chatting - including children. There is something to be said for work not starting until 10am (or that's when the shops open) and having a little siesta in the middle of the day.

Meanwhile we are pacing ourselves today but another walk is beckoning.

Adios

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Photos

Trams have been reintroduced in Barcelona
Mike was intrigued by the grass around the tracks

Torre Glories
There are 59,619 strips of painted sheet metal of different colours and it is lit at night - looked impressive during the day, can only imagine what it would look like at night

Comments

[Di]

Barcelona:
I thought people who went to Bowral or Bateman's Bay for lunch were intrepid ... but dinner in Barcelona with Canberra friends is on another scale altogether!!! Glad you had such a lovely time together.

[Rosemarie and Rodney]

Barcelona
It looks like a city with a lot of confidence. Old and new buildings and bold architecture. Thank you Ann and Mike for all the photos and wonderful description.