Blogs from Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe - page 14

Geo: 41.3861, 2.17636So after an early start (made earlier by a Rory who was too excited to play with children to sleep), we headed to the airport. Brilliant journey and parked up and got through to departure lounge. After a much needed caffeine fix we got on the plane and arrived in Barcelona.We navigated our way to shuttle bus to take us into the city centre. Which gave us a little scenic route on the way. Before we could start exploring we needed to get rid of the luggage. We found the hotel with ease ( it's really nice - just what we need) and luckily our room was ready so we could freshen up and re-examine outfits for the Spanish sun. Now we were fully ready to explore this beautiful city. We took a stroll ... read more

Friday dawns with overcast skies and streets wet from early morning showers. This morning I have a pre-purchased 9.00am 'skip the line' ticket to Barcelona'a most famous landmark, The Basilica Sagrada Familia. This huge church, often referred to as a cathedral even though it has no bishop's seat, became Antonio Gaudi's all-consuming obsession from when he took the project over, a year after it started in 1883, until his death in 1926. During the last months of his life he moved from his home in Guell Park into his workroom on site, to be closer to his work. At the time of his death only the crypt, the apse walls, one portal and one tower had been completed. By 1930 three more towers were finished. Then in 1936, anarchists smashed and burned the interior destroying plans, ... read more

My Easyjet flight from Bristol landed in Barcelona 20 minutes early, definately a good start to my stay! The weather had a lot to answer for though, it was cold and rainy and not at all what I was hoping for. Before visiting a new destination I always research places of interest and how I'm going to get around. I choose accomodation and find the nearest metro, pour over street maps, metro maps, and read, read, read. You can never be too prepared! So I already knew how I was going to find my accomodation for the next four nights - via the metro from the airport and then on foot. The L9 metro line from the airport was opened only last year, and has it's own ticket, aptly named 'Airport Ticket', costing just €4.50 or ... read more

After another evening sampling the tapas in Fondo, we decided over pig’s ears to devote our final day in Barcelona to Gaudi. The Other Half decided against sampling the afore mentioned and saved her appetite for the grilled prawns and fideua – the latter is a form of paella with noodle base. We devoted our final day in Barcelona to Gaudi. Antoni Gaudi’s most famous creation in the city is the Basilica & Expiatory Church of the Holy Family – otherwise known as the Sagrada Familia. Along with the thousands, we had been to see the progress on this project earlier in the trip. The unfinished is still coming along, although exactly what the final finish date will be is open to debate. Gaudi of course is long since departed, after his unfortunate incident with a ... read more

It was a pleasant, sunny mid-November Friday afternoon. The location - a back street bar in the Barcelonetta area behind the beach. 12 Euros. A 20 Euro note was handed over. Are you sure we heard correctly? The change duly arrived. There was no mistake - 8 Euros returned. 2 large, 1 small Estrella Dam. The price of Brexit and a collapsing £. After the Man in the Middle's chin had been retrieved from the floor, we had a philosophical discussion about the price of continental lagers in the John Borlaise Warren and an air of reality returned. We went on our merry way, although there would be no glory to find on a weekend when the international football calendar shut down the local big leagues. There would be little chance of seeing a resident of ... read more