"It was the first time that we met"

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A week in Barcelona

Well, definitely one of Europe's best. Mediterranean weather, friendly people and the feeling of a city-never-sleeps are qualities that are second to none. Where else could one have dinner at midnight...? In a way, it's like Tel-Aviv in a larger scale.

Gaudi is the city's best emblem (maybe Barca Football Club a bit more), so on our first day we joined the hordes (so many tourists!) and took the tour-bus around to see some of his extravagant monuments. Sagrada Familia is indeed impressive, but how much longer will it take these guys to complete it? Man, he dief in a tram-accident back in 1926 and ever since they can't finish it. Come on, get it done already! It is still an amazing cathedral. Later we tried seeing his works in Park Güell but it was way too crowded so we ran away from there.

Food. This city is a culinary heaven. From tapas and seafood to chef gourmet in posh restaurants, we tried them all. We let our hunger guide us through the alleys of the gothic qr. together with some excellent recommendations from our local friends. To name a few, don't miss Alba Paris, Pla and Montiel - excellent locations, food and atmosphere. Seafood addicts must try La Boqueria Market where fresh is the name of the game. Best place for tapas is Txapela, but don't forget to reserve place in advance, as it gets hectic quite early.

We then rented a car per day and took a ride up north to Figures, hometown of Salvador Dali, the unshakable king of kitsch. I don't fancy his twisted clocks so much but I still enjoyed his early works before becoming this surrealist behemoth.

We headed back via Girona, a city with rich Jewish history, home to the Ramban, where we looked for the Jewish museum. Of course it had to be closed between 2 to 4pm (...and also the entire month). Now how Jewish is that... ;-). We settled for the cathedral, a nice 11th century building. Since it was the longest day of the year (June 21st), we still had enough time to get the feel of Costa Brava. We went down Tossa del Mar and caught the last rays of sunshine of this beautiful beach.

~The title is taken from Queen's song "Barcelona"

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Photos

Sagrada Familia
Gaudí's unfinished masterpiece

La Font Magica (The Magic Fountain
A tourists' mecca but still very impressive during twilight.

Tossa Del Mar
A beautiful beach located on the Costa Brava

La Boqueria Market
A must-do in Barcelona is having lunch on one of the bars inside this market consisting of the freshest seafood available

Chef's restaurant
We visited several restaurants this one is taken in the outstanding Pla.

Tapas Bars
Spanish best renown for this lightweight cheap good food, this one taken in Txapela, a hip place near Catalonia plaza.

Flamenco show
An amazing show left us all thrilled - a must-do!

Google maps on my BB machine
A life savior...

Comments

[valebcn]

holiday apartments Barcelona
You have forgot to talk about the accomodation. You can find a lot of holiday apartments Barcelona very nice, close to the centre of the city.

[CIllygirl]

Flamenco
Great post, so helpful in deciding our Oct. trip to Spain. Where did you see Flamenco? Thank you :)

[Ohados]

Flamenco club
the name is "Del Flamenco" club. i dont remember the street name... but it's around 2km from the Catalunya sq.

[John Tryph]

what a great city!
We went to Barcelona a month ago and booked a tour there (http://www.citytoursbarcelona.com/) - what a great city! Amazing food, nice beaches and excellent night life