European Adventure 2013

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Happy birthday Chris!

Having had great fun on a previous trip to Paris with a Fat Bike Tour to Monet’s House & Garden, we decided to try out their Barcelona City offering. It was a wonderful introduction to the city for us and a good way of getting into condition for our Provence barge/bike tour. We visited a number of impressive sights and learnt a lot about Catalan history, culture and their quest for independence. Prior to this tour we visited the Gothic Cathedral of Barcelona dedicated to St Eulalia, a young Catalan martyred in a very gory fashion by the Romans. The area where the Cathedral stands has been the site of various Christian churches dating back to the 4^th Century AD.

The people in the Gracia area of Barcelona have been conducting a 'festiva' for the past week so we headed up there in the evening to take a look...great family atmosphere, bands, games for kids and a heavy stress on the need for Catalan independence. We found several fruit shops in this area with an array of inexpensive fruit and a terrific cheap local tapas bar run by Cambodian/Spanish.

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Photos

Fat Bike Tour of Barcelona
In the Parc de la Cuitadella

Fat Bike Tour of Barcelona
The Arc de Triomf

Fat Bike Tour of Barcelona
Sagrada Familia - a work in progress!

Fat Bike Tour of Barcelona
Other side of Sagrada Familia

Fat Bike Tour of Barcelona
Caro & the bikes

Fat Bike Tour of Barcelona
Barceloneta Beach - specially built for the Barcelona Olympics

Barcelona Cathedral
Interior - main altar

Barcelona Cathedral
In the Cloisters

Festiva de Gracia
One of the streets decorated for the festival