Blogs from Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, Europe - page 8

Spain… The country of conquistadors and corrida! The place of charming landscapes and unique architecture! You can’t even imagine how many years I have dreamt of visiting this country! I have read tons of information about it and I almost imagined my whole trip to Spain, but each time I was going to buy the tour, there was something that ruined my plans… I’m a website designer by profession and that is why the development of my website http://10websitebuilders.com/required my time, effort and … everyday presence in the office. However, I have recently managed to cope with my work and handle all my tasks and… my dream finally came true – I visited Barcelona, the capital of Spain! Let me share my impressions and ideas about this town now. Although I have learnt much about Barcelona ... read more

12pm on Sunday the 14thof June sees me leaving pony club a little bit early, riding home and letting the beast (aka Betty) loose into the paddock for the next few weeks off. Fast forward two hours and everyone is home, frantically rushing to squeeze the last pair of shorts into their suitcases. (Or, in Dad’s case, actually bringing the suitcase out of the wardrobe and beginning to pack). After an extremely early dinner, particularly compared to the ones we are having in Spain, everything is loaded into the car and we are finally on our way to the airport, with Mum stressing out about how late we were compared to her schedule. We left at 6:37pm instead of 6:30. Less than 20mins later, Mitch had also caught the stress bug, wondering if we were close ... read more

The capital of Mediterranean, as Barcelona is sometimes called, is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a place superior in many areas: its medieval old town is one of the largest, its beaches are among the longest, and the number of ‘modernist style’ buildings it possesses is among the highest. A lot of us would argue that its restaurants, bars and clubs are also amongst the best in the world. In any case, the abundance of things one can do or see in Barcelona cannot be ignored, even in peak season when the number of tourists can be annoying. Urbanism The urbanism of Barcelona is quite unique in two aspects: first it includes several old towns and cities, which are completely incorporated in the urban fabric, and secondly, its dominating urban ... read more

Today we began our walk to La Sagrada Familia. Our journey took us through the busier streets of Barcelona, sometimes 7 lanes of one way traffic! Barcelona is a wonderful display of fantastic architecture and design. Everywhere you look you are met with another building that causes you to pause and stare. The major street we were taking was also one that was lined with high end designer stores - Luis Vuitton, Chanel, Armani, all with security guards at their doors! We soon came upon Casa Mila, "La Pedrera" an intended family home for industrialist Pere Mila and his wife, as well as apartments for rent. Antoni Gaudi, who is " considered to be one of the great geniuses of universal architecture", was commissioned to create this amazing structure. We did not go inside but took ... read more

We arrived in sunny Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast for 3 weeks in Spain. Cool days and evenings beautiful, festive Christmas lights hanging above all the streets and sidewalks packed with people just enjoying a walk and shopping especially along the Ramblas the main walking street. Beautiful 9-room Hosteria Grau in the heart of old town. Tapas everywhere, little sandwiches and snacks delicious with red Rioja wine in the evening, and morning tapas with delicious coffee. We had a difficult time adjusting to the Spanish eating schedule - late lunches (2-4) and even later dinners (9-12) most restaurants closed in between. We were always hungry at the wrong time even after 3 weeks! Some great art at the Catalan Art Museum and Picasso Museum – mainly before cubism. The highlight of Barcelona (and Spain) i... read more