Gaudi everywhere!

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Today was our full day in Barcelona. We had another early wakeup but not as early as some of the other days. Colin was going to lead a morning walk tour through the Gothic Quarter. Since last night was a big night for some, the turnout this morning wasn't too big as only about 10 of us showed up. We walked down to the Ramblas and headed into the Gothic Quarter which is the oldest part of the city. One of the first things I noticed was the plethora of bakeries with the sweet smell of pastries, bread, and other treats that filled the air. There was a lot of activity going on in the Gothic Quarter. One memorable sight was 5 women walking down the street in traditional Flamenco attire. The Gothic Quarter was a maze of small streets and alleyways in which one could easily get lost. We saw the Barcelona city hall and the Place del Rei which was the place where the King and Queen received Christopher Columbus after he discovered America in 1492. One of the most shocking sights was the facade of a church which was riddled with bullet holes from a massacre by the dictator Franco. Unfortunately one of the great sights of the Gothic Quarter, the Barcelona Cathedral, was completely covered in scaffolding. Judging by some of the pictures I had seen of it, it is indeed one of the most beautiful of all gothic cathedrals. However, we were able to walk around the cloisters and see the resident geese. Hilary had mentioned how awesome it would be to attend a mass at the cathedral since one was taking place as we walked by. She asked me if I was interested but I declined as there was too much to see in Barcelona today. The cathedral was the end of our walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. Colin gave us all some advice as to what to see and Shea and I obtained directions on how to get to the Parc Guell. We strolled around the Ramblas for a bit to retrieve some money from an ATM. Afterwards, we walked up towards the Plaza de Catalunya where some sort of Grand Prix was taking place. There was a lot of activity going on around the Plaza de Catalunya and I started to notice many American tourists walking around. They were probably here as part of a day trip on one of the cruise ships that stop here. Since it was getting close to lunch time, Shea and I decided to hit up the nearby Hard Rock Cafe.

At the Hard Rock Cafe, I tried the famous spanish soup known as gazpacho. I wasn't too impressed as it was just cold soup with vegetables added. After lunch, we followed Colin's directions and caught the Metro towards Parc Guell. The park was up in the hills and was created by the famous artist Antoni Gaudi. We got off the metro and continued following the signs towards the park. Since the park was in the hills, the walk was all uphil and a bit strenuous. Definitely not for those who have difficulties walking. Once the trail starting to meander up into the hills, we were able to see into the backyards of many hillside homes to Barcelona residents going about their daily lives. Further along the trail as we started gaining in elevation, we were able to see the entire Barcelona skyline including the famous Sagrada Familia and the Mediteranean Sea. Unfortunately the skies today were very overcast. We approached a dry stone tower called the Calvary which I climbed and had even more views of the city of Barcelona. As we continued on the trail, we were starting to sweat and wonder if this park was really worth all this effort. Finally we came to the main part of the park and the first thing we see was this huge open space atop a huge balcony with a mosaic tiled bench winding along the outside. We were so exhausted by this point that we just sat on the bench relaxed, people watched, and enjoyed the views of Barcelona. Supposedly this bench that we were sitting on is the longest bench in the world. We continued exploring the park and saw more of Gaudi's strange creations including the gecko and the 2 "gingerbread houses" at the park entrance. I wanted to go inside the gingerbread house until I discovered that entrance was not free. It would have been awesome to see what kind of unique and funky things Gaudi had inside. There were a lot of tourists here and we decided to keep moving to the next sight. Parc Guell seemed like it came straight out of the game Candyland and was an awesome and amusing place to visit. Despite the hordes of tourists, it was a nice excursion away from the chaos of city. Once we exited the park, we discovered that we had taken the long route. Apparently if you take the bus instead of the metro, the bus would drop you off right at the entrance and you could avoid that long strenuous walk.

Continuing with our sight seeing, we made our way over to another Gaudi monument, the famous Sagrada Familia. This unfinished church is also one of the most unconventional churches in all of Europe. To many people of Barcelona, the Sagrada Familia is such an ugly eyesore that should just be torn down. However, since Gaudi was unable to complete it prior to his death, work still goes on today but is financed through public donations. We walked around the exterior of the church and it was also swarmed with tourists. In order to avoid the crowds, we just decided to walk around and not pay to enter. You could see just how much work was put into making the exterior as the detail was absolutely detailed and ornate. Especially impressive was the Passion facade at the main entrance. With so much still left to see and do in the city, Shea and I decided to just walk around for a bit and get lost. We eventually found ourselves at the Christopher Columbus Monument at the base of the Ramblas. This area was absolutely swarming with people and combined with the heat, it was starting to get irritating. We decided to stroll up the Ramblas which is Barcelona's most famous tree-lined pedestrian thoroughfare. The Ramblas consisted mainly of hotels, tourist shops, street performers, flower stands, and overpriced restaurants which cater to tourists. I had read that the Ramblas was teeming with pickpockets so I was aware of who was around me at all times. Shea and I decided we would do some souvenir shopping here so we split up to purchase the usual stuff like t-shirts, postcards, shotglasses, and magnets. While Shea was still shopping, I started exploring a little more and found the Plaza Real which was just off the Ramblas. Once Shea was done, she decided that she wanted to go back to the hotel and relax before our evening excursion to see some Flamenco dancing. I however, still wanted to soak in as much of Barcelona as possible.

I started walking aimlessly east from the Ramblas with really no idea as to where I was going. It wasn't until I found the Arc de Triomf that I looked on my map and found where I was. From here I continued walking over to the Parc de la Ciutadella. There were tons of people hanging out in the park today and I noticed that many of them were young hippie types. They were just sprawled out everywhere hanging out and lounging on their blankets. As I continued on amidst the sweet smell of marijuana, I found the reason why they were all here. There was some free concert going on in the park. I sat around and listened to some of the music and people watched. It was at this moment that I realized that I loved Barcelona. It has such an awesome forward moving vibe to it. There is so much history here but yet they are so modern and cosmopolitan. After soaking it all in, I decided to start making my way back to hotel so I can freshen up and relax before our Flamenco dinner and dance show.

Those of us who decided to go to the Flamenco dinner and dance show all met up in the hotel lobby. I think all but 3 of us decided to do this optional trip. We all boarded our coach for the quick drive over to the Poble Espanol. What probably should have been a 15 minute drive took about 45 minutes as there was massive traffic everywhere due to a nearby football match. To make matters even worse, when driving down through the congested Placa D'Espanya, a car had stalled blocking the flow of traffic. It wasn't until a group of about 10 guys took it upon themselves to physically move the car out of the way that we starting moving again. We arrived at the Poble Espanol which is a little village created to showcase all the different architectural styles found in Spain. It was pretty dead in the village until we arrived at our Flamenco show at Tabloa de Carmen. We appeared to be one of the last groups to arrive and we all took our seats in front to be served dinner. Dinner was pretty bland and included gazpacho and some chicken concoction. The Flamenco show was quite interesting. There were 4 dancers, 2 men and 2 women, and 3 guitar players. The clanging of the castanets were mesmerizing however one of the great things about Flamenco dance is the passion exhibited by the dancers. After the Flamenco performance, we went back out on the street to wait for our bus. The streets were filled with raucous and jubilant football fans who were celebrating the local team's victory in a very important match. With all this celebration in the street, it took us forever to get back to our hotel. The rest of the night was just spent hanging out in the hotel lobby where we chatted with some of our fellow tourmates as well as some other American tourists staying at the hotel.

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Photos

The Gothic Quarter
Flamenco dancers walking through the Gothic Quarter

Hiking in the hills above Barcelona
On our way to find Gaudi's Parc Guell

Parc Guell
Shea sitting on the one famous benches made by Gaudi

Parc Guell
One of the 2 gingerbread style houses

The Sagrada Familia
Some of the detail of this awesome structure

The Ramblas
The Plaza Real

Group shot while walking through the Poble Espanol
On our way to the Flamenco show