Blogs from Catalonia, Spain, Europe

http://www.heygo.com 20th February - Highlight Drive Barcelona A first for virtual tour guide Josep, with his daughter Eva at the wheel we took a drive taking in the highlights of Barcelona. Josep had obviously done a lot of planning to organise the trip so that in the allotted time of 45-50 minutes he could share the passion he has for the city of Barcelona. During that time Josep was out if the car several times so that we could enjoy the historic building and magnificent views if the city. Here’s what we saw Columbus monument, Old Harbor, Medieval Shipyards, Cruise Ship Port, Panoramic view of Barcelona from Miramar spectacular Viewpoint; Cable Car Station, Miro Museum , Olympic Stadium, Spanish Village, Caixa Forum, The Magic Fountain location, Barcelona’s 1929 World Expo, Plaça the Espanya with its Venetian ... read more

http://www.heygo.com 16th February - Gaudi’s Park Güell Gaudi planned and directed the construction of the park from 1900 to 1914 for Eusebi Güell as a residential park intended for sixty single family residences for the wealthy residents of Barcelona. The reason why it is spelt Park and nit Parc is that the architect was inspired by the British garden city movement of the 19th century, Gaudí’s plan was to create a modern housing estate far from the smog and chaos of the city down below. His plans called for houses with modern conveniences such as running water as well as facilities such as a market, a laundry room, a church and a public square. The plan was unsuccessful and ultimately the project had to be abandoned. Work on the project terminated in 1914 and in 1926 ... read more

25th November 2020 La Sagrada Família Basilica by Antonio Gaudi. We visited Barcelona a few years ago but the queues to enter the Basilica were so long we only saw it from the outside. Today it is closed due to Covid so I guess still no chance to see inside. Today’s tour with Josep started in the same spot that we stood all those years ago. La Sagrada Família has been under construction since 1882. Who knows when it will be completed. As we walked around this magnificent building we could only view from the tour guides camera but he had photographic close up images & a small model which he was able to show and explain everything in much detail. The four Eastern towers in the front of Sagrada Família make up the Nativity Facade. ... read more

NOVEMBER, 2, 2019 Sadly, we came to our last full day in Barcelona. We were no longer living in the charming neighborhood of Barri Gotic and since there was nothing of interest to keep us where we were, we had breakfast at the hotel (of far less quality than anywhere else in Spain) and quickly left to begin our day. We walked down to the Metro stop to find the Red Route Tour Bus for the Hop On Hop Off City Tour run by the Barcelona Transport Company - TMB. Not an easy task. We were approached by a few other confused tourists looking for the same bus and since we had scoped it out the night before, we were able to help. We wanted to cover more ground in Barcelona before we left, and since ... read more

OCTOBER 30, 2019 Since we hadn’t bought coffee for our coffee maker we decided to go for an early morning walk before today’s tour to look for a nice cafe. Cafe Zurich must have been calling us. We sat outside at a little table near Plaza Catalonia watching the city come alive, feeling very European and tres chic all while enjoying great coffees and to die for pastries. A little Switzerland in Spain? You bet. It was later in the morning so we did not suffer the lines of the Coffee Rush. Our waiter brought our Trenza and Muffin Xocolata pastries and coffees to the table. Yes, it took a little time, but nothing to complain about, we were on vacation soaking up the atmosphere, the reason we came here! At 10am we met our van ... read more