It's pronounced Barthelona

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After leaving Madrid I headed for Barcelona, knowing it was Spain (correction, Catalan) and on the coast. This was my first train journey on my trip, and it was a very luxurious one. If any of you have the chance to take a high speed train, I highly recommend it. Despite me thinking I had paid for a tourist class seat, I had actually been given a first class seat. No complaint here, as it's as good as a plane flight. We were served breakfast, offered the paper, and had a telly too watch. Not a bad way to spend a two and a half hour trip at 300kph.

I then got the Metro into the city and found my hotel. Good news here folks .... it's getting easier each time. The street map I bought actually made sense, and I walked all the way, asking directions only once.

It was just after midday so I decided to find a post office and send a copy of my photos back home. After that was done, I then headed down the road to the train station to reserve a ticket for the next leg of my trip. I got there just before they were ending one of their two hour strikes (don't know the issue and don't care), so I went for a stroll in the nearby park. This is when my first impressions kicked in. As the humidity and heat even higher than I had been experiencing, and because there was a strange haze in the sky (maybe smoke, maybe dust), I was glad I was only there for three days. Back to the train station to get my ticket, then off for a wander through the city.

This is when I was really glad to have come. I was in the area of the Sagrada Familia so decided to stop by. It was even more massive and impressive than I had expected. I don't have all the wordsd to explain it, so I suggest you look it up for yourselves. In a nutshell, the stone cathedral is the masterpiece of local architect Antonio Guadi. He worked on it's design and construction from 1889 until his death in 1926 (he was hit by a tram). It is still under construction and work goes at a slow pace. This is mainly due to the project being entirely privately funded. Nevertheless, what they have achieved is amazing. They have displays to show how various aspects were conceived and the methods used. Gaudi looked to nature for inspiration and saw various geometrical shapes in animals and plants. There are religious scenes depicted all over the building, and carving done by other notable designers. Before I came here I thought it was just a funny looking building with not much to it. How wrong I was. It's Barcelona's major landmark, and I now know why.

The next day I got the usual hop-on-off bus. This time there were three lines which covered a fair anount of the city. I first got off in the suburb of Sants, and went for a stroll down the street looking at the reasonably-priced shops. I got back on the bus and head up a moutain, which I later found out was Montjuic. Found a really nice old building which was the National Art Museum, but didn't go inside.

I continued up the hill and came across a sign that mentioned the word Olympic. Not sure what this was about I continued further and started hearing some Coldplay music (for those of a previous generation, they are a well-known band). I actually thought it was taped music until it stopped, then started again, then I saw lines of people waiting outside a big building. It turns out it really was the band, and they were doing a sound check for that night's concert. All an unexpected surprise. The next surprise was to then see the Olympic Stadium. Somehow I hadn't expected it to be on top of a mountain, but there it was. It is in the style of an older building, so I guess that's what the attraction was. As it turns out, there was a soccer match on there that night, and a lot of English fans were hanging around for the game. I don't think England had any part in the game, but the fans seemed to like drinking lots of beer and taking their shirts off.

As it was Saturday night, I decided to go out and see what the locals (mostly tourists) get up to. I went down to Port Vella and had a look at the nice big ships and expensive boats. Plenty of people out eating but not much to see, so I headed back to my room. This time I didn't have my map with me, and I ended up back on La Rambla. This is a main shopping and entertainment street, which in my humble opinion is overrated. I happened to look around and see a lady leaning against a post wearing a rather tight dress. She blew me a kiss, but I turned away and headed off. I'm sure she was just looking for a nice chat, but I'm sure she found it with some other gentleman.

On the Sunday I went on a bus trip to the mountain of Montserrat, about one hour to the north. There is an old Benedictine monastry there which has about 80 monks and about 30 boys aged between nine and fourteen. The name Montserrat comes from the Latin term for serrated mountain, which is exactly what it looks like from a distance. The rock is sedimentary, and composed of large aggregates. Buildings were first constructed in the 1100's (I think), but most of them werre destroyed by Napolean's armies. The current buildings date from the mid 1800's.

The church was having a mass when we arrived, and the bells were ringing a few times to announce this. You could take pictures inside, but not with a flash. The boys choir were going to sing at midday, but I decided to go up one of the tracks. It was a bit harder than the usual Castle Hill climb, but I took it slow so I didn't get too sweaty. There were a lot of people doing fitness work on the track, but also some strollers like me. In the end I didn't go to the top (not sure where it even was) as time was against me. (On the drive up the nountain there were also a lot of bike riders, which could be why Spain do well in the Tour de France).

Back down outside the church there were some pyramid builders, ladies crocheting, and dancers. All in all it was a really nice place, with absolutely stunning scenery. Although there were hoards of people when I was there, it's not hard to inagine the tranquility they had centuries ago.

In the end I liked Barcelona, but there were a lot more tourists than in Madrid. You take the good with the bad I guess. Next stop, Avignon.

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Photos

Onboard the AVE to Barcelona.
The top speed I saw was 301kph.

The Sagrada Familia
This is the base of the newer side of the cathedral.

Inside the cathedral.
It's still one big construction area inside.

Montserrat
The church is below me in the background.

Port Vella
The waterfront at Barcelona.

Bikes for hire
You hire q bike from one part of the city, then check it in at the other end.

Comments

[Joy]

Great blogs
We love your blogs - very witty and informative. Thanks.