Mike & Amanda's Gaudi & Seafood Tour of Barcelona, Oct 06 - Part 1

[Mike Jones]

(Full Trip Report Index Link)


Part 1 - Sunday 8th October 2006

Cast: Mike, 42, and Amanda, 34

Pre-Trip bit…

Not too complicated or detailed – Amanda and I have discovered that we enjoy intensive, short trips, and since we met we’ve been to Florence, New York and Orlando. City breaks seem to suit us well, especially when the area of interest is concentrated enough to allow a walking tour of the main sites.

We decided a couple of months ago that we wanted to fit in another break this year, (on one of our kid-free weeks) to use up Amanda’s holidays for the season, and the main contenders were London and Barcelona. When we priced the two it soon became clear that Barcelona would (a) be cheaper, and (b) probably be warmer in October, so, especially after the disappointment of a wash-out camping trip in August, autumn sun and Gaudi won the day over London’s Galleries and Museums in the drizzle.

Easyjet flights from Liverpool to Barcelona were duly (and affordably) booked, along with a decent hotel (Hotel Royal) on the Ramblas (Barca’s most famous, central street). We checked with our dog sitters that they were free to take our mutt Ruby for the duration and started ticking off the days.

So.. having both worked Saturday morning, taken Ruby to the sitters and packed, we drank a bottle of wine to assist our sleep (I rarely get a decent night before a holiday, but hey, who needs an excuse!?) and retired around 1030pm. I set an alarm for 315am, but, predictably enough, I woke at 1.30 and couldn’t get off again. Oh well, coffee and bulletin boards filled the next hour or so. Amanda joined me at 2.40, and after showers, feeding the cats and pushing the shed key through our neighbours door so she could feed them in our absence, we set off to Liverpool John Lennon (about 40 miles away) at 4.05.

Motorways should always be this empty! We arrive at Lenox Farm, a cheap (£20 for the 6 days) and efficient, off-airport parking centre, at 4.45, before being taxied in by the owners for 5am. Check-in and security are swift and painless, and we find ourselves at Starbucks (surprised, eh?) before 5.30. Two Peabody Filter coffees, bacon and mushroom paninis and a couple of your new chocolate-orange Danish please. Certainly sir, that’ll be £12!

Bit of a browse, new lippy for Amanda and a couple of new books, and off to Gate 4. The flight starts to board around 6.45, and as we’d paid an extra fiver for ‘Speedy Boarding’ we are first on the plane, taking the front, right hand seats so I can have a bit more legroom.

The flight leaves a few minutes late at 7.20, and passes pleasantly enough – I don’t know about you, but after around 14 trans-Atlantic marathons I can do a continental 2 hour job with my eyes shut!

The approach to Barcelona airport, just south of the city, is along the coast with good views of the centre. We’ve done a fair amount of research for the trip and recognise many of the buildings and streets from the air, including the green strip of the Ramblas heading north from the harbour.

We land at 10.20 (local time, 1 hour ahead of UK) and wait a short time for our cases before a quick loo stop and visit to a terminal shop for some water. There are a couple of options available for transport to the city, a 30 minute coach trip or a 20 minute train transfer, which we choose. The station is a short walk from the terminal, and we buy a couple of very reasonable (2.40 Euro each) tickets for Placa de Catalunya, a short distance from our hotel. We wait around 20 minutes for the next train, which arrives at 11.30.

The journey takes a bit longer than expected, due to extensive refurbishment and construction works along the line. We notice early on that the Barcelona youth seem pretty artistic and have defaced almost every empty wall or virgin surface with copious graffiti.

We expect the train to surface at Pl. de Catalunya after the main (and very depressing, dark and underground) Barcelona Sants, but it doesn’t, terminating instead at Estacio de Franca on the eastern edge of the city. We should probably have changed to the underground (Metro) at Sants, but on checking the map, we decide to retrace our steps to Passeig de Gracia, a short distance north of Pl. de Catalunya, and walk to our hotel from there. A young French couple who have also missed their stop seem shocked that we would consider walking and shake their heads sadly as we leave at P. de G. a few minutes later.

We climb up into daylight and a warm if overcast afternoon. Taking our bearings from one of Gaudi’s modernista erections, Casa Battlo,

we head south the few blocks to Pl. de Catlunya and onto the top of the Ramblas. Our hotel is about 100 meters from the Placa, a bland, 70’s or 80’s affair, at odds with many of the more traditional, neighbouring buildings.

Check in is simple and friendly. We decline the 15 Euro per night(each!) upgrade for a full Ramblas view, on the basis that we won’t be in the room much, (and they don’t have balconies anyway). Our room is on the side of the hotel, on the 5th floor, and has a fairly chaotic aspect over adjacent rooftops to the mountain-top retreat of Tibidabo a few miles away,

..and a partial view of the Ramblas to the side…

It’ll do. The room is a good size, with two single beds pushed together, a mini-bar (HOW MUCH? Yeah, whatever!), a safe and a marble tiled bathroom.

 

[Mike Jones]

We unpack, more or less, and leave the hotel at 1.20 to stroll down the Ramblas.

(Editors note and history info-mercial: although our Florida trips re pre-planned to within an inch of their lives, we tend to leave our city-breaks to unfold on their own, with just one or two ‘must-do’s’ on each day. We walk virtually everywhere, and with plenty of research beforehand, we find that the days fill themselves up pretty well. All we wanted to do on our 1st afternoon was to stroll around the historic centre and get our bearings.

A couple of points about modern Barcelona. Essentially mediaeval in roots, evolving and expanding from the original, walled city, an area now known as the Barri Gotic, (Gothic Quarter), its focal point is the Ramblas, a kilometre-long, tree-lined avenue mostly given over to pedestrians, pavement cafes and performance artists. If you are interested, and even if you are not, the name derives from the Arabic ramla (sand) referring to the bed of a seasonal river which once flowed here. During the dry seasons the channel was used as a road, and by the 14th century this had been paved over to enable its use as an important link between the harbour and the old town. Later, in the 1800’s, benches and decorative trees were added, overlooked by increasing numbers of stately, balconied buildings. Today, in a city typically choked with traffic, this attractive avenue remains centrally pedestrian, cars being forced up narrow roads either side.

Before you tune out altogether, my intensive research (ok, I admit it, I read it in the Rough Guide!) reveals that The Ramblas are actually 5 separate streets – from north to south, Rambla Canaletes, Rambla Estudis, Rambla Sant Josep, Rambla Caputxins and Rambla Santa Monica…. though the only way you’d know this is by observing the discreet street names along the way.)

The first part of the avenue closest to the hotel is lined with stalls selling birds of wide variety, from songbirds to large chickens. This gives way to the central area where flower stalls abound, although both sections are also heavily patronised by Barcelona’s “famous” living statues. These vary widely from fairly predictable devils, goddesses and the like to frankly quite bizarre and unsettling creatures with no obvious roots or reason!

We turn off The Ramblas, which splits the old medieval city in two, (El Raval - the Arabic word for ‘suburb’ – to the west, and Barri Gotic to the east) into the narrow streets around the cathedral,

…and head south to a large, colonnaded square, Placa Reial. This is given over to a coin and stamp market on Sundays and is pleasantly crowded with browsers and sightseers enjoying a drink at the surrounding café bars.

Back onto The Ramblas, past more living statues and through the final section where a number of art and craft stalls have replaced the florists. The avenue ends (begins?) at an imposing monument to Christopher Columbus, standing on a large roundabout around which flows the heavy harbourside traffic.

We cross to the harbour area, with views over the World Trade Centre and cable car towers,

….before heading along the harbour front towards Barceloneta, (an 18th century suburb edged by the city’s beaches and supposedly famous for its many seafood restaurants and cafes), passing numerous statues and objets d’art (but note the graffiti again)

… and for a brief moment we are back in Epcot, when we spot a guided Segway tour!

 

[Mike Jones]

On previous trips to Florence and New York we have been well served by the Rough Guide publications, especially in the choice of places to eat. Our pocket companion recommends several establishments in the area and we seek out Can Ganassa in the central square.

Although fairly busy, we secure a table outside and order 2 beers and seafood paella.

This is lovely and is followed by a couple more pints of the local brew. Final bill 35 Euros. It’s now 3.45pm and the sky has cleared, allowing the sun to break through. We retrace our steps to the harbour edge of Barceloneta, and walk along the Passeig Joan De Borbo, checking out other restaurants for future use.

The road leads to the start of Barcelona’s beaches and we stroll onto the sand for a short distance, passing a number of mildly bizarre sculptures,

…. before heading back through the suburb streets and onto the main harbour road.

Our liquid lunch has taken its toll so we stop at a café (Universal) at the lower end of The Ramblas for a coffee (and a pee! One of our frequent observations this week is that there is virtually nowhere in Barcelona where you can wee for free!)

It’s around 5pm as we head back up towards the hotel, and extremely busy along the avenue with crowds of tourists and locals strolling past the stalls and living statues. We detour off The Ramblas to view one of the few, Modernista buildings in the old town, Palau Guell, but sadly it is undergoing renovation and its façade is shrouded in scaffold and sheeting. After buying some water from a small Spar store nearby, we return to the hotel around 5.30pm to change our shoes and lighten our bag. At 5.45pm we head out again and walk the short distance north to Placa Catalunya, checking out our nearest Starbucks in the adjacent Triangle shopping centre.

Placa de Catalunya is a huge, pigeon – infested square right at the heart of the city, surrounded by department stores, bars and cafes.

 

[Mike Jones]

We take some photographs before heading down Avinguda Portal de l’Angel, a pleasant, wide boulevard leading back into the Barri Gotic and lined with semi permanent craft, jewellery and clothes stalls.

Our stroll leads us into the medieval heart of the city around Le Seu, the cathedral. The main square in front of the cathedral is very busy, and we can see that major renovations are in progress on the church’s façade.

More innovative locals finding novel ways to extract tourist Euros are in evidence…

We walk down the side of the Cathedral into the narrow, near-thousand year old streets…

Following a number of tourists through an arched doorway, we find ourselves in the cathedral cloister, a beautiful lush garden complete with palm trees, large fountain pond and white geese!

On leaving the cloister we sit for a while in one of several adjacent squares, the Placa del Rei,

…before mooching on into the narrow streets surrounding the area. After browsing several shops and having a quick look into the nearby church, Santa Maria del Pi ..

… we exit the old town and head back up The Ramblas to Pl. Catalunya and have a glass of wine at one of Barcelona’s most popular meeting places, Café Zurich, on the corner of the Triangle. The atmosphere is bustling and friendly, with many people enjoying the warm Sunday evening.

At 8.30pm, feeling peckish rather than ravenous, we move on to a nearby Subway and buy a couple of sandwiches. Rather tired now, we head back to the hotel around 9pm and have an early night.

Mike & Amanda

First Impressions:

We are delighted by the Old Town and surrounding areas. The only place we’ve been with a similar feel was Florence earlier in the year – but – it is striking how much grubbier Barcelona is than its Italian counterpart. There is a vague shabbiness in many areas of the city, including the most prestigious parts, with broken tiles and paving in the squares, a modest litter problem (although in fairness the city’s cleaners, BCNeta, are omnipresent during the rest of our stay.) However, what we find most surprising is the staggering amount of graffiti everywhere, including the shuttered fronts of most of the shops.

Tomorrow: Gaudi’s Modernista Buildings, and a bit more seafood!

 

[ely3857]

Great stuff Mike, the pictures are fantastic



Jodie

 

[Scottish-Helen]

Great reading Mike, your trippies are great. We must have the same taste in holidays as this year I've been to Florence, Orlando, Siesta Key and New York and next year we are going on a short cruise combined with... Barcelona!

 

[Minniespal]

Fab piccies Mike

 

[Cyrano]

Enjoying your report and photos. Next to Paris love Barcelona.
Your photos evoked memories of Place Reial where we spent a lot of time along with Miro Foundation on the hill

 

[Mike Jones]

Enjoying your report and photos. Next to Paris love Barcelona.
Your photos evoked memories of Place Reial where we spent a lot of time along with Miro Foundation on the hill

.. we walked all over Montjuic later in the week, but didn't get inside the Miro foundation or other main galleries.. we're saving those for another visit, just wanted to get the overview this time.

 

[Strommie]

Fantastic photos Mike Have never been to Barcelona so am reading this with interest

 

[wideeyes]

Great report, seems like ages since I have been to Barcelona.

I remember a Spanish lady telling us the columbus statue is meant to point towards America however it is pointing the wrong way.

 

[Mike Jones]

Great report, seems like ages since I have been to Barcelona.

I remember a Spanish lady telling us the columbus statue is meant to point towards America however it is pointing the wrong way.

LOL! Mind you, didn't he think he was in India anyway? Perhaps it points to Mumbay?

 

[Cyrano]

.. we walked all over Montjuic later in the week, but didn't get inside the Miro foundation or other main galleries.. we're saving those for another visit, just wanted to get the overview this time.

I don't think you will be disappointed

 

[Tammy Stringer]

Great report Mike

Barcelona is on our list of "must do" city breaks for the future. Thanks for the report and great photos.

I must admit we were shocked at the graffiti in Venice when we went there - such a shame.

Tammy

 

[carolfoy]

Great trippie Mike, I love Barcelona and your piccies bring back many happy memories

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Always a pleasure reading your reports, and really like the fact you post so many great photos.

 

[Disney owl]

A packed 1st day

 

[florida sun]

Fantastic report as always Mike, brought back a load of great memories seeing your photos, thank you very much for posting

 

[Kevin Stringer]

Excellent report Mike. They are better than any guide book as the photos really bring things to life.

Kev

 

[EeyoreJMH]

Thanks for posting such great information and photos! I'm traveling to Barcelona for business at the end of the month (1st trip overseas) and your trip report helped to calm me a bit.