Barcelona - end of the line

Our final week of another wonderful adventure was a relaxing one in Barcelona. We rented a small apartment near the Sants train station providing us with easy access and lots of time to explore this interesting city. We still did lots of walking but it was nice to have our own private space at the end of the day to cook our own meals and relax. Our daughter, Rachel, also joined us for our final 4 days so it was nice to spend more time with her and see some of the sights together. Prior to her arrival we did a day trip out to Montserrat, a one hour train ride away, where we took a rack railway ride up the steep mountain to the historic Monastery. The highlight was listening to the daily performance of the renowned boy's choir which sounded heavenly in the crowded basilica. From there we took a funicular higher up the mountain where there were fabulous view of the surrounding area below and several short and long (all the way to the bottom of the mountain) hiking trails.

In Barcelona, we split our days into checking out different parts of the city. On our first day we took a bus to the top of Montjuic, which overlooked the city and the Mediterranean, and then gradually walked back down. Along the way we spent time at the hilltop Castle and Fortress (a sad ending for the locals), then the Olympic Stadium (1992, open to visitors), walked through parks and gardens, and enjoyed the Magic Fountains and impressive cascading waterfalls in front of the National Art Museum. On another day we took in most of the Antoni Gaudi (1852 - 1926) exhibits which were scattered throughout the Gracia district of the city. La Sagrada Familia (his most famous piece of work and not yet complete) was fascinating to see and looks very modern compared to the many ornate Cathedrals we have previously visited in Europe. While the exterior has incredible stone work and some humorous features (standard Gaudi practice), the interior is very avant garde, especially for a building that was started in the late 1800's. The Nativity Tower provided nice views of the surrounding area and a long spiral staircase descent. We also saw Casa Milo, his curvy apartment complex where Gaudi allegedly told one of the original inhabitants who complained about not being able to get their piano inside, "to take up the violin instead". Parc Guell (his residential neighbourhood design, now a park) and Casa Batllo (redesigned personal residence) were his other highlights. In the evening we attended a jazz concert in the Palau de la Musica which was beautifully sculpted with a huge stained glass dome in the main concert hall and excellent acoustics as well.

On Saturday we spent our time in the Gothic Quarter (oldest part of the city with some remnants of the Roman wall still in place). There were many narrow, winding cobblestone streets and it was easy to get off track enjoying the architecture of the old buildings in the pedestrian friendly district (devoid of automobile traffic).  We walked along the famous Las Ramblas street, with it's tree-lined centre boulevard. City developers turned this 2 kms of the dry riverbed, which went through the centre of the city, into a lovely oasis for strolling, dining and people watching (we did all 3). The nearby Boqueria Market (13th century) was special in that many of the food stalls catered to the tourist traffic with lots of snack-sized portions that were difficult to resist (especially my cone of anchovies). On our final day we walked along the waterfront area. The harbour (with a swing bridge), waterfront promenade, the La Barceloneta area (old port) and Barcelona beach were our prime targets. After lunch we walked through the lovely Parc de la Ciutadella and finished off with a visit to the crowded Pablo Picasso Museum which was housed in five connected, medieval mansions. There were 19 well laid out rooms displaying art from different periods of his life (1881 - 1973) making it easy for the untrained eye to see how his work evolved over the years.

We are now back home, and yes, there is snow on the ground on the 25th of November. Time to start planning our next adventure!

View from the National Art Museum towards the city centre of Barcelona.

View of the Monastery at Montserrat. Yellow cable car and rack railway route visible if you look closely.

La Segrada Familia - Guadi's most famous piece of work.

Parc Guell - would have been a fun neighbourhood to live in.

Casa Batllo - nothing ordinary about this residence.

Palau de la Musica - amazing concert hall. Pre-show pictures only so we arrived early.

Mercat de la Boqueria - couldn't resist this anchovy treat (heads on).

Placa Reial in the Gothic district - while people watching in the harmoniously proportioned square (archway entrances only), Rachel and I ordered grande cervezas and received one litre steins.

Las Ramblas - the tree-lined boulevard was a popular place, day and night.

Barcelona Beach - a nice boardwalk to stroll along. The Mediterranean was a bit too cool for a swim this time of year (although some were taking the plunge).