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| Typical tapas bar, Barcelona |
Our journey from Buenos Aires to Barcelona was fairly uneventful. The funniest thing to happen was that we bought heaps of food in BA before we left thinking we had a cheap flight with no frills. Having just polished off some lovely sandwiches and snacks, the flight attendant came around to serve our dinner!! Hmmm, seems James had forgotten he had upgraded the flight on some deal or other. Never mind, our snacks were much nicer than the airline food.
Arriving in Barcelona, we took the bus into town quite close to our hostel so only had to walk a short way with our full rucksacks. James is really great at researching the cheap way into town so that we don't get ripped off with inflated taxi fees, which is typical at most airports.
We were staying in the Plaza Espana area which had the central underground line running through it, which made getting places really cheap and easy. Venturing out on our first night to check out our hood, we found a crowd forming a queue at a bar across the road from us. Not wanting to miss a trick, we googled it to see if we should be there too. The reviews were dreadful. Pretty much a tourist trap with an undeserved reputation of somewhere you must visit in the area. Thanks, Google, good to know. Moving on. Dislike queues anyway ;-)
We only had two days in Barcelona. So much to do! First was Las Ramblas. We arrived a little early for the stalls to all be set up but James did mention that the whole area had become a lot more touristy than when he was last here ... around 20 years ago! To escape the light rain that started to fall we ducked into the market. Again, quite touristy these days but fascinating nonetheless.
Up the top of the road we were reminded of the terrible tragedy which took place here in August 2017 when a young man drove a van into pedestrians, killing 14 and injuring 130+. Moving on quite quickly .....
Off we went to see some of the amazing architecture on offer here .... Gaudi of course!
We walked to Casa Batllo, not letting a little light rain thwart our enthusiasm.
The building beside it is very pretty too, so much detail to the facade.
Then, of course, La Segrada Familia started in 1882 and still under construction. If you ever see a photo of this amazing building without cranes and scaffolding, trust us, it's photo-shopped. This detracts not a jot from the detail on every surface. You can stand and stare at the same place for half an hour and still see something new. Beyond comprehension really!
A bit closer to home we came upon the MNAC museum
The Magic Fountain of Montjuic
These rather imposing columns
And the Arenas de Barcelona, which is a disused bullring turned shopping mall
At the top of which we found this cool interactive floor which changed colours depending on the pressure placed. The children were having a ball on it!
Although Barcelona was a flying visit on our way to our next house-sit in Andalucia, it was well worth the stopover.
We walked to Casa Batllo, not letting a little light rain thwart our enthusiasm.
Then, of course, La Segrada Familia started in 1882 and still under construction. If you ever see a photo of this amazing building without cranes and scaffolding, trust us, it's photo-shopped. This detracts not a jot from the detail on every surface. You can stand and stare at the same place for half an hour and still see something new. Beyond comprehension really!
A bit closer to home we came upon the MNAC museum
The Magic Fountain of Montjuic
These rather imposing columns
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| James has never looked so short! |
And the Arenas de Barcelona, which is a disused bullring turned shopping mall
At the top of which we found this cool interactive floor which changed colours depending on the pressure placed. The children were having a ball on it!
Although Barcelona was a flying visit on our way to our next house-sit in Andalucia, it was well worth the stopover.
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