I've heard many people mention that Barcelona is either a city you love, or one that you hate. And much of that has to do more with the architectural style of the city rather than the people, the sights or the food.
Barcelona is the home of Antoni Gaudi, master Art Nouveau architect who designed and built many of the most iconic structures seen around Barcelona.
It was late in July in 2006, when I visited Barcelona. When we arrived to Barcelona International Airport late in the evening, little did we know that this stay in this beautifully eclectic city would prove to be such an adventure. Additionally, this trip, re-ignited our interest in Europe. It had been nearly 20 years since I'd last been to Europe in 1987. Since this trip in 2006, I've visited Europe at least once every year since.
By the time we got out of the airport, took the Aeroport Bus to Placa Catalunya, walked to Las Ramblas and found our hotel, checked in, and dropped off our bags at the room, it was just past 10:00 pm. We decided to make the most of our first evening in Barcelona by going for a stroll outside. Since our hotel was situated on the very popular main pedestrian street in Barcelona known as Las Ramblas, we were in the perfect place for a late evening stroll. At 10:00 pm, the place was packed and it looked like the party was just getting started. This is definitely one place not to be missed if you're ever in Barcelona. It's funny that during the day (as seen in the picture), before all the previous night's revelers are up, the street is just a very beautiful, but peacefully, tree lined street filled with vendors selling the wares on either side of the street.
For our first full day in Barcelona, we decided to take a trip on the city's famous hop-on, hop-off bus operated by Bus Turistic. The tour operators jumping off point was just around the corner from our hotel, and we made sure we were there for the first bus of the day.
Once we were off on our adventure, you could clearly see the sights that Antoni Gaudi has made so popular laid out before you throughout the city, especially when you're riding on the top deck of an open-top, double decker bus.Our first stop was Gaudi's famous Casa Mila, an apartment building that he designed and had built. The outside facade of this building that sits at the corner of 2 intersecting streets is the first sign of whimsy that you see. It's up on the rooftop of the building where you see all sorts of odd, unique and intricate mosaic creations where you begin to get a glimpse into this man that is Antoni Gaudi.
From Casa Mila, we headed to the famous, if not infamous, La Sagrada Familia. A church hundreds of years in the making. This church has come to represent Gaudi, his life and his passion. During the later years of his life, he was obsessed with this church, which unfortunately was never completed before his untimely death, and to this day is still a work in progress. Private donations and other aspiring architects today continue his work based upon the blue prints he has left behind. This church really is a wonder to behold, with two very distinct styles depending on what side of the church you are standing on. I've never seen a church so intricate in it's design, nor so bold and forward in its thinking.
Our last Gaudi stop of the day was the beautiful Parc Guell. There was a very rich Barcelona native that hired Gaudi to design him a park, and Parc Guell is the result of that commission. It is no secret that Gaudi had a love for mosaics and this park is the perfect example of his brilliant, tedious, and time-consuming, mosaic art.
Other sights we were able to cram in during our day tour of the city was the Olympic Stadium of the 1992 Summer Games, the beautiful bronze Christopher Columbus statue (which was actually built incorrectly with Columbus facing the wrong direction), the Port Vell area, and finally the Diagonal area.
After a short afternoon rest at our hotel, we ended our day in style by taking in the beautiful Magic Fountains light show at Placa Espanya. If you've ever seen the light and music water fountain show in front of the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas, the Magic Fountain show is similar, albeit a little less high-tech, but nonetheless gorgeous, fun, beautiful, and a great way to end the evening in this colorful, rich and vibrant city.
Our last morning in the city, we decided to walk the quiet streets of Las Ramblas and take in beautiful flower market and the amazing Mercat de la Borqueria. If you're ever in Barcelona, the Boqueria is something not to be missed. It's basically, a fresh fruit, meats, and dining area for locals that is open every morning. The sights, the sounds, and the smells are all distinctly Barcelona.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much time for anything else before we headed to the cruise ship dock to catch our ship and begin our glorious adventure through the Western Mediterranean. When our cruise ship returned to this beautiful city 12 days later, we headed directly to the airport to catch our flight home. But I left this city knowing that at some point in time, I'd be back. Unfortunately, I won't be stopping at Barcelona on my next cruise, but you can bet that I will be back. It's the spirit of the Catalan people, their culture, their history that will draw me back to this wonderful city.
No comments:
Post a Comment