Cameron and I just returned from a quick, 4 day jaunt to Barcelona. We were hoping for hot weather, and although the weather was beautiful, this weekend the weather in Germany was just as nice as Spain! We were both excited to break out our Spanish, but as it turned out, German phrases kept coming out of my mouth. I guess my mind just reverts to which ever language it thinks of faster when English doesn't cut it.
Barcelona was gorgeous, and it was great to see the Mediterranean for the first time. Unfortunately, a lot of the city was covered in scaffolding, so we didn't get the full effect of the architecture.
Above is a picture of the fountains in the Parc de la Ciutadella- it was really cool how the gargoyles spit out water! There were tons of people picnicking in the park and lounging on the grass with dogs and children. There is also a zoo in the park (we didn't go) that once had an albino gorilla, but he got skin cancer and died. Apparently he didn't like wearing sunscreen!
I did not realize that Barcelonians don't speak Castilian spanish, they speak Catalan, which is an entirely different language (but are all bilingual with castilian spanish, and many in english as well). They do not like to be compared to the rest of Spain- a culture within a culture.
We did a Fat Tire Bike Tour, and it was a great way to see the city. We would ride to each site and get a brief history of the major locations. Our tour guide was very funny as well, which kept us interested. The archway above is the Arc de Triomf- the northern entrance to the city park. Either side of the wide walkway is lined with benches, palm trees, and more people lounging in the grass. From this vantage point, you can see right to the water.
Cameron and I at the Mediterranean for the first time! The beach was actually man-made to attract tourism, so the sand is all imported and not as nice as a natural beach. After take-off from the airport on Monday, I could clearly see whales swimming in the sea from the sky- it was really cool!
This is the Sagrada Familia- a church whose construction began in 1882 and is predicted to be finished in 20-40 years... It was designed by Antonio Gaudi, who, it seems, designed most of the architecture in Barcelona. Read about it on
Wikipedia, the history and design is pretty interesting.
Each night there is a show where this fountain and coordinating lights are set to music. Interestingly, each song that played was in English (Whitney Houston was one). It was amazing how many different way the fountain could be adjusted. There is a short video link below (the volume is pretty loud).
I miss my Dunkin Donuts, and am always happy to see it abroad!
Cameron with a statue of Christopher Columbus in the background- pointing west. We sat on the stairs Ferdinand and Isabella welcomed him back from "discovering" America on. The only street performer who's tin can Cameron put money in was a guy pretending to be a statue of Columbus. Thanks for realizing the world wasn't flat!!
Not sure what this is- didn't taste nearly as good as lobster. There was some good seafood though!
Since it was Palm Sunday, the citizens of Barcelona came out to perform their traditional Catalan dance- they stood in a circle holding hands, and moved their feet a little. It seemed subdued, but all the participants were having a great time. All around the city there were street vendors selling Palm strips folded into intricate designs.
On La Rambla (wide pedestrian street known for tourists and pick pockets) there were many of these vendors, as well as street performers, people pretending to be statues (not very convincing for the most part) and vendors who sold pets- bunnies, hamsters, tweety birds, roosters, turtles, etc. It was sad to hear the birds chirping a night, locked up in the vendors' kiosks!
