Barcelona is one of those cities that is a must see on any ones travel itinerary. It has taken us ages to get there but definitely lived up to all expectations. A true party city with an amazing vibe, beautiful food, history, beaches, architecture etc. If it had had surf it would have been paradise but I guess nowhere is perfect. Julie and I have travelled with other people heaps lately so wanted a trip with just the two of us. You could say a romantic summer weekend holiday to Europe!!
The city is not very big but has a massive amount to see and we only had a short amount of time. We didn't want to miss anything so as we have come to learn a bike tour is the best option. There is always a bike tour on offer in popular European cities and they are pretty good value for money and a great fun way to see the city.
Before the bike tour started we needed food. Barcelona being warm pretty much all year round means fruit is abundant. We headed to the very famous central street called Las Rambles. The street is filled with tourists a million and all that goes with them. Beggars, street stalls, people dressed up pretending to be statues, flower markets, restaurants and bars. Through the hustle we managed to find an amazing food market with plenty of fruit for sale.
The bike tour was only 3 1/2 hours long but we managed to see an amazing amount of the city. Our guide new a crazy amount of history about the various statues, buildings, beaches parks etc. The two most influential artists to come from Barcelona and one of the main reasons so many people visit are Antoni Gaudi and Pablo Picasso.
The bike tour was only 3 1/2 hours long but we managed to see an amazing amount of the city. Our guide new a crazy amount of history about the various statues, buildings, beaches parks etc. The two most influential artists to come from Barcelona and one of the main reasons so many people visit are Antoni Gaudi and Pablo Picasso.
Together they have had a huge impact on the city having been contracted to undertake a number of amazing and slightly eccentric I am being kind, crazy wierd buildings, light columns, monuments, paintings and the most famous and largest the La Sagrada Familia cathedral.
I am not much of an art buff so maybe my ignorance stood in the way of my appreciation. I found most of the early Gaudi to be nice as well as the early Picasso but once they were given full artistic freedom to produce whatever they wanted it all got a bit weird.I guess that's what has made there art so great, there unique style and madness. A little bit of history for everyone - the construction of the La Sagrada Familia began in 1882. It was planned as a neo-Gothic style church. Gaudi took over the construction in 1884 and immediately changed the direction and scale of the building, seeing it as an opportunity to express his own feelings. He spent much of his life working on the church and was still adapting and changing the plans when he died in 1926.He never finished it and it is still under construction today.
I am not much of an art buff so maybe my ignorance stood in the way of my appreciation. I found most of the early Gaudi to be nice as well as the early Picasso but once they were given full artistic freedom to produce whatever they wanted it all got a bit weird.I guess that's what has made there art so great, there unique style and madness. A little bit of history for everyone - the construction of the La Sagrada Familia began in 1882. It was planned as a neo-Gothic style church. Gaudi took over the construction in 1884 and immediately changed the direction and scale of the building, seeing it as an opportunity to express his own feelings. He spent much of his life working on the church and was still adapting and changing the plans when he died in 1926.He never finished it and it is still under construction today.
During the bike tour we met John and Nat an Aussie couple who we decided to meet up with later that night at a Cava bar. Now a Cava bar in Barcelona is not like something you would find in Fiji but rather a bar serving sparkling wine and tapas. The Cava (sparkling wine) in the region surrounding Barcelona is made the same way as it is in Champagne. More Cava is made here than anywhere else in the world and is is cheaper and taste awesome. After what seemed like a million tapas and far to much Cava we moved on but only after I impulse bought a traditional wine bladder. Just what I have always needed.
Another 30+ day dawned. We still had heaps to see so set off. We jumped on a metro and headed to an outdoor Gaudi park. I was pretty impressed with this park. The architecture was still mad and reminded me of being at Fred Flintstones house but the location of the park had a spectacular view over the city towards the ocean.
Luck was on our side this weekend as on the first Sunday of every month the Picasso museum is free, we killed a good hour wandering around admiring the way Picasso went from a seemingly normal artist with amazing talent, to someone that seemed to loose touch with reality with the tangent he went off on with some of his pieces! Guess art cant all be the same, not sure if Picasso is my cup of tea.
The rest of our time in Barcelona was pretty much spent at the city beach. During the lead up to the Barcelona Olympics huge amounts of money was poured into the city. What was once a deprived port was changed into a beautiful beach where thousands sunbathed (mostly without tops on I might add) on sand imported from the Sahara Dessert. It was a truly relaxing day and a weekend that we both needed in the sun. We were sad to leave but not too much as we knew that in a couple of weeks time we would be going to another Spanish city - Valencia, our Spanish adventures were not over just yet.
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