Gaby and I met back up in Barcelona.
I was returning from Belgium and Gaby was coming from Málaga. We arranged for our flights to arrive at the same time in Barcelona’s airport so we got there almost simultaneously.
Barcelona is an amazing city. For me it is the definition of a cultured European city with its wide, tree lined avenues, beautiful people, cutting edge fashion, famous architecture and varied cultural offerings. It has been many years since I saw the city and you could see how it has prospered from the strong growth that Spain has experienced over the last 20 years.
Barcelona is the capital and principal city of Cataluña, a region of Spain that has a different language, culture, cuisine and architecture to the rest of the country. Many of the Catalans we met wanted more independence from Spain and for most of them Spanish is a second language.
We stayed the first night in a hotel in town, then the following day met up with our friend Salvador. Salvador lives outside of Barcelona and had worked with Gaby at her job in Napa. We had always wanted to see him in Spain and we finally got the chance.
With Salvador we explored the city on foot and saw its highlights. We started with Gaudí´s architectural masterpiece La Sagrada Família which is still under construction. We then walked to another of Gaudí’s works, Palau Güell. After lunch we explored the boutiques and wide boulevards of the Moderniste Eixample. From there we walked along Las Ramblas from the Plaça Catalunya to the port. The Ramblas and the fruit & vegetable market (La Boqueria) were full of people and alive with street performers. We then visited the Gothic quarter and explored old Barcelona (Ciutat Vella) and walked through its Roman and Medieval alleys. There we saw the gothic Church of Santa Maria del Mar. From there we visited the trendy Born neighborhood.
The city was packed and alive and in spite of the global recession, which we clearly saw the effects of in the Costa del Sol, Barcelona was buzzing and busy.
Gaby and I loved Barcelona and we had a terrific time seeing it again. It is such a visually stunning city and has so much to see and do. We would have loved to stay a week and explore it thoroughly. But it was time to move on and we were also looking forward to seeing Cataluña’s wine country so we jumped on a train and headed to Salvador’s home.
I was returning from Belgium and Gaby was coming from Málaga. We arranged for our flights to arrive at the same time in Barcelona’s airport so we got there almost simultaneously.
Barcelona is an amazing city. For me it is the definition of a cultured European city with its wide, tree lined avenues, beautiful people, cutting edge fashion, famous architecture and varied cultural offerings. It has been many years since I saw the city and you could see how it has prospered from the strong growth that Spain has experienced over the last 20 years.
Barcelona is the capital and principal city of Cataluña, a region of Spain that has a different language, culture, cuisine and architecture to the rest of the country. Many of the Catalans we met wanted more independence from Spain and for most of them Spanish is a second language.
We stayed the first night in a hotel in town, then the following day met up with our friend Salvador. Salvador lives outside of Barcelona and had worked with Gaby at her job in Napa. We had always wanted to see him in Spain and we finally got the chance.
With Salvador we explored the city on foot and saw its highlights. We started with Gaudí´s architectural masterpiece La Sagrada Família which is still under construction. We then walked to another of Gaudí’s works, Palau Güell. After lunch we explored the boutiques and wide boulevards of the Moderniste Eixample. From there we walked along Las Ramblas from the Plaça Catalunya to the port. The Ramblas and the fruit & vegetable market (La Boqueria) were full of people and alive with street performers. We then visited the Gothic quarter and explored old Barcelona (Ciutat Vella) and walked through its Roman and Medieval alleys. There we saw the gothic Church of Santa Maria del Mar. From there we visited the trendy Born neighborhood.
The city was packed and alive and in spite of the global recession, which we clearly saw the effects of in the Costa del Sol, Barcelona was buzzing and busy.
Gaby and I loved Barcelona and we had a terrific time seeing it again. It is such a visually stunning city and has so much to see and do. We would have loved to stay a week and explore it thoroughly. But it was time to move on and we were also looking forward to seeing Cataluña’s wine country so we jumped on a train and headed to Salvador’s home.
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