We got into Barcelona city centre by late lunchtime, after a bit of a nerve-racking drive. We found a car park near the port so there wouldn’t be too much of a drive afterwards.
It was another day of hard marching to try to get to see most of the sights before we had to leave to catch the ferry to Genoa. We did well, and even travelled on the Metro to see the Sagria Famillia. Unfortunately both that and the cathedral were under serious reconstruction. How does a city council work out that it is a good thing to reconstruct the two iconic monuments of a city at the same time?
It was a shame that the photo opportunities were limited at these landmarks but it didn’t really take away from the overall beauty of the place.
The old quarter with narrow alleys between beautiful old buildings that burst into open squares at seemingly random intervals is quite something. There are cafes and little shops everywhere. Okay, most of them are there purely to capture the tourist trade but they do at least manage to blend in with the environment.
The main walkway, Les Ramblas, is home to McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, a sex emporium and packed with overpriced outdoor cafes and bars. It is hard to believe that you can go 20 metres down a side street and be somewhere so different from the crass main street.
Les Ramblas us about a mile long and leads up to Place De Cataluña which wasn’t really worth the walk. It’s like Trafalgar Square but without any of the interesting bits, overlooked by two banks and a branch of Habitat.
We did manage to sort out the extra ticket for Ali on the ferry so she hasn’t got to hitch-hike to Italy to meet me. A shame in a way because the cabin on the ferry is as small as the one on the Portsmouth – Bilbao ferry J
We sailed out of Barcelona last night to a beautiful sunset over the city. I think Barcelona will be well worth a second look, maybe for an EasyJet long weekend later in the season. 32ºC and long walks with rucksacks is a test of stamina – especially for the terminally unfit like me.
Saying that, the walking and salads have started to have an effect on me, although I am not saying that I will come back any lighter because we have Italian cuisine next!
I am writing this on the ferry to upload to the blog later when we get the hotel in Genoa. We are 30 minutes away from docking and have been turfed out of the cabin so it seemed like a good time to sit and write. The ferry has been good, although maybe slightly rougher than the crossing to Spain, which surprised us. It is not exactly nausea-inducing, handrail grabbing rough, just a bit more than before. The sea is a beautiful deep turquoise colour and we hugged the Spanish and French coasts for most of the way.
In 30 minutes I’ll be tackling the Italian traffic drivers who, by legend, are even more notoriously mental than the Spanish. Fingers crossed!!!!!
I haven’t transferred any of the photos to the laptop since Bilbao but will give it a go at some point.
Ciao!
It was another day of hard marching to try to get to see most of the sights before we had to leave to catch the ferry to Genoa. We did well, and even travelled on the Metro to see the Sagria Famillia. Unfortunately both that and the cathedral were under serious reconstruction. How does a city council work out that it is a good thing to reconstruct the two iconic monuments of a city at the same time?
It was a shame that the photo opportunities were limited at these landmarks but it didn’t really take away from the overall beauty of the place.
The old quarter with narrow alleys between beautiful old buildings that burst into open squares at seemingly random intervals is quite something. There are cafes and little shops everywhere. Okay, most of them are there purely to capture the tourist trade but they do at least manage to blend in with the environment.
The main walkway, Les Ramblas, is home to McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, a sex emporium and packed with overpriced outdoor cafes and bars. It is hard to believe that you can go 20 metres down a side street and be somewhere so different from the crass main street.
Les Ramblas us about a mile long and leads up to Place De Cataluña which wasn’t really worth the walk. It’s like Trafalgar Square but without any of the interesting bits, overlooked by two banks and a branch of Habitat.
We did manage to sort out the extra ticket for Ali on the ferry so she hasn’t got to hitch-hike to Italy to meet me. A shame in a way because the cabin on the ferry is as small as the one on the Portsmouth – Bilbao ferry J
We sailed out of Barcelona last night to a beautiful sunset over the city. I think Barcelona will be well worth a second look, maybe for an EasyJet long weekend later in the season. 32ºC and long walks with rucksacks is a test of stamina – especially for the terminally unfit like me.
Saying that, the walking and salads have started to have an effect on me, although I am not saying that I will come back any lighter because we have Italian cuisine next!
I am writing this on the ferry to upload to the blog later when we get the hotel in Genoa. We are 30 minutes away from docking and have been turfed out of the cabin so it seemed like a good time to sit and write. The ferry has been good, although maybe slightly rougher than the crossing to Spain, which surprised us. It is not exactly nausea-inducing, handrail grabbing rough, just a bit more than before. The sea is a beautiful deep turquoise colour and we hugged the Spanish and French coasts for most of the way.
In 30 minutes I’ll be tackling the Italian traffic drivers who, by legend, are even more notoriously mental than the Spanish. Fingers crossed!!!!!
I haven’t transferred any of the photos to the laptop since Bilbao but will give it a go at some point.
Ciao!
