Memories of Barcelona...

Barcelona Jan 2008

After a few days at Mona Chimpanzee Sanctuary we waved goodbye to Jane and got a train into Barcelona to see the sights!

Memorable Moments

Watching the world go by on the train journey into Barcelona from Girona, chatting about our experience at Mona and listening to Zero 7.

Couldn’t find our hostel in town, that was because it was not in the town...somehow I must have managed to find a completely different hostel on the map as it was nowhere near where I thought it was! But we did find it eventually and it was perfect! A great little hostel, very cheap and basic, lovely atmosphere and free breakfast!

We had planned to get a cable car ride over the harbour and thought we’d save time on our last day if we found it the night before so we knew where to go, we ended up walking miles to find it before discovering ourselves in a not so great part of town...

Walking down the famous Ramblas we were less than impressed, we had heard such good things about the Ramblas being the centre of the hustle and bustle of Barcelona but after being at the sanctuary for a few days seeing the animals being held and sold in ridiculously small cages piled on top of each other was not a pleasant sight.  Some of the cages had animals literally standing on top of one another to fit them in and the birds didn’t even have enough room to open a wing there were so many crammed in such a tiny space.  Very sad, it just reinforced some of the issues we had been told about a few days previously.

We got into ‘Casa Mila’ one of the Gaudi buildings as one of the last entries at dusk.  When we got up to the rooftop it was like being on another planet.  Absolutely amazing, we spent ages up there it was so peaceful, the sun was setting and the huge sculptures towered over and around us.  I would say ‘magical’ summed up the experience, I will never forget.

Baring in mind it was January and we decided to sit on the chilly top deck of an open top tour bus, we were very surprised to find ourselves with sunburnt faces in the evening!

The flight home with a rowdy family who couldn’t decide where they were sitting, the air hostess having to literally scream ‘will everyone SIT DOWN NOW’  The old lady with the huge magnified eyes behind her thick glasses staring at us all the way home and the toddler having a wander down the aisle whenever the seatbelt light came on.

Architectural Genius

La Sagrada Familia, the huge Roman Catholic Church designed by Gaudi which is still incomplete, but fascinating in that one side is in a completely different style to the other.

Casa Mila Rooftop sculptures, Gaudi genius.  Not only is the rooftop something else, the building itself is incredible, architecture like you have never seen. 

Casa Batllo, another Gaudi design, which used to be a residential building.  We walked around with our headsets on which described how each curve and shape in each room had a purpose and meaning behind it.  There were no straight lines in the entire building and the roof top shapes resembled a dragon’s tale.  I’m not always one for listening to the lengthy headphone guides but it was very interesting and explained all the little details which made the building so fascinating.

Strolling round the gothic quarter, for another style of architecture, there is so much to look at in Barcelona, art and architecture is all around you.

Artyfartyness

Gaudi everywhere! This city is full of art everywhere you look, the buildings are a work of art!

Park Guell again designed by Gaudi was one of my favourite places that we visited.  It’s free to enter and you can explore the park and its architectural features to your heart’s content.  His trademark mosaics are featured throughout the terrace and park itself and there are surprises round every corner.  Combined with the warmth of the afternoon sun it was a fantastic afternoon Jen and I spent hours exploring.

Culinary Delights

I don’t remember much about the food to be honest, I know when we got to Barcelona we were so hungry not having eaten for hours that we ran into a pizza hut and scoffed as much pizza as our bellies could hold!

We did end up in a very posh restaurant in the evening which we went in looking like tramps with sunburnt faces before realising quite how posh it was (men in suits, ladies dressed up), but they let us in even though we got a few strange looks and the food was gorgeous!

What the Weatherman Says (January)

Very cold mornings and evenings but warm sunny afternoons! It’s all about layers!

Walkometer/Exhaustion Level

Working at Mona had been exhausting anyway but after sightseeing round Barcelona we were cream crackered, we were both falling asleep on the underground, heads nodding trying to keep an eye on the stations so we would make it back to the hostel.

Walking, walking walking, we did some more walking...the hop on/off tour bus was fantastic I would really recommend this!! You pay a certain amount for a ticket over how many days you are there and you can literally jump on and off the bus at all the sights.  You get a map and money off vouchers for entry to most of the attractions in town it is perfect and you are not limited with how much time you spend at places or having to be back for a certain time. Well worth the money!