Thursday, February 23, 2006

Barcelona

We took a bus across to Barcelona so that we could overnight before heading to Reus for the flight to Dublin.

Barcelona - note that many of these links have an English or Castellano alternative.


Gaudi has a great many of his works here and while we didn´t have time for galleries, we visited the residence of the artist; a garden on a hill top that I had only even seen shots of in artist books. This is Parc Güell; previously designed for 60 housing allotments but only two residences were ever built. The Council brought the property which is now a park and popular tourist attraction.

Where we are sitting is the top of a large plaza, ringed with a mosaic balustrade that covers an area that was eventually to be an art nouveau inspired shopping centre. I am relieved that that didn´t go ahead. The view of the city was great however and very popular with international tourists.

We walked la Ramblé that runs from the port to the hill and seems to be the tourist heart. Branching off at angles are cobblestone winding streets that meander their way between the close set buildings. I say meander but it is actually neatly set out - but with such narrow streets where I don't understand how the trucks manage to get through successfully most of the time, where squares pop up out of no where and the streets aren't straight.... it has a very cosy feel.

I really liked Barcelona. Where we stayed was not far from a vegan juice bar and restaurant. Lovely food and professional service at an exceptionally reasonable price too. The restaurant was painted in an adhoc colourful fashion that added to the friendly feel of the place.

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