Our Last Stop

Barcelona

Okay, some fast facts about Barcelona. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, a region of Spain. The people of Barcelona are Catalans first, Spaniards last. Think Texans. They even speak their own language there called Catalan, which is closer to an old French dialect called langue d'oc than to Spanish but they do speak and understand Castillian Spanish (or Castellano), of course. The Americans in our group will find the European Spanish odd sounding, I think. I once read that people from North and South America must remember to pronounce their Spanish in as “sissy” or caricatured gay way as possible. It is NOT Bar–sell–o–na, but Bar–thell–o–na. It’s NOT gra–see–ahs, it’s gra–thee–ahs. If you want 5 espressos, don’t ask for sink–oh espresso, por favor, but say think–oh espresso, por favor. Got it?

Barcelona is rich in history, culture and the arts. Check out some of the links to the right of this page to read some of the history of Barcelona. Interesting stuff.

We are staying in the Hispanos Siete Suiza Hotel in the Eixample district – an upscale area that is also home to the Sagrada Famlia, just a block away. We will be a couple of blocks away from the Metro stop and close to the tourist bus stop, both of which will be real foot savers. Check the links for maps of the Metro and the Bus Service to see all the places we can go when we are too tired to walk there. Or we can find the bus marked “Barcelona Tours” and purchase a one or 2 day pass that allows us to hop-on-hop-off as often as we want at 20 different stops through the city. A one day pass costs €20 or about $27, the 2 day pass is €24 or about $33.

On the Metro we can easily catch both the Blue and Purple Lines which will take us to most of the places we will want to go, I think. The Bus Service is the Northern, or Red Line. We can easily change over to the southern, or Blue Line at the Passeig de Gràcia-La Pedrera or Catalunya stop.

La Rambla

Evening on La Rambla

Every Spanish city worth its weight has a mingling place, a square or an avenue where people hang out between getting off from work and heading off for dinner. This is where they catch up on the news of the city and local gossip, run errands, and mingle with friends. Barcelona has La Rambla. We can easily walk from either stop over to La Rambla and stroll the avenue. Perhpas there we shall take a coffee at a sidewalk café, or a glass of wine. Some lunch might even be in order, maybe some tapas? Catalans eat dinner quite late, so stock up on your lunch to see you through until dinner.

Wide Angle Perspective of the Barri Gotic

One of the Medieval Arches

Uneven Pavement in the Otherwise Lovely Gothic Quarter

Of course, we shall want to wander through the Gothic Quarter to soak up its charm and history. Think narrow alleys, remnants of Roman walls, medieval arches, and lots and lots of uneven walking surfaces.

Ugly Orthopedic Walking Sandal

It was during this walk I had to go to an orthopedic shoe store to buy better walking sandals, so be prepared!

Cathedral of St. Eulalia

Geese of St. Eulalia

There is a beautiful cathedral there, the Cathedral of St. Eulalia. The convent gardens are lovely and are home to the geese who signify the purity of St. Eulalia.

Luz de Gas Port Vell

From here maybe we will head towards the Port Vell area to enjoy the waterfront. We ate at a wonderful restaurant there called Luz de Gas. A thoroughly enjoyable evening was spent there drinking wine and sharing tapas with some friends. At the end of the evening of eating and drinking we might consider taking a taxi back to the hotel. Hiccup.