A pleasant day
Trip Start
Jan 08, 2009
1
2
4
Trip End
Jan 11, 2009
Barcelona,
Catalonia,
Spain and Canary Islands
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Meanwhile, I got up around 9:30, left my room between 10 and 10:30. I was a little scattered as to what to do, there are just so many things for me to see and do. Also, it was still a little rainy. I decided to go for a stroll through the gothic area, zig zagging my way to the harbor. Everything was closed at this hour but I found it both peaceful and soothing. I arrived at the port and strolled around just feeling very relaxed and enjoying the water.
The port itself is quite modern and boasts a host of activities like aquariums and museums. I just enjoyed the peace. One odd thing... There is a footbridge connecting the area with the actual boardwalk at La Rambla. Well, as a boat was passing to get to the marina, the entire bridge split in 2 and rotated to let teh boat through. It was very unique.
After I stopped for a small brunch at a little restaurant near the marina, I worked my way to the olympic village marina. Also very modern and interesting. It was built to house the olympic athletes and the various others involved with the games but now it is a very upscale entertainment area with a mall and theatre complex.
I worked my way up to the HUGE Gaudi church. This is one of the central landmarks of Barcelona!! It will probably never be finished but it is absolutley stunning in both size and structure. It is more a work of art than a church. I also paid to go inside which is basically a construction site but you can see that it resembles a grove of trees. The museum was very informative too...for example; Gaudi designed the structure using string and weights hanging from the ceiling to determine the pressure points. hanging upside down it makes a perfect arch and shows exact, natural weight distribution.
On my way up to this area I passed the obelisk like high rise that dominates the skyline and also the bull ring. TORO!!
Since I had my bus ticket from yesterday, I used the on/off bus to go to the park on the top of the hill. This park was designed by Gaudi and has all those elements that make his work unique. SEE PICS
For the rest of the day, I made it my goal to explore those gothic and Gaudi structures that make Barcelona so beautiful.
This evening, there was a major demonstration and there were a lot of rowdy folks on the street as it is also Saturday night.
Barcelona gets an "A". The Barcelo's are obviously very proud of their city and with every right to be. At first glance it appears the quality of life is very good and there is a good blend of antiquity and modern treasure. I unfortunately ran out of time and must go back to work...This is on the "return for more" list!!!!
DF
