Barcelona (1)

We have had no internet access for the past 2 weeks, so forgive the pause in our travelogue.  We will try to recap our adventures, starting with our week in Barcelona.

On August 1, we moved from laid-back Tavira (southern Portugal) to Barcelona (northeastern Spain). From the airport, we took a bus to Plaza Espana where we caught the metro to within 2 blocks of our apartment.  The apartment was on the 4th floor with a lot of narrow stairs, but fortunately there was a tiny elevator (2’ x 2’).  With some careful maneuvering, we both managed to squeeze in with our luggage.  Getting out was equally difficult since the elevator door struck the opposing wall upon opening.  But we spilled out eventually.

Barcelona has a fantastic metro system

Roger in tiny elevator

The apartment itself was nice.  It had a narrow balcony where we could eat breakfast, a comfortable bed tucked into a nook (so one of us had to climb over the other to get in), a well-equipped kitchen and strange furniture.  The sofa, for instance, dipped in the center so there was nowhere to sit comfortably without being on a slant.  The chairs were equally uncomfortable.  But we were there to see the sites and not sit in the apartment.  The location was superb and it was quiet at night.  That made up for anything lacking in the furniture.

Rick Steves suggests that newcomers walk along La Rambla, a wide, largely pedestrian street running about 20 blocks through the center of historic Barcelona.  So, that’s what we did.  Here are some pictures of what we saw.

La Rambla

The market about halfway down La Rambla 

Olive oils, nuts 

 One of hundreds of stalls in the market.

Beautifully displayed produce 

The egg lady 

A tiny square off La Rambla—perfect for a beer under a shady umbrella 

Beautiful architecture

The next day we took the funicular right by our apartment to Montjuic, a hill on the south side of town.  There was a fort at the top (we learned a lot about Catalunya’s independence struggles) with beautiful views of the city below.  One the way back down, we viewed the park and botanical gardens, a playground for kids and we stopped for lunch (a great paella) overlooking the harbor at Terraza Martinez.