Hola from Barcelona

Ah……the French train system. According to the web site the trains were not running – we went to the station anyway and our train arrived on time. It was an interesting trip and the track hugged the coast for quite a distance. We were lucky enough to see some of the famous flamingos in the coastal lakes but sadly have no photos. The French guard was very serious and told Tony that he thought that the dates had been changed on our Eurail Pass. They hadn’t, of course, as this means the pass can be automatically and immediately taken from you and you are fined as well as losing all your ticket money. Fortunately he didn’t take it and we were much relieved when the Spanish guard just glanced at it and handed it back.

Our Barcelona Hotel is only 1 year old and it has all sorts of remote controlled lights and air conditioning. We even have a touch screen – I am impressed by little luxury touches. It has hot pink and bright yellow walls and crisp white linen, a big screen TV and a microwave for making drinks. That is a real treat in Europe. We can even see the Mediterranean Sea from our opening window (I like that about European hotels). The city is amazing. I think that one of the first things you notice is the cleanliness both on the streets and in the Metro. All the water in the fountains and troughs is also clean and I have seen many city employees sweeping, raking and cleaning. The new buildings are very innovative and not rectangular shapes at all. There are lots of triangular shapes and buildings with sections of floors missing. Given the architectural history of this city that probably shouldn’t surprise me. Decoration, innovation and style would probably be key words in a text book description.



We have walked miles after deciding that 70 euros for a hop on/off bus ticket was too much for 2 days and we have used the metro and Shank’s pony instead……and we have seen and enjoyed lots of wonderful sights. The Sagrada Familia was fantastic, as were all of the other creations designed by Gaudi. Sadly photos don’t really do them justice as they are so big and it is difficult to get a clear uninterrupted shot. We have done our best! One of the other problems with the photography is the contrast between light and shadow. There are also some big hills in Barcelona and we were a little puffed when we arrived at The Parc Guell – just as well there were escalators to take you up part of the way. It makes you smile – Gaudi’s House, pavilions, a wonderful long mosaiced seat, wonderful gardens (lots of prickly pears and other xerophytic plants), a giant mosaiced iguana, and little fancy bits everywhere. We sat and had a very late lunch and I had a very large sangria!











The port area is also a great place to visit and we have learned a fair bit of Spanish history. We had to look up Columbus and see where he actually sailed from and I was never really sure where Aragon was. Shame shame shame! La Rambla is the Barcelona equivalent of the Champs Elysee (but with lots more pet stalls) and we have explored it reasonably well. Today we wandered the street of the Barri Gotic, visited the park, the Barcelona Cathedral, various palace buildings and the archive centre and strolled through the markets and seen all sorts of yummy food.

Lots of wondrous food to buy in the market

Siesta time and everything (well not quite everything) closes

The streets in the Gothic Zone are really narrow and it is very difficult to get good photos here.







I now have a poster and a print of an old map to carry!

We have eaten some good things here including some very expensive tapas. It was surprising as the variety wasn’t as good as I have seen in Sydney and, while it was quite tasty, I expected more. I think we ate at the wrong place. In contrast today for lunch I had the best paella I have ever eaten! We have also dined at the local shopping centre which is just nearby as we get hungry early and many of the restaurants don’t open till 8. That makes for a late night if you don’t order until after 8, wait for your food, eat it and then get back.

Tomorrow we return to France. We have a booked ticket from here to Narbonne. Then we have trouble – you cannot book your seat on line if you have a Eurail Pass, you cannot book a French seat from Spain and you are not allowed on the TGVs unless you have a booked seat. We have 18 minutes at Narbonne between trains so we possibly won’t make it. Some of the train reservation queues in France are very long and slow. We are of course crossing our fingers and hoping the trains actually run. Bordeaux is our intended destination.