As my time in Barcelona comes to a close as cliche as it sounds...I am overcome with grief. The longer I stay in Barca the more in love I fall. Alas, as all good things must come to an end, we are off to San Sebastian in the morning. But now...a look back on our time in this wonderful city.
I believe that when possible, bike tours are the perfect way to see a city. What better way to acquaint oneself with a new place than taking to the streets! I had previously used Fat Tire tours a couple summers ago in Paris and remembered that they had a Barcelona tour. The idea didn't take much coaxing because it was a beautiful day and who wants to go to the gym when you have a better alternative. I can't speak more highly of the company...you travel around the city pausing at major landmarks for a brief history blurb but you don't feel bombarded by boring, irrelevant facts. The guides are young travelers (in Paris we had a UCSB water polo bro from norcal...in Barca we had an Aussi gypsy on a long holiday) that fell in love with the city and want to share it with fellow bikers? We met our group a la Plaza Sant Jaume, then we walked over to the shop grabbed some beach cruisers and made our way along the windy cobblestone roads to Plaza del Rei. After our lesson in the the the gorgeous plaza my mother decided it was the most opportune moment to take a couple tourist snapshots. But for the technologically inadvanced...one quick shot turned into accidental selfies which resulted in that "awkward moment" when you lose your tour group in a crowded city to which you can barely navigate yourself.
The company is pretty lax and there really is only one rule (besides "have fun") if you get lost stay in the same place and the guide will come back to find you. Well we sort of stayed in the same place...but Sue needed to check out the little zapatarias and Shelb was parched. So...as I see the our guide on the other side of the busy plaza I attempt to gather the attention of my travel companions while swimming through a sea of tourists and lose the guide...again. Well 30 minutes later we're still at the plaza and decide maybe we should try to make our way back to the shop...we find a note on the door, "lost people I will find you." How reassuring. After a couple minutes of waiting, another guide finds us and takes us to find our group. Well we have missed La Catedral but we meet them a la Arc de Triomf, yep Spain has one too...and I know this is a bold statement but it is more beautiful than the one in Paris (just keepin it real...). We then make our way to La Parc de la Ciutadella to see Gaudi's Fountain...which is nothing like his other works in the city but that is because he was the apprentice but in Barcelona Gaudi is God and it's his. We then make our way to the Barcelona Plaza del Toros (the infamous bullfighting ring). Now I don't know about you but there are a couple of things I think of when I make my to do list for Spain and bullfighting was pretty up there...but when you hear about the gruesome nature of the sport (grant it there was a definite bias by the storyteller...) but it is safe to say that it is no longer on my list. After a horrifying revelation of present day bullfighting we made our way to La Sagrada Familia which truly is a masterpiece, and even though we had toured it the day before it was definitely worth a second go around. We then head to the beach where we gazed over Port Olimpic and enjoyed a late lunch on the beach. What is most interesting about Barcelona is that it didn't become a major tourist destination until the 90's when they hosted the Olympics...which is crazy because this city has SO much to offer (if you can't tell already I am completely infatuated). After lunch and losing the group "only" two more times we made it back to the bike shop feeling wonderfully content. It was the perfect way to see the city, once again completely impressed with Fat Tire Tours. We were able to explore a beautiful city, made new friends from around the world and had a great history lesson filled with interesting facts that you don't normally receive on a tour. Bravo Fat Tire.
Well the only appropriate thing to do after a 4 hour, 7 mile tour is shopping and an afternoon cappuccino/pie/instagram break. Around 6 we headed back to the hotel for a little siesta (I could really get used to this...honestly who doesn't love a nap and a late dinner...I need to move to Europe). We woke up around 8:45, called the concierge for a good paella restaurant and headed out to the famous Botafumeiro...divine. If you're in town go...after dinner we set Sue on her merry way and headed out into the famous Barcelona nightlife. The only advice we got from our friends was "head to the beach" so we did. What looks like little lean-tos along the beach front were actually massive underground disco techs with many dance floors. Heading down the secret staircase at midnight we knew it would be empty...its Spain we get it no one goes out until 2...what we did not expect to find was a toga party, as Asher Roth famously professed, "I Love College." We danced the night away jumping from discoteca to discoteca...what a night.
Our last day in Spain was spent at the Museo Picasso, tracking down leather boutiques, and chasing the sunset. Tomorrow we leave for San Sebastian, back to the Basque country.
Don't worry Barca I will be back...soon.
Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barcelona. Show all posts
Friday, March 22, 2013
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Barca Bound
Generally the most stressful part of a trip is the traveling. Rushing to gates, the colossal customs lines, sitting in cramped quarters for extended periods of time and the ever formidable collecting of luggage. Lucky for us, we managed to make it unscathed (for the most part) from Los Angeles to Barcelona. And now, after a grueling 15 hours of traveling we find ourselves in the beautiful Barcelonian twilight. The stunning architecture is unparalleled to any city I have traveled. The cities iconic spirit and architecture can be attributed to the genius of Antoni Gaudí. The rich nightlife is accented by scattered light and roaming Europeans...minutes in the city and we have fallen. As we make our way to the hotel waves of exhaustion begin to set in as we stumble into our room and onto our beds.
Fact: I can fall asleep anywhere and anytime, my faithful travel companions (mom and Shelb) are another story. You know that horrible, and I mean painfully painstaking feeling when you are awaked from a deep slumber prematurely? Well around 2:30 am I am forcefully jerked from mine. My mom and sister have not acclimated to our new time zone and have decided that now (when technically we should be going out flamenco dancing) it is the most appropriate time to FaceTime with my dad. Grant it who doesn't love a good FaceTime with Jorge but really, now is the most appealing time for this conversation? Great so it's 3 am, we're all awake now (but not in the lets be productive and see the city type of way) and nothing is on except for Spanish psychics and Bob Esponja (Spongebob Squarepants). But you can only watch cartoons in another language for so long before it begins to get a little ridiculous. Well 1 bag of banana chips, peanut m&ms and a bag of check mix later and Sue comes up with the brilliant idea of chamomile tea and a side of Valium. See ya later.
Well Siri set my alarm for 8, but we rolled out of bed around 11:45. How embarrassing. Whatever, Barcelona gives NYC a run for its money. This city NEVER sleeps...well if you don't count their famous siesta hours. As we make our way out into the daylight we decided our first stop will be La Sagrada Familia, as the cab drops us off we see the line winding around the building. Yeah right, we all know how much patience I have for lines. We'll come back after lunch...I mean brunch. After brunch we make our way back to the church, phew the line has diminished significantly. We buy our tickets and retrieve our nifty headsets. But for serio, I love those touristy headsets, it's a wonderful way to explore the grounds without having to prance around in an obnoxious group.
The church's exterior is breathtaking, construction of the church began in 1882, by Gaudí and is still under construction today, in fact it is said to be "finished" in 2026. Good one Spain. The stylistic architecture, Spanish Late Gothic and Catalon Modernism, is still mirrored after Gaudí's original style. As you enter through the giant columns you enter what feels like a canopy of marbled trees with sparkling stained light illuminating the church. Gaudí wanted the space to feel as if you were in a forest with natural light peeking in through the little sky lights and beautiful stained glass mosaics. The sight is entrancing. When you enter a room it is unusual to see people stopped in awe starring at the ceiling then you look up and you too become intoxicated by the sights and sounds of this historic cathedral. After our sweet headphone's tour we rush over to the tower, we are crammed into the lift with the most beautiful elevator attendant you have ever seen (I think I have a new type) and are scuttled up to the heavens. As we reluctantly exit the elevator we are thrust out a top of the world. The view is spectacular we can see from the ocean to the mountains and everything in between.
After the church we continue our Gaudí tour and head to Park Güell. A work of art sitting a top of the city of Barcelona. The park is decorated with Gaudíesque mosaics and lively street music. Although it appears to be only a tourist stop it is also a local hang out. Guapo Spanish men jog around the park and senoras congregate along the benches to chat. It's a picturesque scene but alas the park closes at 6. After we leave to the park we head down to the famous La Rambla for a little walking, people watching and an early dinner. It feels good to be back in Europe. Buenos noches Barca.
Fact: I can fall asleep anywhere and anytime, my faithful travel companions (mom and Shelb) are another story. You know that horrible, and I mean painfully painstaking feeling when you are awaked from a deep slumber prematurely? Well around 2:30 am I am forcefully jerked from mine. My mom and sister have not acclimated to our new time zone and have decided that now (when technically we should be going out flamenco dancing) it is the most appropriate time to FaceTime with my dad. Grant it who doesn't love a good FaceTime with Jorge but really, now is the most appealing time for this conversation? Great so it's 3 am, we're all awake now (but not in the lets be productive and see the city type of way) and nothing is on except for Spanish psychics and Bob Esponja (Spongebob Squarepants). But you can only watch cartoons in another language for so long before it begins to get a little ridiculous. Well 1 bag of banana chips, peanut m&ms and a bag of check mix later and Sue comes up with the brilliant idea of chamomile tea and a side of Valium. See ya later.
Well Siri set my alarm for 8, but we rolled out of bed around 11:45. How embarrassing. Whatever, Barcelona gives NYC a run for its money. This city NEVER sleeps...well if you don't count their famous siesta hours. As we make our way out into the daylight we decided our first stop will be La Sagrada Familia, as the cab drops us off we see the line winding around the building. Yeah right, we all know how much patience I have for lines. We'll come back after lunch...I mean brunch. After brunch we make our way back to the church, phew the line has diminished significantly. We buy our tickets and retrieve our nifty headsets. But for serio, I love those touristy headsets, it's a wonderful way to explore the grounds without having to prance around in an obnoxious group.
The church's exterior is breathtaking, construction of the church began in 1882, by Gaudí and is still under construction today, in fact it is said to be "finished" in 2026. Good one Spain. The stylistic architecture, Spanish Late Gothic and Catalon Modernism, is still mirrored after Gaudí's original style. As you enter through the giant columns you enter what feels like a canopy of marbled trees with sparkling stained light illuminating the church. Gaudí wanted the space to feel as if you were in a forest with natural light peeking in through the little sky lights and beautiful stained glass mosaics. The sight is entrancing. When you enter a room it is unusual to see people stopped in awe starring at the ceiling then you look up and you too become intoxicated by the sights and sounds of this historic cathedral. After our sweet headphone's tour we rush over to the tower, we are crammed into the lift with the most beautiful elevator attendant you have ever seen (I think I have a new type) and are scuttled up to the heavens. As we reluctantly exit the elevator we are thrust out a top of the world. The view is spectacular we can see from the ocean to the mountains and everything in between.
After the church we continue our Gaudí tour and head to Park Güell. A work of art sitting a top of the city of Barcelona. The park is decorated with Gaudíesque mosaics and lively street music. Although it appears to be only a tourist stop it is also a local hang out. Guapo Spanish men jog around the park and senoras congregate along the benches to chat. It's a picturesque scene but alas the park closes at 6. After we leave to the park we head down to the famous La Rambla for a little walking, people watching and an early dinner. It feels good to be back in Europe. Buenos noches Barca.
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