Barcelona seems to have been our ‘catch your breath’ stop after Paris, and greatly welcomed indeed. I’m told you don’t experience the true Spanish flavor of the culture unless you venture to the likes of Madrid, but Barcelona has proven to be quite the happening place. We didn’t have Rick Steves on this leg so we did a little Google and did some of the top suggested sites including the Cathedral, Marketplace, Park Guell, and Las Ramblas street. The Cathedral was a bit disappointing after the mastery seen in Paris, now they know how to build those churches. It was also under construction, which has actually been several sites we’ve seen throughout Europe this summer. I would hope they could do that during the winter time but that may prove too daunting of a task, and chilly to say the least. The marketplace was a thriving metropolis of meat butchers, fruit juice squeezers, jewelry peddlers, and rank smelling fresh seafood wranglers. It’s interesting to see how the locals shop. After giving Magen’s week stomach a turning, buying some fresh squeezed coconut/strawberry juice, and pinching our noses through the aisle of fresh squid, we eventually escaped back out to the street.
Las Ramblas is the major street running through the city from a busy plaza down to the Barcelona Coastal Port. We found several of the souvenirs we needed to purchase and enjoyed seeing the different street vendor displays; they always have some interesting characters hanging around. On our way to Park Guell, we met two really nice teachers from Atlanta Georgia, one had studied at Baylor for a while and recognized the Double T (Go Raiders!) pin on my backpack, and it was really nice to have a chit-chat with some friendly faces. They are currently watching the finals of the USA soccer team at a sports place in town, we wanted to go meet them but the hostel seemed to be just too far out, our metro cardets were running low, and our energy levels quickly depleting. Park Guell was an interesting experience with everything from cactus to hibiscus lining the steep walkways, where we also got to see some designs by the unique artist Gaudi, some small houses and his pavilion designs which were neat.
Overall, Barcelona was our ‘let’s sleep in’ stop where our money seems to go a little further, our stay out of town at Vila Universitaria Barcelona has proven a very comfortable one in their on campus A/C capable apartments/dorms, and a nice place to catch our breath. With a little coastal air, humidity that makes us sweat, and locals coming from all walks of life, it almost has a welcoming tropical feel to it which we’ve enjoyed. After dealing with train troubles in Paris we decided to get our tickets to Lyon, France as soon as possible. The day we arrived the long distance offices were on strike, and after returning the next day, waiting 2.5 hours, and only getting 2/3 of our trip booked we will head for Lyon, France and once again be at the mercy of the French train systems . . . great. All fingers crossed we will arrive in Lyon tomorrow afternoon, which is a stop I found listed in Lifetime Magazine’s 109 Places to Visit Before You Die. Excited, but not sure what it holds, should be interesting.
Update: Our train series was a success and we made it to Lyon, an amazing little city in the south of France.
Will probably wait to post Barcelona pictures together with Lyon’s, sorry for the delay, but check back soon!
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