Barcelona airport worked as slick as clockwork and we were out, on the bus and into the city within half an hour. As we rumbled our cases along the street to the hotel someone rushed up to me and tapped me on the shoulder. My first thought was that I must have dropped something... It was Brit!! Unbelievably she had organised with Johnny to meet up with us for a short holiday. Such a shock. Such a delightful surprise!! She had been following us from the bus stop. So happy!!
We took our bags to Brit's room as our room was not ready yet and by late morning we were out and touring about. Brit had been here before and knew the lie of the land. We headed straight for the gothic quarter and it's wonderful maze of narrow alleyways. The sun was so bright but there was a winter nip in the air.
Though the mass was in progress in the Barcelona Cathedral, tourists filed into the church and we followed them. It was a picture go high gothic beauty with its lace like stone carving and it's serpantining statues of the saints. Yes there were Romany beggars outside but they were easy enough to ignore.
The streets themselves were a feast for the eye with an amazing blend of Romanesque, gothic and more contemporary architecture. Every twist and turn of the laneways revealed more sights. The streets were full to overflowing with promenading locals and tourists. True to the words of the guidebooks, every corner, every nook and cranny has a tapas bar. As people move through the streets they drop into a cafe chair or lean on an upturned wine barrel for a drink or a plate of food. We enthusiastically joined in the local tradition, stopping for a beer and Iberian ham roll, ice cream then coffee and finally for a plate of tapas and sangria.
We finally found our way to La Rambla and walked its full length. The middle part of the Rambla is pedestrianized and bordered by trees. the kiosks, flower stalls and street artists and restaurants ensured it was a magnet for tourists. are in abundance here. The Rambla was originally a small stream flowing just outside the city walls. In the 16th century convents and a university were built along the river. In the 19th century the city wall was torn down and buildings were erected along the dried up river bed. The street is made up of 5 ramblas that have been joined up in to one enormous roadway and tourist footpath. You can still see hints of its watery past in the cast iron drinking fountains that dot its length. or us it was the myriad streets fanning off La Rambla that were more interesting. Down one of these was the Picasso museum but the line for tickets stretched out for close to 400 metres so we gave it a miss. I'm sure that the art galleries will be more interesting than the museum based on the artist's life.
One of the most interesting things we saw was the specialty ham shops. The walls were totally covered with the different hams. It looked as bewildering as a wine shop. The prices varied with the region the ham has come from and the process used in its curing. Brit bought some ham and wine to take home. Today is her's and Wil's second wedding anniversary so I'm sure there will be celebrations with a Spanish flavour when she returns to Dubai on Thursday.
It was 6.30 before we returned to the hotel for a rest and change of clothes before heading out for dinner. Wow what a city. Wow what a surprise. Wow what a holiday this will be.
