Its the sunshine
which is the draw in Barcelona.
In summer the
city glows. The sunshine heats the city up. The sunshine you can feel on the
back of your neck as you wander around the Barri Gotic. It washes over the
rooftops and lights up those stallholders on Las Ramblas and those art students
coming out of Picasso and Jean Miro. ~Because Barcelona humms with art, From Casa
Mila to Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia.
The city itself
is spectacular. Spreading out across the medditerranean shores it is hemmed in
by mountains to the north and the great port to the south. For the 1992
Olympics (which in my view were the most classy in living memory)the whole city
was spruced up and now shines and gleams with modern architecture. But the best
things to do are just wander around. The walk down the most famous street in
Spain - La Ramblas - is a highlight - and one that you will return to again and
again....
Time seems to
float by in Barcelona. Just walking and enjoying the streets will fill your
days. But it is no Shangri-La. Petty crime is rife and the warnings that you
have heard about the Barri Gotic, especially in the Barri Xines, are true. Keep
your eyes peeled and your wallet close.
But my best tip
to you is the Font Magica. Between 7.30pm -10.30pm in summer, the great
fountain underneath the Palau National is lit up and dances and moves to
classical music. This is one of the highlights of Spain, in fact, in all of
Europe. While we were there they played plenty of crowd pleasers. Star Wars,
Gone with the wind were played but the great movement was the opening strains
of ‘Sleeping Beauty’. But the big battle is being Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe singing 'Barcelona'
I think the
Barcelona public transport system is one of the best in the world. For 150
pesetas (80p/.50) you can ride all around the city on swift, clean underground
trains. Buses are excellent and the great hub is the Placa de Catalunya where
they fan out (including a useful one to the airport). But for trips out of the
city the trains are your best bet. A train station lies under Placa de
Catalunya and you can reach Sitges and Tarragona listening to piped classical
music as you look out of the window.
Another note,
you are in Catalunya now, which is different from the rest of Spain. You will
notice the yellow and red flags of Catalunya draped over everything and they
have their own history and culture (see later entry on Museo de Catalunya).It's
quite a shock after just mastering everything Castilean to suddenly switch to
Catalan
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