Szilvia GombolaBareclona , Spain A beautiful mix of old and new
April 9th 2008 12:10
Spain is somewhere I had always wanted to visit ever since I had a taken a six week Spanish language course. The reason I hadn’t gone before is that none of my friends wanted to go, but with three weeks left in the UK before leaving for good I decided to bite the bullet and go by myself. Unfortunately I only had five days so I really only had time to get a quick overview. I spent two and a half days in Barcelona followed by two days in Madrid.
To get an overview of Barcelona I spent the whole first day on a bus tour. The tour began in the morning by taking us to the oldest part of the city, all through the gothic quarter, and Saint Jaume Square. The old buildings are stunning and the area itself seemed so much quieter than the rest of Barclonas busy streets.
We were also taken to the site of the 1992 Olympics, which is built on a hill above the city anhd has the most amazing view. The divers especially would have had a great view of Barcelona from the top of the diving board.
In the afternoon, we went to Park Guell to see the works of one of Barcelona's famous designers, Gaudi. Gaudi’s designs are based on building support structures that are arches rather than straight lines. The park includes some beautiful examples of Gaudi architecture including “The Caretakers Cottage” which looks like a gingerbread house.
Next, we visited one of the best examples of procrastination I have ever seen, Gaudi’s cathedral. Building of the cathedral started in the 1800s and it is still not finished. The good news is they expect to complete it in 25 years!
Finally we were taken to the Picasso museum, a must see for fans (which I am not).
At the end of the tour, I decided I would try to find my way back to my hotel on foot. On the way, I stopped in a dodgy cafe for dinner. It was dodgy for two reasons. Firstly, I ordered a Spanish omelette with spinach. I can honestly say it was the foulest thing I have ever tasted (and that is really saying something after living in London so long!). The second reason I thought it was dodgy is that when I got the bill there was a shot of malt whiskey added to it. They made a big apology for the mistake - Personally, I think they thought English girl on her own let’s try it on see if she just pays up.
On my second day in Barcelona, I decided to explore the main street – La Rambla. La Rambla is a bustling street with a number of alleyways and markets leading off it. At the end of the street is the Port area. The port is relatively modern. Up until the early 1990s, it was the industrial area, but the industry was moved out of town so the area could be developed into restaurants and shops for the 1992 Olympic Games.
I continued from there on foot for another 20 minutes to Barcelona zoo. I am a bit of a sucker for looking at the zoo in almost any city that I visit. The zoo is beautiful and well maintained but similar to any good zoo in the world so probably only worth a visit if you have nothing else left to do.
Barcelona in my opinion is a very beautiful city with an interesting mix of old and new architecture.
To get an overview of Barcelona I spent the whole first day on a bus tour. The tour began in the morning by taking us to the oldest part of the city, all through the gothic quarter, and Saint Jaume Square. The old buildings are stunning and the area itself seemed so much quieter than the rest of Barclonas busy streets.
We were also taken to the site of the 1992 Olympics, which is built on a hill above the city anhd has the most amazing view. The divers especially would have had a great view of Barcelona from the top of the diving board.
The1992 Olympic Dive Pool with a view of the City
In the afternoon, we went to Park Guell to see the works of one of Barcelona's famous designers, Gaudi. Gaudi’s designs are based on building support structures that are arches rather than straight lines. The park includes some beautiful examples of Gaudi architecture including “The Caretakers Cottage” which looks like a gingerbread house.
The caretakers cottage
Next, we visited one of the best examples of procrastination I have ever seen, Gaudi’s cathedral. Building of the cathedral started in the 1800s and it is still not finished. The good news is they expect to complete it in 25 years!
Finally we were taken to the Picasso museum, a must see for fans (which I am not).
At the end of the tour, I decided I would try to find my way back to my hotel on foot. On the way, I stopped in a dodgy cafe for dinner. It was dodgy for two reasons. Firstly, I ordered a Spanish omelette with spinach. I can honestly say it was the foulest thing I have ever tasted (and that is really saying something after living in London so long!). The second reason I thought it was dodgy is that when I got the bill there was a shot of malt whiskey added to it. They made a big apology for the mistake - Personally, I think they thought English girl on her own let’s try it on see if she just pays up.
On my second day in Barcelona, I decided to explore the main street – La Rambla. La Rambla is a bustling street with a number of alleyways and markets leading off it. At the end of the street is the Port area. The port is relatively modern. Up until the early 1990s, it was the industrial area, but the industry was moved out of town so the area could be developed into restaurants and shops for the 1992 Olympic Games.
I continued from there on foot for another 20 minutes to Barcelona zoo. I am a bit of a sucker for looking at the zoo in almost any city that I visit. The zoo is beautiful and well maintained but similar to any good zoo in the world so probably only worth a visit if you have nothing else left to do.
Barcelona in my opinion is a very beautiful city with an interesting mix of old and new architecture.
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