La Rambla
We arrived at El Prat Airport in Barcelona around noon, a little later than our scheduled arrival time, but that’s ok - at least my luggage made it here with me. From the plane, we had to take a bus from the runway to the terminal. We easily picked up our baggage and found the Aerobus stop right outside the terminal. We started to buy our tickets from the automat, but of course we bought one, and then it went out of order! The Aerobus was a pleasant ride to the city; a one-way trip costs you 3,90€. Our hotel was on Avinguda Paral.lel, so we got off the bus at Plaça Espanya and walked 10 minutes to our hotel, the Silken Concordia. After a much needed shower and a fresh pair of clothes, we were ready to explore the city by 2:15 pm.
We started making our way down the Paral.lel toward the port and the Columbus Monument.
The Paral.lel was bustling with pedestrians. Near our hotel we had a Condis grocery store, which should be convenient for those times when going out to dinner doesn’t seem as appealing as having some fresh fruit and some crackers. Also along the Paral.lel is an interesting Quixote-inspired theatre called “La Molina.” Its façade was shaped like a windmill; I definitely felt like I was in Spain now! Other attractions on the Paral.
Monument a Cristofol Colom
lel included theatres featuring Grease, Cabaret and a few others. Bingo seemed to be a popular evening activity as well - we saw many people awaiting entry into the bingo building.
Unfortunately, the sky was overcast today, so the city looked rather grey. At least it wasn’t raining, which I hear is typical of November weather in Barcelona. The cloudy skies did not hinder us from seeing the Monument a Cristófol Colom. I had read in my guidebook (Insight City Guide - Barcelona…I chose this guide for two reasons - one for the colorful photos and the other for the free fold-out map) before the trip that it was possible to take an elevator up the monument to catch panoramic vistas of the city. So, for 2,80€ we bought a ticket and ascended to the top of the tower. The views were awesome.
We were able to observe the port, La Rambla, Mont Juïc, la Sagrada Familia and la Catedral de la Santa Creu. The elevator was so tiny that 5 people had to stand VERY close to one another, which is not surprising, since the elevator climbs the monument via the narrow center column. A previous patron of the elevator jokingly placed a “no farting” sticker on the control panel. Beware that all aspects of the elevator and the observation deck is narrow. We became close to many new friends from atop the monument.
Next, we ventured down la Rambla. I enjoyed watching the street performers entertain passersby and listening to local musicians fill the air with their enchanting melodies. Edward Scissorhands and the Indian chief were particularly intriguing. How long does it take for the performers to apply their make-up each day?
Our next stop was La BoquerĂa (Mercat de St.
Port de Barcelona
Josep). It seemed odd to me that this historical landmark was flanked by a Dunkin’ Coffee (aka Dunkin’ Donuts), but upon entrance into the building it didn’t seem to matter anymore. I was greeted by so many colorful fruits and vegetables - there were so many varieties that I had never seen before. What’s a pitahaya? My students think it is dragonfruit in English, but I have no clue. (Note to self: look into English name and origin of strange fruit). I guess that’s why I’m here - to learn more about the world and to discover as much of it as I can…So, back to La BoquerĂa…The fresh fish and meet were so plentiful; every corner boasted some sort of beef, poultry, fish and other edible (and not so edible) animals. A palette of colors awaited in every aisle. Of particular interest to my friend and I was the freshly killed rabbits with blood still dripping from them and the goat heads available for sale.
Not only was fresh produce for sale, but living art as well.
Mercat St. Josep - La Boqueria
I could hardly imagine disturbing any of the items on display for purchase. The fresh fruit was too alluring, though, and I had to sample some of it. Conveniently, the pack I selected came with its own tiny fork. I tried some of the mysterious pitahaya fruit, but the small sliver I sampled didn’t have much flavor. Perhaps a bigger piece next time…After several minutes meandering up and down the aisles of this amazing place, it was time to explore other places. By this time, it was 3:30, and many of the vendors had shut down for the day or were shutting down as we passed them.
We reemerged out on La Rambla and headed toward la Plaça Catalunya. We encountered more street performer/statue people, and it makes me wonder…I have seen so many of these performers all over Europe and in parts of the US.
Is there special training required to be able to stand still for so long? How much money is spent on make-up each month? Is the make-up detrimental to your health? Is it easy to wash off? So many questions, yet rather silly ones in a way. It’s not really appropriate to strike up a conversation with one of these performers, so I guess I’ll have to let my curiosity get the best of me for now.
The next stop in the afternoon’s itinerary (if you can call our wandering an itinerary) was to the Plaça Catalunya, Barcelona’s hub and the center of the capital of Catalunya. I observed several older people feeding the pigeons, and I took several moments to take photos of the marvelous statues. I also had to make a token stop at the Hard Rock Café, one of the world’s cheesiest tourist spots ever established.
La Rambla from Colom Monument
I was fascinated by Hard Rock since I learned of their existence as a small child. Whenever my mom traveled to a big city in the US or in Europe, she would always return with a guitar pin and a t-shirt for me. Today, it’s for the sake of my massive collection that I must visit these horrible tourist traps.
After an excruciatingly long wait in line at the HRC, we noticed that evening started to fall upon the city. We decided to make our way back to the hotel on foot. Just for variety, we decided not to venture down La Rambla, but to cut across the city a bit. We encountered an incredible amount of diversity along our trek back to the Paral.lel. At one point we passed by the Museum of Contemporary Art [Museu D’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA)], but from then on out, it was totally uncommercialized.
Placa de Catalunya - the center of Barcelona
It was a comforting sight to see our other two friends seated in the lobby of the hotel when we returned around 5:30 pm.
All four of us headed to dinner at the Plaça Catalunya at….are you ready for this?...The Hard Rock Café! What can I say; I like the twisted mac, chicken and cheese. This was also a great opportunity to sample some Spanish beer, so I sampled a pint of Estrella. Not my favorite beer in the world, but at least I can say I tried it…The service at the HRC was terrible. Our first server greeted us and took drink orders, but we never saw her again. Then a guy started waiting on us, and he was so busy with his own tables that we weren’t taken care of very well. He didn’t even swipe my HRC All Access Card! Oh well - that’s what I deserve for going to that over commercialized hellhole…
From the HRC, we ventured down la Rambla, disappointed that none of the Christmas lights were shining.
Will they be on before we go home on Sunday? We sure hope so…
From la Rambla, we walked toward the port. The weather was cooperating with us; it was neither too hot nor too cold. We walked around Port Vell and toward Barceloneta. It was nice to walk along the beaches, Platja Sant Sebastià and Platja Barceloneta. From there, we boarded the metro at Ciutadella and returned to our hotel. Now it’s time for a much-needed night of sleep. Andorra awaits us in the morning!
Platja de Sant Sebastia by night
My impressions from walking down la Rambla many many times...
Impressions and questions posed to me by my students as I showed them my photos from the trip...
How long does it take for the street performers to put on all that makeup?
Who buys the birds in the birdcages?
Why did the shops shut down of an evening, just as the tourists started to fill the streets?
Is there any point in the day when some random tourist will stop gawking at all of the sights while standing right on top of the Joan Miro mural?
Student: Why are there hammocks in the air all over the place? My reply: "Those are Christmas lights. My students' response: "Oh..."
Student: Why is it called Dunkin' Coffee instead of Dunkin' Donuts?
Student: Is a "mercat" what we call a "meerkat?"
Hard Rock Cafe - the staple tourist trap of every city in the world. This one is really no different than any other - same menu, same merchandise, different city. There are two merchandise areas, so opt for the larger one inside of the restaurant rather then the smaller one with the exterior door. Service was quite poor, and we had very little knowledge of who exactly our server was. If you go there for your Hard Rock favorite menu item, expect typical Hard Rock food and atypical Hard Rock service. My All Access card was not swiped by the server, and the people at the merchandise shop were not so helpful in helping me add my meal points to my card. Eat your Hickory Smoked Pulled-Pork sandwich (formerly known as the"pig sandwich"), buy your shirt and get out!
