Barcelona, The Capital of Catalan

We hadn’t been in a really big city for a while after traveling through southern France and Basque Spain. Barcelona is definitely a sprawling city with an extensive public transport system that we took advantage of. The metro runs until midnight during the weekdays and 24-hours during the weekend, trains come every 2 or 3 minutes, and we never had to wait more than 5 minutes even late at night. We stayed in the Gracia neighborhood, which is on the northern part of the city. The area was quite nice with several lively streets and plazas filled with shops and restaurants.

Barcelona is a great mix of the friendly and laid back Spanish culture, with the buzz of a metropolitan city filled with a diversity of people. There are tons of tourists everywhere, but it is easy to see why. This is definitely a city that we could envision ourselves in if we were to ever live outside the US.

Our friend Janet (from Munich) recently moved to Barcelona after receiving an internship there in the travel industry and subsequently got (and accepted) a full time job with an international hotel chain. It was very nice to see her again and she once again played tour guide for us for several days of our visit.

The first night we arrived, we walked a good distance to the Sagrada Familia, the Gaudi designed church that is still under construction to this day. Walking around certain areas of Barcelona can take quite a long time because their intersections are shaped like octagons that causes you to have to zig zag to cross the streets. Gaudi was such a big part of what we saw in the city, that we decided to create a special blog post dedicated to his work.

The next day, we took the metro into the main part of the city and rambled down Las Ramblas, the major pedestrian way through the heart of the city. At almost all hours of the day it is packed with people, mostly tourists. The wide, tree-lined street itself is very nice, with many interesting sights along and on it including…

…Animals being sold, including rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, and these chicks. 3 euros seemed like a decent deal, but backpacking around with a baby chicken is a bad deal.

…Spontaneous games of three card Monty. In Spain, they use theses boxes and a ball underneath. The games never last long as they are constantly on the lookout for police and disperse in seconds. This game appeared to be very popular with the Russian tourists.

…This display of some giant figures that are used for parades.

…Street performers, like this Man Baby. Others favorites were three heads on a table (a guy with his head through a table controlling two fake heads on either side of him), slow motion guy, and headless guys.

…St. Josep Market that is a huge covered market with a variety of meats, candies, produce, and other foods. On several occasions we bought these fresh fruit juice concoctions and if you buy them at the end of the day, they usually discount or give you an extra drink.

…Plaza Real, a beautiful palm tree adorned square surrounded by yellow colored buildings. The large open space is a wonderful meeting place that packs plenty of atmosphere.

At the end of Las Ramblas, you reach the harbor after passing the column of Christopher Columbus. We joined the masses of people sitting along the water enjoying the views and a paddle boat race. Across the harbor is a large shopping and entertainment area as well as the tall structure that is part of a gondola over the water.

We met with Janet at Barceloneta and walked along the beach. There were plenty of people out, but nothing close to the droves that flock during the summer. In the distance you can see the sail-shaped W Hotel.

Along the beach there were several sand sculptures. This one with waterfalls and fireplace was a favorite.

We then headed to Plaza Espagna and towards the National Art Museum of Catalonia that is set on a hill overlooking parts of the city. On the way there we crossed this bus exhibition that had models from yesteryears to the present.

The way up to the museum passes through a long corridor of exhibition halls and an enormous fountain and water features. After reaching the summit, we sat back, enjoyed the views and a guitarist performing some classic Spanish songs.

Back at the fountain, we were treated to an elaborate show. The fountain performed by changing its patterns and lights, creating misty walls of color and geyser like jets of water, all to a soundtrack of Disney music.

The next day, we got tickets to Valencia at the bus station, which was near the Arc De Triumf. It is a finely decorated and massive brick arch.

At the other end of the Arc De Triumf is the Parc de la Ciutadella. It’s a modestly sized green space with a zoo, small lake, and a number of buildings including an old church, conservatory, the above government building, and the below fountain.

The Santa Maria del Mar church was built between 1329 and 1383. It is a very beautiful, but plainly decorated, structure that is set in the middle of the Barrio Gotico (Gothic Quarter). There are buildings all around it, so it pops out of nowhere when you turn a corner.

Janet took us to this wonderful tapas restaurant with some of the best food we have had on our trip, for example this fried camembert cheese stick.

We walked through the Barrio Gotico, the oldest part of the city with narrow, winding streets and older buildings. Walking down this street and under this bridge, you get out to the Cathedral.

The Gothic interior is quite imposing. The Cathedral has the characteristic choir in the center and a crypt below the altar. There is also a nice cloister with exterior chapels, several fountains, and geese!

For Vince’s 30^th Birthday, we went out to the Port Olympic area that is known for their Paella. We had a wonderful set dinner that included a smorgasbord of paella and seafood. We were also treated to our waiters Spanish rendition “Feliz Cumpleanos” (Happy Birthday).

Up on the hill behind the National Art Museum of Catalonia museum is Castell de Montjuic Fortress. There are still remnants of defensive cannons that were in place during WW2. We also got some excellent views out over the city and the Mediterranean.

On our way back down the hill, we passed by the Olympic complex and caught the setting sun over it.

Zaragoza – Why hadn’t we heard of this place?!?

Spain

We had no idea what a gem of a city Zaragoza is – I don’t even think we’d heard of it before we started researching cities in Spain. It’s a big, vibrant city with a ton of cultural and historical treasures.

Our Lady of the Pillar Basilica

I’ll just start with the big one: Our Lady of the Pillar Basilica. This is one of the biggest, most impressive cathedrals we’ve seen. We (i.e. Vince) took so many pictures of it - nighttime pictures, sunshine pictures, rain pictures… Here are a couple of the best. (Look for people in the foreground to give an idea of the scale).

No pictures allowed in the interior – it was extravagant. Here is a (stock) picture of the unbelievable high alter - to give you a taste.

The Basilica was built in the 17^th Century, and it has a significant piece of a marble: The story is that the Virgin Mary gave it to St. James when she visited him in Zaragoza in AD 40. Therefore, the church is a place of pilgrimage. There are also claims that Mary lived in Ephesus, Turkey. I find all of the claims a little questionable, because these would’ve been enormous distances to travel 2,000 years ago, especially for an older person (and life expectancy was significantly lower at the time).

The Basilica sits in the Plaza del Pilar, a huge beautiful square surrounded by 15^th & 16^th Century buildings.

La Lonja

One of the buildings on the square is called La Lonja, built in 1541-1551 as a Commodities Exchange. The arches are absolutely incredible. Again, no photos allowed in the interior, so the interior photo is one from the tourism website:

Aljaferia – the palace

The next cool site that we went to is the Aljaferia, the Islamic Palace. The oldest part was built over 1,000 years ago (9^th Century). After the Christian conquest of Aragon in 1118, the castle was transformed into a Christian/medieval palace. Then, in 1492, an entirely new palace was built for “The Catholic Monarchs,” Ferdinand & Isabella, to symbolize Christian power.

This is the oldest part of the palace (from the 9^th Century) –

The half-circle archways over the doors were an architectural innovation at the time… The intricacy of the carving was unbelievable.

There are several courtyards – this one belonged to the original Islamic palace, a traditional garden of serenity:

The first entrance to the “newer” palace built in 1492 for Isabella and Ferdinand is this huge staircase with an extravagantly-painted ceiling.

There were several important reception rooms and waiting rooms for visiting royals, but the most notable room is the Throne room.

The ceiling in here is unbelievable – especially when you remember that it’s 500 years old. The dark wooden archways were galleries where people could look down on the proceedings.

By the way, I never before had put together that the Ferdinand & Isabella, “the Catholic Monarchs” who financed Christopher Columbus’s voyage (and who drew up a legal document to claim whatever land and “treasures” he found) were the very same royals who started the Spanish Inquisition; the inquisition lasted 300 years, but the most brutal period was during their reign. What a claim to fame, to have instigated such widespread human suffering...

Le Seo

Another architectural gem is the Cathedral of San Salvador, or Le Seo.

It’s another place where we were not allowed to take pictures of the interior, so here's an online picture - this alterpeice is was made in 1434, and it's breathtaking.

Le Seo is attached to the Museum of Tapestries, one of the most important tapestry collections in the world. The museum has 63 tapestries, from the 15^th to 17^th Centuries, and come from all over Europe.

Again, no pictures allowed, so here’s another online picture to give you an idea of the enormous exhibition. Same distinctive ceiling style as many buildings in Zaragoza, but this time in red stone.

Patio de la Infanta:

The Patio de la Infanta is the courtyard that was formerly in the palace of a rich banker/businessman. His bank acquired it and moved it to the ground floor of their headquarters. The carving is intricate, and there are currently a couple of priceless 17^th-Century tapestries on display there.

Zaragoza Museum:

We love going to free museums – and this was one of the great ones – museum of Archeology and fine art. Great pieces from the 15^th & 16^th Centuries, and an impressive collection of Roman sculptures & decorations.

Art from the 15^th Century:

Piece of Roman wall with fresco painting (this looks like a lot of the walls in Pompeii!).

Roman floor mosaics:

Crystal:

We stumbled upon this Crystal exhibit that was displayed inside a church (Church del Sagrado Corazon, or Sacred Heart) – it is incredible. The pieces were made in the 1700’s. The tour was an automated audio-visual guided walking tour (in Spanish), and it lit up different displays as we walked through. These are all made of crystal - Here are a couple highlights:

Vince is at the bottom right of this picture to show how big these were.

This one is a big ship:

Finally, a to-scale model of the Cathedral of the Pillar – with interior detail!

Roman Ruins:

Like so many other European (and Turkish and African) towns, there are some Roman remains. There are some city walls, and this excavated amphitheater, covered with a modern roof for conservation.

Food:

Spanish churros are different from the Mexican ones that I’ve had. They’re crispy fried dough (not really sweetened), that you dip in chocolate. Breakfast of champions, right? Um, we had them for dinner one night too. When in Rome…

A Clean, pretty city:

The streets were pretty and immaculate, partly due to these humorously teeny street cleaners:

To Sum it up:

Zaragoza far surpassed our expectations – it’s full of historical, architectural, and cultural gems. I would definitely recommend that anyone traveling to Spain prioritize Zaragoza – it might even have more to offer than some of the bigger, more famous cities. Again, how did we not know about this place?