Leaving our Greek Island Cruise, we rejoined our friends Ann and John for our flight to Barcelona, Spain. Sara and I have loved our previous visits to Barcelona, so we were anxious to share the city with our friends who had never been here before. We share a great Air BnB in the Eixample, a lovely area that seems more residential than tourist, but it’s an easy walk to the main attractions in town. After settling into our Air BnB, we found the Bodega Joan just across the street where we all enjoyed Tapas and Sangria.
Sunday 5/15: Morning Mass at Gaudi’s spectacular Sagrada Familia. Even though none of us is fluent in Spanish, it’s still an inspiring experience. We were so glad to share this with Ann and John. They’ll do the Gaudi Tour (absolutely mandatory) later this week. To learn more about Antonin Gaudi, check this link: Click Here.
Later we took our friends down through the touristic center of Barcelona, beginning at the Plaza de Catalunya and then walking “Las Ramblas,” the wide, busy pedestrian walk that goes all the way down to the harbor and the sea.
Today we first met the “Tourist Swatter,” whose personal mission is to entertain and to educate about the damaging effects of tourism on Barcelona and elsewhere. “Locals can no longer afford to live here,” he says, “while the town is filled with tourists paying top dollar for Air BnB’s. It’s no longer the Barcelona I loved when I moved here years ago.” Beyond his costumes and provocative signs, he re-writes the lyrics of popular songs to entertain and to plead his case. (His name is Clive Booth. I suspect that he’s originally British.)
Monday: 5/16: We visited the TI (Tourist Information) booth at Plaza de Catalunya, at the top of Las Ramblas. The TI’s here are very helpful and will guide you easily to Barcelona’s many offerings. You can even purchase your tickets right here. Today they helped us find the Barcelona City Bus Tour. We find that these “Hop On-Hop Off” buses provide a great way to get a feel for a city, its history, its neighborhoods, and its attractions.
In the evening we attended the gorgeous Palau de Musica (Palace of Music) for a fantastic performance of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons.” What a treat! And the program also included Symphony #2 of Franz Shubert. Absolutely lovely music performed in a gorgeous concert hall.
Tuesday 5/17: Our Salvador DALI Day: We have all visited the terrific Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida, but we were anxious to see Dali’s Home and Museum here in Spain. So, we hired our own Air BnB host, Jesep, to drive us on quite a long trip through the mountains and down to the coast, through Cadaques, and to the village of Port Lligat. In 1929, Dali bought a small fisherman’s cabin here, and over the years he built it into his own, unique and eccentric mansion, right on the water. It’s an amazing place.
From Port Lligat, Jesup drove us to Figueres, the town where Dali was born and lived much of his life. There we visited the Dali Theatre-Museum, a large museum designed by Dali himself, for another fascinating take on the most prominent surrealist of them all.
Wednesday 5/18: Today Ann & John, new to Barcelona, took a Gaudi Tour, featuring the Sagrada Familia and Guell Park. Meanwhile Sara and I took a short train trip southwest of Barcelona to visit Sitges.
Our visit to Sitges, and to meet Nan C. Our fellow travelers Alan and Sara (we met them first in Sarajevo, 2020) had put Sara in touch with Nan C., an American ex-pat living in Sitges, Spain. Today we met her face-to-face at the train station, and she led us on an enjoyable walk along the beaches and then through the town. It’s a beautiful seaside town and a refuge for artists and writers. We especially enjoyed meeting Nan C. who told us her story and welcomed us to visit her apartment. She’s chosen a lifestyle here that fits her so well.
Returning to Barcelona, we reconnected with Ann and John and headed down to the Gothic Area, near the Catedral and the Church of Santa Maria. Once again, we saw the Tourist Swatter entertaining more tourists that he wishes were not here. The world is full of such ironies. We finished our day with a lovely dinner of Sangria and Tapas at Vinitus.
Thursday 5/19: We all took it easy today, sleeping in late. We did the tour of Casa Botllo, the only major Gaudi site in Barcelona that Sara and I had not visited. We never cease to be amazed at the beauty and creativity of Gaudi’s architecture. Later there was time for shopping, a personal sport for Ann, and then back to the apartment with some sandwiches for dinner along with our wine..
Friday: 5/20: Goodbye to Barcelona: With an early morning taxi to the Airport, we fly from Barcelona to Granada, beginning our time in the southern part of Spain, Andalucia.
