We took the overnight direct flight and arrived in Barcelona around 7am. The Palace Hotel was able to accomodate an early check-in and we gladly crashed into our room for a short nap but could not resist checking out the distinctly different Roman tub provided in the room. Geez ... it feels just like a personal wading pool.
First stop after the nap was La Ramblas, a tree-lined pedestrian mall, to get some good eats ... the walk was only 10 minutes from the Palace Hotel & we were able to snag a couple of chairs @ the lively Pinotxo Bar to sample what La Ramblas (Arabic term meaning dry riverbed) has to offer.
We found the avenue and in particular, La Boqueria, bustling with tourists and locals alike, jostling to engage with a variety of market stallkeepers..all vying for your attention that at times, it made me feel this must be what a day in the life of someone with ADD feels like...lol....
It took us no time to discover why the famous serrano ham and iberico jamon is so popular and we got a lesson from the local carnicero re the subtle differences between various grades of cured ham on offering. Verdict - the black hoofed (pata negra) acorn fed variation was best & sooo tasty that even though we had totally filled up, we couldn't resist getting a cup of iberico jamon sample size to go. Throughout our stay, we took to munching on these jamon tidbits whenever we could get them as we ambled along the streets of Barci.
Towards noontime we crossed the Placa de Catalunya ( the city centre square where the old city and the 19th-century built Eixample, meaning 'extension' in Catalan, met) once more to return back to our hotel for a change of clothes ( it was getting a bit nippy for late May in Spain this year). Next, we ordered a taxi to take us to the renowned Parc Guell...
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Sitting by the serpentine ceramic bench atop the hill of El Carmel of Catalonia, we wondered everytime the wind blew kicking up quite a dust storm in the large central terrace, why they left the sandy area unfinished - perhaps more stone pebble motif designs or simply paved cobblestones would enhance enjoyment of the public space without the periodic wafting of debris hitting your face everytime a nice breeze encircled the open arena.
Below a long colonnaded pathway and interesting small pockets within the retaining walls ... voila !!
Example of Gaudi's bird nests built in the terraced walls to imitate the trees planted on top
Here's the terrace top view of the city of Barcelona and the bay .. you can also see Sagrada Familia and Montjuic at a distance
Towards mid-afternoon as La Pedrera, Catalan for 'The Quarry' was enroute to our hotel, we decided to make a stop. The ticket line was not too bad - took us around 20 min to gain entrance and about 90 min to complete the tour. The tour was top down from the roof top first then attic and down into the residence apartments.
Look -- NINJA Chimneys!
A sample of view to other neighboring rooftops
More and more Ninja chimneys ..
OK?? -- you don't say, kk we'll just go around, no hay problema..
Just an example of the type of ornate street lamps in Barci
Strolling back to our hotel, we took the route to pass by Casa Batllo, another of Gaudi's masterpieces and other architectural beauties in this part of town
Fanciful and unique with the reptilian scaled rooftop and skull like windows - wanted to do a tour of the interior but we were feeling too jetlagged at this point so headed back catch some zzz....s
