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Having explored the Gothic Quarter, and sampled the culture at Park Guell what else is there to do in Barcelona, apart from sunning yourself on the beach. Well my friends take a walk along La Rambla.
It is to Barcelona what Covent Garden is to London, or Champ-Elyees to Paris; a kilometre long - pedestrian mall, linking the monument of Christopher Columbus by the coast, to Plaça de Catalunya in the city centre.
On it you have everything from cafes and street performers to market stalls selling the most varied assortment of animals, produce and trinkets you can imagine. I swear parts would not look out of place in and Asian market. I saw turtles for sale, baby emus', parrots of varying colour and species, hamsters the size of small rabbits, and rabbits the size of cats.Clowns worked their way through the crowds, pulling aside some innocent passer-by to join their acts. Other performers played statue in various forms, a bronze rapper, and horsemen of the apocalypse, one in a car.
It was crazy, a must see if you visit Barcelona. But be cautious of your security, nowhere is safe from pickpockets, but Barcelona is one of the more notorious places for it.
From here you can easily access the food markets, the entrance to which opens on to La Rambla about half way down. If you prefer more conventional shopping, the supermarkets and department stores, these sit to the top of La Rambla, around Plaça de Catalunya.
You can also reach the afore mentioned monument of Christopher Columbus, similar to Nelson's Column in London. For a small fee you can go up the tower and take more aerial shots. Only here you have an awesome, unobstructed view of the vibrant La Rambla.
After exploring more of the city, and tucking in to some tapas and Paella; and a diversion to base camp to get changed, we headed for the harbour to check out Barcelona's nightlife.
The locals don't come out to play before midnight, so arriving earlier you can guarantee the crowds will be all tourists (and of those, mostly English). The harbour at night is an awesome place to go, if not to drink in one of the many bars/clubs that are literally lined up a stones throw away from the water; then to sit outside in the cool evening air at one of the cafes and restaurants, which serve up a good selection of food.
The sheer numbers of bars mean that there is serious competition for custom, so expect to be offered free drinks to enter. We were even told that if we entered one particular bar, we'd get a free shot and the bargirls would pole dance; which was nice.
Given the amount of bars, there was actually a nice ambience - I preferred to settle in the smarter venues with the large sofas to lounge in (and generally more attractive bar staff!), it would be easy to talk and evening away here.
But I'm not a fan of clubs, or a big drinker, so I didn't wait for the locals to join the party. Besides that I had to be up early the next morning and head back in to France.
That's all for Barcelona, I'm actually writing this entry at a service stop close to the French-Spanish border. The early start meant we arrived here really early, and that we should reach Aigue Mortes around midday.
Until my next entry
Carl.
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