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As Roisin and I have visited Barcelona twice before; the first time for a long week end and last time was during our Western Med cruise, we wanted to do something different. Most people head for something Gaudi-ish; either the Park Guell full of trees and shrubs (as parks usually are!!) interspersed with unusual and colourful sculptures, mosaics, walkways and tiling or the Sagrada Familia. This Roman Catholic Church was designed by the great man himself with construction starting in 1882. The church isn't scheduled to be completed until the year 2026. I know that construction workers can drag their heels a bit but 144 years??! If it was me, I’d be having a word with the builders. We saw the Sagrada Familia in 2007 and have no inclination of seeing further work in progress. I’ll be happy to come back when the job is completed!!
A further main tourist attraction we intended to avoid was La Rambla. This main shopping area is alive with colour and flamboyance as street artists mingle with many flower stalls and cafes. As this area is a magnet for tourists it is also a magnet for organised crime as I’m sure most visitors are warned.
4 ships were in port today, The Aida Blu, Costa Flavolosa, us and our old friend the Ventura. The main sights will be extra busy today so another reason to avoid them.
For our first stop we headed for a hill on the other side of town. The mount known as Tibidabo was a metro, a tram and a funicular ride away.
We learned that the cheapest and most convenient way to get around the city is to purchase a day pass known as T-Dia. This costs €7.25 and is valid for all buses, metros and some funiculars. As a single ride on public transport costs a flat rate of €2, we though the card would be good value for money. We found the ticket easy to obtain, as all the ticket machines in all metro stations are multi lingual and the instructions easy to follow.
We paid $5 for the Princess shuttle to the Monument a Colomb that marks the start of La Rambla. Although we knew how far the cruise terminal lies from the centre of town we decided to take this option to save a bit of time. We only paid for a 1-way ticket as we intended to walk back.
From Drassenes we took the Metro to Catalunya where we changed to a FGC train that took us out to Tibidibo. It was hot in Barcelona today. 75 degrees plus. The one thing that impressed me was that all the metro trains are fully air-conditioned. This was a very pleasant experience and making this mode of transport so comfortable.
To be extra sure of the way, I had spoken to a lady at the tourist information office who confirmed the route. From the metro station Tibidabo, an old fashioned tram known as the Tramvia-bleu runs between J F Kennedy Avenue and the funicular at the foot of Mont Tibidabo. The only reservation I had was that the tramvia-bleu only runs at weekends in October. Today is Wednesday!! I knew this, why didn’t the tourist information?? As it turns out, we managed to catch a number 169 bus that took us to exactly where we wanted to be.
The funicular at the base of Tibidabo is one that is NOT covered by the T-dia!! A return costs €9. However, the view from the top was spectacular. I noticed that some people had taken Norman Foster’s Torre de Collserola and were suspended in a cradle an extra 50 metres above the viewing platform. What was the point of that? Tibidabo rises 512 metres and looks out over the whole of the city. Climbing an extra 50 metres isn’t going to get you any better view. It is the same view but only things will look slightly smaller!!
At the summit of Tibidabo stands a very characteristic church called Sagrat Cor (Sacred Heart). The flying Jesus that sits atop the spire is reminiscent of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro.
As we were sitting admiring this breath-taking view, a nun appeared with a small group of tourists. I overheard her speaking good English but what I heard next, for a split second made me look twice. You know how you mishear something and a split second later your brain receives the message and translates to what was actually said. Well for a nanosecond I could have sworn the nun turned to the group and said, as they passed the rest rooms: 'Does anyone want a piss stop’!! As I looked up and before I had time of give a disapproving ‘tut’, my brain had caught up with my ears and translated the misquote as: ‘Does anyone want a pit stop?!!’
From one end of the fun spectrum to the other, the top of Tibidabo is also home to an amusement park. The rides are fairly antiquated and looking down on the park it seemed fairly empty as those travellers who had made the journey had come to see the view and the flying Jesus and not for a ride on a dilapidated merry-go-round!! The amusement park only costs an additional €4 entrance fee so just by the price it should provide an indication to the level of rides available!!
Barcelona is a wi-fi free city. By this I don’t mean that wi-fi and the Internet is banned in this part of Catalunya. I mean that wherever you go, you can access free wi-fi. I’m not too sure how this works because if wi-fi is free, why is there still a need to pay for it in your home?? As I said, not too sure how it works but work it does!!!
Our next stop took us to the metro station known as Plaça Espanya. From here we headed down the avenue toward the imposing Royal Palace - Palau Alfons XIII. This is the site of Barcelona's popular Magic Fountain show. Whilst the magic didn’t seem to be happening today, it was still an impressive site. The palace was constructed between the years 1926 and 1929 for the 1929 International Exhibition in Barcelona and is now home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia.
We rested at the foot of the Doric (ore are they iconic) pillars for a ‘pit’ stop and this is when I noticed cracks appearing everywhere. I will say no more on the matter other than check out the photo to understand what I mean!!!
Beyond this palace, I was aware the Olympic stadium, venue of the 1992 Olympic games sat. However, we would need to ascend 185 metres. As the temperature was still in the mid to high 70s, this could be tough going. However, Roisin noticed a sign pointing to escalators. I find climbing hills much more acceptable when escalators are provided to help with the walking bit!!
From behind the palace, we followed the signs so had to walk about ½ mile or so and eventually arrived at the Estadio Olympic.
Like the Palau Nacional, the Olympic stadium lies on Montjuic. This translates to Jew Mountain. It is thought that this comes from the Latin Mons Jovicus (hill of Jove). I understand that a famous Liverpudlian comedian once met an inhabitant from the hill. He asked the Spaniard if he actually lived in Jove to which came the reply: ‘No, I live by Jove!!’ The rest, as they say, is history!!
The stadium is now open to the public so it was just a matter of wandering in, taking a few snaps of various landmarks (such as the Olympic flame) then wandering back outside where we came across a hall of fame similar to the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles where the hand prints of the rich and famous adorn the pavement. In this case it was footprints of well known sports athletes such as Daly Thompson and Ed Moses. Both these men excelled at their sports, from what I remember of the 1992 Olympics. The late Seve Ballesteros had a foot print as did Martina Navratilova, Sir Steve Redgrave, Rafa Nadal and a host of other sports stars who all had one thing in common: they reached the very pinnacle of their profession.
We took the funicular Montjuic back to Paral-lel where it was just a short walk back to catch the shuttle. Sod what I said earlier about walking back. We were both knackered so b***** the expense, we jumped on the shuttle and 15 minutes later we were sitting in the International Café with quiche, cake and coffee.
This was one of the most enjoyable days we have had so far as, having been here before we still managed to explore different places that brought with it a host of new experiences
- comments
SnarkoPolo Excellent blog! Seems like you two had an excellent day and lots of tips for when we FINALLY get to Barcelona. Good luck with the Atlantic - and look out for fin whales around the Straits of G!