I love Barcelona. I had previously only ever been there for work though, so to be able to go there and be a proper tourist was beyond exciting for me! Plus it's one of the few places on the planet that Andrew hadn't been to, but I had, so I totally had to milk the occasion for all it was worth! Not surprisingly, I still got us lost, and he still managed to get us found... sigh...
The best thing about Barcelona for me is the fact that it's so much much like Cape Town. Busy, by the ocean, with mountains, and HOT!!! 36+ degrees every day and I had completely forgotten that I was an African. This English weather has softened me! Yes, I'll admit I did a fair amount of moaning about the weather, but on the positive, it was the perfect opportunity to buy 3 of these...
yip, look at me... Spanish lady! Not much chance fo me ever getting to use them in London, but this fan will definitely be in my bag every time we go to warmer clime's!We flew out to Barcelona early Thursday morning and arrived at midday. We took a cab from the airport to the hotel, as we knew the hotel was really close. What we didn't realise though, was that the airport taxi's like to stick to a €20 minimum for all fairs, so even though the journey took about 10minutes, the taxi was really pricey.
This didn't really dampen any spirits though as we were still on a first-day-of-holiday high, and the hotel was so beautiful, the fair was quickly forgotten! We stayed at the Hesperia Tower Barcelona. Outside of the city itself, but with a free hotel shuttle to the city and airport, a bus stright to the city centre just across the road, and a special tram to the metro 2 minutes walk away, getting to the city was super easy and cheap!
A one journey ticket on the buses or tubes cost us €1.40, and after 4 days we were glad we didn't go for the 4 day pass at €20.40 each, as that was more than we spent on single tickets for the entire holiday!
After lunch we went into the city and had a beer outside the Barcelona Cathedral, and a little meander about the Gothic Quarter, and up the famous Gracia avenue, past the 2 Gaudi buildings.
That evening we took in the spectacular fountain show at Placa de Espanya. So pretty and so worth going through the crowds of tourists to see it! Typically though, I don't have a single good shot of it as I recorded the whole thing!
The absolute highlight of the trip had to be Gaudi's Sagrada Familia... Awe inspiring and impossible to capture on film, but I tried!
We were only there for 4 days, but we squeezed in as much sightseeing as possible. I think the next trip might have to be a week long beach holiday... here's hoping!
Kisses!
Chant.
