Barcelona 15 April

A chilly, showery day.  Tried out the subway for the first time.  Fast, clean and frequent.  Also pretty crowded.  But a good quick way to get around once you have planned out where to change to which lines.

I miscalculated the distance to walk to the blue line hop on-hop off bus, and ended up doing a good 30 minute hike up one of the climbing avenues.  My first target was to see Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia basilica.  It stands out all over the city and is truly emblematic of modern Barcelona.  When we got there we were told the queue for tickets (€18 for a strictly one hour visit) was 2 hours waiting … disappointing, so I stayed on the bus and will try again weekday.

Tip:  if visiting Barcelona, avoid tourist buses and major attractions on weekend:  slow and crowded.


Anyway, next stop was to the REAL cathedral of Barcelona and the centre of its fanatical religious fervour: Camp Nou, the largest football stadium in Europe and home to Barca, the FC Barcelona.  There were huge crowds there: no game, just visitors come to worship at the shrine.  Very well presented tour of the stadium and its facilities:  it holds just under 100,00 fans.  But what is really breathtaking is their mega-store which sells every imaginable type of football merchandise.  I counted over 20 cash register check outs!  I kept my wallet safe.

On the eastern edge of the city is Tibidabo, a mountain that overlooks the city.  It is reached by a clanging old tram, then a funicular to the summit.  Besides a great lookout there is a family fun park and at the very top the Basilica of the Sacred Heart – trust the Catholics to have the highest building in town.
Why anyone would come all the way up there to go to church beats me!

By mid-afternoon the rain was setting in, so I called it a day and headed back to the the apartment.  Maureen’s umbrella is getting good use and handles the wind nicely.

Tomorrow,Valencia.

Not many pics today: just a few here.