On our way to Barcelona, we stopped by Peñiscola to view the ancient castle of the ‘Spanish Pope’, used in the film El Cid. It was the first time we saw the coast in this trip (we were mostly inland) and what a lovely sight it was! We got our feet in the sand and in the waters (though we didn’t have time to swim or sunbathe) and it was just wonderful!
After our walk around the castle and more pictures of the waters, we checked out the narrow streets and shops. Most of the shops along the beach, though, sold beach wear and accessories. It may not be a shopping mecca but the views were just beautiful. Hubby and I wished we had more time to explore Peñiscola, but we were off to Barcelona so we were also eager to get going.
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| The castle served as the Pope's residence |
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| and was used as a set in El Cid |
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| Statue of the Spanish Pope |
Upon arriving in Barcelona, we immediately went on a city tour to enjoy panoramic views from Montjuïc. From this hill, we saw the famous Sagrada Familia of Gaudi, the Cathedral and the weird-looking pickle building (Torre Agbar, supposedly copied from London’s Gherkin building) which housed the water authority. You can also see the harbor from here which provided some fantastic photo ops! We drove to the top but you can also reach the top of the hill via funicular and gondola rides.
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| views from Montjuïc |
Then, we went to the Sagrada Familia, one of the most famous buildings in Spain and its most visited. This time, we weren’t prepared and did not manage to secure a ticket to get inside. There were long lines of the folks who were trying to get in and did not plan for online tickets as well. Needless to say, our packed schedule only allowed us to be in awe of this masterpiece (monstrosity to others) from the outside. It was still unfinished despite having been under construction (following Antonio Gaudi’s plans) for over 130 years.
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| Sagrada familia |
It was a very interesting structure. I don’t particularly hate it but I do not love it, either. What I liked about it, though, was its complexity, its history, and the rich detail of the nativity and passion facades. These facades depicted scenes from the birth and the passion and death of Jesus Christ. The locations of these facades in Gaudi’s plans were so amazing in the sense that it took into account the rising and setting of the sun to give each figure a play on light and shadow as appropriate for the scene. So, while the structure itself was not as beautiful as the Gothic cathedrals were for me, it was still magnificent.
In the evening, hubby and I took the subway down to the Port Olimpic. As with Seville, many structures in this city were built for World Expos or the Olympics. Anyway, at the port, there were so many bars and restaurants, it was so hard to pick where we would get our dinner!
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| Port Olimpic |
We ended up at the La Barca del Salamanca. The place was quite big and had sample platters of what they had available. Hubby and I got a set menu which consisted of tapas, main dish, dessert, drinks and coffee. This time, hubby got the Paella Marinera or seafood paella and I got the cordero or lamb, another Spanish specialty. We had tapas of jamón, pescaditos fritos (fried small fish), chopitos (fried baby squid), mussels, shrimp, Galician-Style Octopus, and olives along with vino tinto (red wine) for hubby and cava (Spanish sparkling wine) for me. With all of that, you can imagine that by the time the main course arrived, we were almost full! It was a tough job, but we did what we had to do—finish the food! J Dessert was Crema Catalana which was really a Spanish speaking (or should I say, Catalan-speaking) crème brulée . After all of that eating (clean plates, mom!), we were given some green apple liqueur which was typically used as a digestive. It did come with some more pastries so we weren’t quite sure the digestive would do the trick. As well, after the coffee, we had quite enough food in our stomachs to last us until lunch the next day. It was our best dinner in Spain! And breakfast and lunch…
We decided to walk off all those pounds by going to see the spectacular performance of water, music and lights of the Magic Fountain near Plaça d'Espanya. It was not Bellagio but it was different and fun. The place was lively and folks were there to have a good time. In the other cities we visited (with the exception of Granada), we usually tried to make it back to the hotel before it gets really dark. However, we left the fountains only about an hour before midnight. We took the subway and yet we felt safe in this city at this hour. It was a lovely evening, indeed.
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| Fountain near Plaça d'Espanya |
Okay, okay, I know we swore we were too full, but the next day, we couldn’t resist having a light lunch of tapas—calamares (fried squid rings) and roasted Galician peppers with more cava at the La Boqueria Market. We were there so how can we not have something to eat?! It was a lively market, quite like Toronto’s St. Lawrence market, filled with stalls selling meat, seafood, and sweets among others.
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| La Boqueria Market |
Outside, we walked along the very vibrant Las Ramblas, a long street packed (and I mean, PACKED) with thousands of people soaking up the atmosphere. There were many souvenir shops and name-brand stores as well as kiosks of local crafts. It was an experience in itself. At the north end is the Plaça Catalunya with even more shopping—among which is the El Corte Ingles with 7 floors of shopping!
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| Las Ramblas |
There were so many places to visit in Barcelona—beaches, hills, beautiful cathedrals, grand fountains and interesting Gaudi structures (there were a couple of others apart from the Sagrada Familia that we saw).
It was like being in a different country (with its own language, Catalan which reflects their move to separate from the rest of Spain). A country to visit has been checked off my bucket list (and many things checked off my foodie list). Nice!
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