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Full moon
in Barcelona
Thursday 21st of
November
London to Barcelona:
I was in a pub in London Bridge, waiting for my friend Mel, suitcase
ready, beer in hand thinking about the journey we were about to start. It
was not the first time, nor the second, nor the third...that I was going
to Barcelona. But it is always an exciting place to go. It is the most
multicultural city in Spain, a bit like London but it still maintains all
its Spanish roots. It is the best place if you want to do the tourism
trail of museums, churches & monuments or go to the beach, have typical
Spanish tapas and enjoy the Spanish "marcha" in the night in the same
city.
Mel arrived at the bar, she too was very excited, and this was her first
trip to Barcelona with Spanish as her second language. Our journey started
hap-hazardly – it was 5pm, our flight from Gatwick was at 7:20pm, we had
to be checked in by 6pm. A station guard told us where to get the train
and that is would arrive at Gatwick at 6pm. Having just 3 minutes to catch
the train we were still in a long queue to purchase out tickets. We
decided live life dangerously, Mel grabbed my hand and with determination
we charged through the barrier flashing an out of date travel card under
the ticket inspectors nose – he was not concentrating and let us through.
Now that we were on the train, we discussed the fastest route from train
to terminal – deep in conversation and 20 minutes down the line we arrived
at Gatwick. We were there, at Gatwick, ahead of time, check-in completed
and even time for some shopping.
It was already dark when the plane took off from London, however as we
flew over Barcelona you could see the street lights, monuments and other
great sights lit up in this beautiful city. As we looked out the window
admiring the city that lay beneath us, we could see a beautiful full moon,
casting an immaculate light over the beach of Barcelona. It truly was a
welcoming sight
Arriving & Driving in Barcelona:
Eager to get out of the airport and see Barcelona for ourselves, we rushed
through passport control and over to the baggage reclaim – to our delight
our bags were the first off. We grabbed out luggage and headed straight to
the car hire desk. The formalities seemed to take forever, we didn’t want
to be in the sterile airport, we wanted to be out in the city of
Barcelona. Once we’d signed on the dotted line we ran out to our little
blue Toyota Yaris. This little car was the key to all our adventures. When
you are used to driving in England, like my friend Mel is it takes a few
minutes to get used to driving on the right hand side. It is not very
difficult when you are following the rest of the cars on the road, the
problem comes when you find a roundabout and you have to remember to turn
to the right whilst looking for oncoming traffic to the left. It was
really funny to see us approaching to a "rotonda" and singing " a la
derecha, a la derecha, bien!" (on the right, on the right, goooood).
The remainder of the drive was uneventful and we admired the sights of
Barcelona from the motorway as we headed towards the surrounding hills. I
had chosen to stay with my family in a village 20-km from the city. Mel is
not only my friend but also a student of Spanish and I wanted her to get
the most out her time in Barcelona. The opportunity to fit into the
culture of a Spanish family and to speak Spanish would provide not only
great experience for my friend but great memories too.
Friday 22nd of November:
Shopping!
We got up on Friday ready for a full day’s shopping in Barcelona. After a
good Spanish breakfast of dipped in coffee and a shower we were ready to
drive to the city, not without a detour to the airport first! In my haste
to leave the airport I took the wrong case – it was an easy mistake to
make, as both cases were green. As with all our driving experiences
something happened along the way - we got lost for first (and not last)
time, ending up in the port instead of the airport. Going back looking for
the airport two guys told us to follow a plane, so we did and as you’d
expect, we found the airport.
Driving in the city is not too difficult as it is basically a grid system
with a couple of large roads going into and out-of the city centre. The
most difficult thing to get used to was stopping at the yellow traffic
lights. In Spain you have to stop at a yellow traffic light, because it
means that it will become red in seconds, this especially applies to
pedestrian crossings. We used to stop on top of white stripes pretending
to be pedestrians in a car, we though it was amusing but the pedestrians
did not! Parking is a different story – although expensive it is better to
park in a dedicated car park as roadside parking can be difficult and have
extremely limited times. We left our car in an undercover parking facility
just off Las Ramblas for the whole day. Our shopping started in earnest.
The best place to shop is in the two main streets around the Placa de
Catalunya: Puerto del Angel and calle Pelai. Concentrated in these two
main streets you’ll find all kind of shops ranging from chic boutiques,
department stores, high street fashion (MNGO & Zara) and quirky individual
clothing, music and bric-a-brac shops. But if it is "alta costura" that
you’re looking for, Passeig the Gracia is the equivalent to Sloane Street
in London. It is not only famous for designer boutiques (Burberry, Armani)
but it’s home to some of the most popular tourist sights in Barcelona. If
you don’t find what you are looking for in the streets or you are tired of
walking, take a browse around El Corte Ingles just in the centre of the
placa. It is the biggest national department store, you can find anything
in there but you will pay a bit more for the convenience.
When you are in the Placa de Catalunya you cannot miss the opportunity to
go for a walk down one of the most famous streets in Barcelona: Las
Ramblas. Walking down Las Ramblas you will find on the right the most
important food market in the city called: La Boqueria. It is tradition for
most of the locals to go on Saturdays and do their weekly shopping in la
Boqueria. You can find everything there, fresh fruit and veg, fresh meat
and fish brought straight from the port. As this is a specialist market
you may think the prices could a little high but not at la Boqueria, the
quality of produce/products here is very high and the prices very
reasonable. However, you will need to spend time browsing at the prices,
as the price in every stand will vary. There is a general rule that the
stands nearer the entrance is more expensive than the ones at the back of
the market.
Driving back to the village wasn't as easy as we thought. Coming out from
the car park we had to find the biggest street in Barcelona: Avenida de
Diagonal. However, with so many one way streets it took us half an hour to
get to the street, which was just round the corner. Asking locals was fine
but they forgot we are driving and they were giving us the directions of a
pedestrian, anyway we arrived a little late but safe in my sister's
village.
Saturday: Tourism around Barcelona
Saturday was our day for tourism. We would be spending the whole day in
the city and as the transport in Barcelona is quite good we decided to
leave little Yaris in the village and go by bus. We met my friend Xavi
(very typical Catalonian name) for lunch, which consisted of typical
Catalonian dishes and a nice bottle of Roja (of course). During lunch we
discussed taking one of the marvelous tourist buses around the city – the
kind you can jump on and off at any time. Xavi knows Barcelona very well
as he was born there so he offered to be our private tour guide.
Before visiting Barcelona, try and read some literature on Gaudi, knowing
about him and his work will give you more of an insight into the
architecture of Barcelona. Gaudi is one of the most important
personalities in Catalonian history, he was the most revolutionary
architect, applying infinity of originalities to his works. He was a very
religious person and he was happy to do great works related with God and
the Catholic faith, his biggest work is La Sagrada Familia (the Holy
Family). It is the main cathedral of the city and even though it remains
unfinished you can appreciate the magnificence of his work. His protector
was Eusebi Guell, most of Gaudi’s work contain some reference to the name
of Guell like the parque Guell (Guell Park), palau guell (The palace where
Guell used to live), colonia guell.…………. all of them are worth visiting.
With Xavi as our private guide, we opted to see the sights of Barcelona on
foot and using the Metro – we purchased a 10-journey ticket, which is
valid on buses and the Metro system. Each journey is valid for an hour,
this proves great value as you can hop on & off the bus/metro after one
validation as many times as you like within an hour. For the most striking
examples of Gaudi’s “houses” take a walk down the street Passeig de Gracia:
Casa Mila (also called La Pedrera) and Casa Batlo. We visited the La
Sagrada Familia, walked along Passeig de Gracia, then continued to the
gothic quarter and all of this was done with the occasional cerveza (beer)
at one of the many outdoor bars. It is impossible to see Barcelona in one
or two days however enjoying the architecture of Gaudi and simply
wandering the streets gives you a real flavour for Barcelona……………… and
hopefully the incentive to return!
After all the sightseeing and beers in the local pubs we decided to have
some tapas for dinner. The 23rd of November – Barcelona came alive as they
played host to the biggest “local” football derby, Real Madrid vs.
F.C.Barcelona. All the bars in the centre were completely crowded, so Mel
and I decided to go a bit further south of Barcelona. The best tapas bars
in every city in Spain are those where the locals go regularly, they are
much cheaper and better quality. If you like prawns the best of the best
is the "Gambas a la plancha" (grilled prawns), we ordered at least 3
raciones (plates). And in Barcelona all the fish is good: squid, octopus.
pescaito (little fish)...everything. And, of course our tapas were washed
down with a jar of Sangria! And then: MARCHA!
We met Xavi again at 11pm, a normal time to meet up in Spain to go out for
the evening. Be warned, for 18 year-olds this is considered early! And
after a few beers in the pubs we went to "La Paloma". It is a nightclub
where if you go before 1am you will find an orchestra playing old songs
for “middle aged” bachelors and singles of the area, but at 1am it
transforms into one of the most popular nightclubs for the young people.
Barcelona, unlikely most of the cities in Spain, doesn't have just a zone
of Marcha but lots. If you want to be near the sea you can go to the port
(in the summer) or the Maremagnum. If you go to the Poble espanyol
(Spanish village) you can do some tourism and see miniatures from all over
Spain like the Giralda of Sevilla, have some tapas and then go to the
night clubs which are quite popular in the city.
Sunday 24th of November:
We bid farewell to La Paloma at 7:30 Sunday morning. After a few hours
sleep, we got up at 11:30, we had planned to visit some tourist sites
outside the city with my family. If you have the opportunity of going
outside the city you cannot miss going to "La colonia Guell". Mr Guell,
Gaudi's protector was an important figure in the industrial sector and
wanted Gaudi to build a little village for his staff working in his cotton
factory. There are characteristic houses and a school, all around the
factory. But the most important building is the Church, called "la cripta
de Gaudi". Definitely you cannot see anything alike in the world. This
work includes all the innovations Gaudi used throughout all his works.
As usual, after a good session of sightseeing comes a good session of
food. And now we were out of the city we knew it wouldn't be difficult to
find a good restaurant. The trick is to find a Meson or any typical
Catalan restaurant. Driving through the mountains we arrived at Las
torrets where you can see "catalunya en miniatura" (little Catalonia) and
enjoyed a great lunch in the restaurant. If you want to have the typical
Catalonian meal, you can order a "botifarra con mungetas",a big sausage
with white beans. And as a dessert the "crema catalana", it is creme
brulee with caramel on the top and it is wonderful!
But what we loved the most was the calcons. Calcons is a seasonal dish
that you can experience in the autumn. They are bigger than spring onions
and similar shape as leeks. You have to wear a baby napkin, dip then in a
sauce and eat them from the tip, they are gorgeous!!!
With wonderful memories, a full stomach and a heavy heart, we left my
family and Barcelona for the drive back to the airport.
Helpful Hints for travelling to Barcelona.
How to get there:
Easyjet offers the best fares and flight times for a short break. We took
the 7:20pm flight from Gatwick which arrives at 10:15pm Barcelona. For our
return journey we took the 10pm flight from Barcelona, this arrives in
Gatwick at 12:15pm. This allows you to have three full days in Barcelona
without having to take too much time off work.
If you want to be a bit more adventurous Buzz flies into Papiogn, which is
in France but it’s only a very scenic hour drive over the Pyrenesse to
Barcelona. The fares are under £100 (depending on date & time of travel)
Car Hire:
We chose our car from the Internet – Holiday Auto’s, their agent in
Barcelona is Europcar. Both companies offer highly competitive rates, good
quality cars and as they’re based at the airport you can land, collect and
go. A word of warning -- all Spanish rental companies expect the car to
come back with a full tank of petrol, there are NO petrol stations at the
airport and very few in close proximity. So DON’T leave it until 1 or 2
miles out from the airport to get petrol, as you won’t be able too.
Shopping:
If you intended to pay for any purchases, whether it be food, clothing or
tickets with a card you MUST have your passport with you One of the most
important things in Spain is your passport, you’ll need to take it with
you everywhere as they will ask to see it as ID with all card/travelers
cheque purchases.
Places to Stay:
Barcelona is full of hotels and self-catering rooms, which are reasonably
priced. If you want to save money and experience a more Spanish way of
life it is better to stay outside of Barcelona – Sitges for example is a
lovely place to stay, only 20 minutes on the Metro. You can find
apartments here for as little as €40 per day (off peak). The Catalonian
Tourist website has some very good links for accommodation.
Language:
There is a general misconception that the people of Barcelona will only
speak Catalonian to you – this is incorrect, although their language is
Catalan everybody can speak and understand Castillano (the official
language of Spain). The people of Barcelona are very friendly and will
happily help you with your Spanish or many places the staff are happy to
converse in English too.
Personal Safety:
On a whole Barcelona is a safe, clean and vibrant city. Pick Pockets and
bag snatchers hang around the main shopping street (Las Ramblas) – so much
like any other big city you need to be sensible with your belongings and
cautious.
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