It had been 13 years since I was last in Spain. That was a trip to an Andalucian white hill town called Coin.
My sister lives and works as a Teacher in Barcelona, and she invited me over for a visit.
I was staying in a nice part of the city called Vallcarca. There was a Mountain that rose above the city called Tibidabo. It overlooked the city, all the way to the Meditterenean, and stunning views of the surrounding hills were clearly visible.
There was a Church on top of it called the Temple segrat Cor.. I didn't make it quite to the top, on account of getting lost. There is a Fenicular railway that goes up. That is far easier, especially when it's hot.
At night, the Church was lit up.
There was nothing better I liked, than walking around the city streets and down small alleyways.
Barcelona has a good public transport system, but I only used it when neccessary. It was good that the Metro was air conditioned.
Les Ramblas is an attractive street, and particuarly enjoyed walking around an indoor market close by.
Catalunya wields it's own charm. It was an interesting area.
One evening, my sister, her boyfriend, and myself, heard some music close by. We followed it. In some Church grounds, a free open air concert of Spanish Folk music was being performed. People were dancing the night away.
Where there were crowds, was Beer, that was ice cold and being sold for a Euro.
Up in the Pyrenee Mountains, they have concerts, and many come from miles around. They dance all night long, and when tired, fall asleep in the streets. By early morning, you see Men, women, children, and Dogs, all sleeping next to one another.
There are areas of the city that are away from the centre, and have an identity of their own. Up around Fontana, are many squares with open air cafes, and restaurants. At night, you could see families sitting out and enjoying the good weather.
I took a trip to Barceloneta Beach. It was created around the time of the 1992 Olympic Games. It's over 4 kilometres long, and there are paths for Cycling, Roller blading, and walking.
There was a workout area on the beach. I called it Barcelona's version of Muscle Beach in Los Angeles. not that I had been to LA, but had seen it on TV. No way, were the people performing physical exertions, in the same shape as the bronzed Californian butch types.
What came as a surprise was, that people could go nude on the beach. Amongst sun worshippers, were those who were open enough to go back to nature. I looked the otherway towards the sea, as I didn't want a mouthful in Spanish. Ten years ago, my eyes would have been gazing at all the lovely Spanish women.
Parque Guell- Gaudi's park was nice. from one side leading up to it. There is an Escalator, that then requires some walking and climbing steps. Then another Escalator appears, and eventually it's all up hill from there. It was like one of the steep hill gradients in San Francisco. i remember that well enough from my trip there back in 94.
I used to enjoy sitting in a cafe and drinking my first morning cup of coffee. It was far better in flavour and aroma, than back home in the UK.
As I was on a limited budget, I tried to look carefully for cheap places to eat. If you frequent the Les Ramblas main street, well that is a rip off tourist area. Away from the main streets, it's possible to find more affordable places to eat. I had a Kebab in an Arab dstrict. Unlike back home, it was served toasted, rather than in Pitta Bread.
I used to do exactly the same on the couple of trips I made to Paris. Eating in the Latin quarter was less pricier.
Plas Espanya was nice. A water fountain lights up to music. It's a Summer show run mainly for tourists.
Cuturally, Barcelona and Gerona where I also visited, have a unique identity of their own. This is Catalonia, and has it's own language. Particuarly in Gerona, you hear Catalan being spoken rather than Castillian Spanish.
Gerona is a pretty University city. It's close to the airport, but has such diversity and culture all of it's own. After lunch, it was pleasant to walk around the cobbled streets. There was also an attractive park to walk aroumd, or just sit down and relax. It had beautiful gardens.
This trip, had certainly left a good impression on me, and I look forward to going back again.
Barcelona definetly is now one of my favourite cities from my travels. It's up there with Paris and Budapest.
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