Barcelona - Nov 4
I was forced up by my alarm at 8:00 am in the morning to a nice oceanside view. OK it may not be the ocean view that one expects in places like Hawaii or Maldives, still I find having an ocean view appealing than a concrete view. I was still jet lagged and after not being able to sleep for most of the night, I decided the best cure for this jet lag is to just get out of the hotel and get going. After breakfast in the hotel, I managed to drag myself out of the hotel around 10:00 am. The first thing was to go to an ATM across the street and withdraw some Euros. I had a map of Barcelona, water to keep me awake and my comfortable shoes for walking. My goal was to just walk around the Barcelona old city center, take photos and relax with a nice drink in open outdoor plazas reading my book on this beautiful sunny day.
1) Hilton to Torre Agbar / Agbar Tower
Last time I was in Barcelona was in 1999 as part of my Europe backpacking trip. It was very interesting to see this phallic looking building stand out in front of other older architecture and Monserrate mountains. Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia is few kilometers north west of Toree Agbar. I walked on Av. Diagonal from the hotel towards the direction of this tower. I could have take a bus, metro or even taxi from the hotel, but I really wanted to wake up. :-) As the name implies the road runs diagnoally from North West to South East. If you keep going West from the Hotel Hilton, you will end up north of the Barcelona City Center. After about fifteen minutes of walking, I took a tram and got off near the Agbar Tower. From here I started walking South East towards Parc de la Ciutadella on Av. Meridiana. Here I could just view the daily life of people in Barcelona - people jogging, walking their dogs, families with kids in strollers -- not many tourists. Other than the magazine vendors and some cafes, all the other shops were closed.
2) Arc de Triomf
The Parc de la Ciutadella was in front of this Arc de Triomf. I looked for Champs Elysees like street near this Paris' Arc de Triomphe sibling and found my way into the Gothic District. Now I was beginning to see many tourists, wanting to take their pictures in front of this Arc. This was a busy place, filled with both locals and tourists. I went under the Arc and then turned left to walk towards the Gothic District.
3) Gothic District
Unlike the perpendicular roads in United States, there are many small streets and roads that one can take and not every small street is marked on the tourist map. My trick of not getting lost was to keep track of some key landmarks. You can find some posts which highlight which way to walk for some famous tourist attractions. You can go into the narrow streets and find some small cafes. You will have 3-4 cafes in the row that have very small seating inside, which are supplemented by outdoor chairs/tables in the open plaza marked by their restaurant names. You can just grab an open chair and a server will come server you. Here a lot of souvenier shops were open, selling postcards, Gaudi inspired t-shirts, Flamenco dancer costumes, ceramic dolls and hand-painted drawings amongst other usual touristic things. Over the years, I have grown to avoid these side shops, as I realize that many of these things either collect dust or don't last long due to poor quality of workmanship. I tend to spend a little more money and collect famous artwork replicas that signify the city I am visiting. I couldn't find what I was looking for in these souvinier shops. I finally found some hidden shops that didn't look like souvenier shops and did some shopping. The owner was nice enough to let me pick up my stuff on my way back, instead of me having to carry them around for rest of the day. Can these vendors be trusted? I just took a chance that they may not recognize me when I get back (i.e. if I can find my way back into this really tiny street in Barri Gotic).
The Cathedral was under construction and fundraising activities were in effect. After spending some time in Gothic District and the Cathedral, I entered into the street of La Ramblas. At this time of the year, you can already see Christmas light decoration on the streets. These lights look great in the narrow pebblestone streets.
3) La Ramblas
From the tiny streets near the Cathedral, I got out into the La Ramblas near the Pla de la Boqueria. You can view many attractive buildings on this lively street. The street was filled with street performers and open street cafes. Parts of this streets are shady - especially at night. I had remembered this from my last trip here and even read some articles beforehand on general safety guidelines in the city. This was primary reason why I didn't want to carry too many bags in my hand.
4) Columbus Monument (Monumento a Colon), Port Vell and Maremagnum
If you continue walking south on La ramblas towards the water front, you will begin to see the magnificent statue of Colombus. Apparently, you can go to the top of the monument for fabulous ariel views, which I didn't do. This place was even more crowded. You can cross the Port Vell into Maremagnum a modern shopping center with lots of shops, restaurants and IMAX cinemas. This was the sunset time and I enjoyed watching the sun setting by the mountains, cable gondolas from the world trade center and many boats in the harbour. I walked in and around the mall for a while and then headed back with a flood of people back towards the city. I walked fast to find the shop where I had left my shopping bags. I think I mostly blended in with locals, as I had my camera and map tucked away in my purse. I avoided having lost looks most of the time. And amazingly enough I was able to backtrack my way into the shop, which was near some great restaurants that were filled NOT with tourists but locals. I decided to have a cup of nice spanish coffee before calling it a day and heading over to the hotel. I took Metro (1.25 Euro per ride) from Place Catalunya on a Red Line and then switched over to Yellow Line towards La Pau, getting off at Forum station close to Hilton.
Overall, I had a nice Sunday in Barcelona. If I can find time (from hectic conference schedule) to see three more places (La Pedrera, Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell), during the conference, I will be very happy! If not ... I will just have to come back!! :-)
