He was only 5’3″ but girls could not resist his stare

Today we took it easy. We took a stroll down La Rambla and headed over to La Boqueria as we had heard it more interesting and lively in the morning. It’s true. All the booths are open.

The big difference is the fish market which was not open when we were there yesterday. Everything from squid, octopus, fresh tuna, sea cucumbers, sea snails, lobsters…you name it. Some if it still wriggling around!

They also have the cute cafes here and there. They look affordable and tasty. We plan on having breakfast there in the morning. It should be fun!

We decided to head over to the The Barri Gòtic which is the city center of old Barcelona.

It is a huge change from the area where our hotel is located and La Rambla. Very peaceful and charming. We stumbled upon the Picasso Museum. Actually, stumble is a misnomer. We were semi-looking for it, but not sure if we would save it for a rainy day or not. Today was really nice but kept threatening to rain and then not.

When we came across the museum it was such a cool space and the line was non-existent so we decided to go on it.

I’ve seen a lot of art in my travels, both contemporary and from the masters and I have to say that Picasso is probably one of my favorites. He could do it all. When you look at the body of his work as a whole it’s just astonishing.

Someone had mentioned to me that there was a display where it showed how he de-constructed the painting Las Meninas, the famous painting by Spanish artist Diego Velazquez into varieties of his own style. He painted some 58 interpretations of Las Meninas between August and December 1957.

We found it pretty easily. At the back of one of the galleries there was multimedia display showing the original Vasquez painting and then they would overlay the various interpretations, some which were of the whole painting and some which were only a portion of the painting.

After you watched this you then went into the part of the museum that displayed them and it was literally mind blowing.

My favorite was this one:

Something about the monochromatic really gets to me.

After the museum we found a nice little place to have lunch and then wandered on back to the hotel for siesta time.

Barcelona – Art Nouveau

The facades and doorways are striking as you wander down these timeless boulevards….


Click for full size

Even though it’s closed and being restored, I shot a pic through the door of Casa Amatller


Click for full size

Which lead to just a random shot into an apartment lobby

It’s so amazing that these old building have been preserved and cared for and are actually still being used. I can only imagine what they must look like beyond the amazing facades and entry-ways….

Barcelona – Wild Parrots

We were walking toward the Sagrada Familia doing some sightseeing when I heard a VERY familiar bird squawk.

It was the squawk of the Quaker Parrot (aka Monk Parrot) which is the type of bird Cynthia owns, the one that hates me.

We walked into the park and sure enough, up in the tree was a Quaker Parrot

As we looked around we saw more and more of them in the park.


Click for full size

They were EVERYWHERE! All up in the trees and waddling along the ground competing with the pigeons for food.


Click for full size

And I am sure they all hated me, just like Mr. Zippers. Just look at them…


Click for full size

Apparently there’s a very large colony of them in that park. I saw at least 4 or 5 dozen birds and one giant communal nest.

—
*pictures 1, 2 & 3 courtesy of Cynthia and her excellent telephoto lens.

Feed Me Seymour!

We knew it was going to cost us a bit to eat here so we decided to take matters into our own hands. There’s a huge El Corte Inglés across the street from the hotel and they have a grocery store in the basement.

After we got up from our siesta, we walked over there and laid in a supply of bottled water and non-perishable food stuffs for about 20 euro which will feed us for a few days. That is a huge weight off our shoulders. Rather than pay 15 euro each for breakfast in the hotel we have a package of muffins and some granola bars we can take to the nearby Starbucks and have a continental breakfast for just a few euros.

We’ll still eat out, but we have some sustaining snacks to get us through in a pinch.

After we dropped the supplies back in the hotel we went out again to see The Mercat de la Boqueria, or simply La Boqueria which is an open air market featuring fruits, vegetables, meats and fish all displayed quite nicely.

We plan on doing a bit of shopping at the bocaria during our visit. I’ll leave you with a few pictures of what will be dancing through my head after I hit the hay here in a bit…


Click for full size


Click for full size

Barcelona – Day 1

After checking into our hotel we went exploring a bit. The hotel is located right at the top of the legenday La Rambla.

Birds and flowers for sale every few feet and more street performers than you can shake a stick at. We’ve been constantly warned to protect our valuables as pick-pockets abound on this crowded avenue.

We walked to the end to see the Columbus Monument

The details in this thing are impressive


Click for full size

From there we walked down to the waterfront at Port Vell and enjoyed just sitting in the sun and watching the cable cars go overhead

From there we wandered back to the hotel and decided to take a nap for an hour. That was much needed and put us in the right frame of mind. I was reeling a bit from the change. Barcelona is a large city, like New York or Rome. Coming from the quaint small town charm of Seville and Granada it was a bit daunting.

It’s also very expensive here, just like the aforementioned large cities.

QR Code Business Card