Travel

Barcelona – Buskers Of La Rambla

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When you first approach La Rambla in Barcelona you are immediately struck by the throngs of people walking to and fro. It’s almost too intimidating to even consider entering into the flow of this human river.

But everyone says it’s something to see so you take a deep breath and you wade in…

It’s not so bad when you get going. This time of year there’s elbow room and you can move about pretty easily.

After you pass the booths selling birds and other small animals you start to notice the human statues. If you’ve travelled to any big city, you’ve seen them. Usually someone who paints themselves silver and stands perfectly still until someone gives them money. When that happens they spring to life, usually moving in a robotic manner.

Here in Barcelona they have taken it to a whole new level. It’s not uncommon to see three or four human statues setup side by side. The amount of competition has raised the bar, so to speak, for the human statue. They have to compete with each other for the attention of the masses and some of them have gotten VERY creative.

First of all, they don’t all paint themselves silver.

And they’ve added props…

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I’m not sure what Mr. Blue Sleeping Smurf does when you give him a euro, but I bet I find out at someone else’s expense before I leave.

I’ve collected a few shots of some of the more interesting characters. Just click on any thumbnail to see a larger version.

Windblown Cynthia

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Barcelona – MontjuÃ¯c Castle

For me, the journey was more fun than the destination. The castle is interesting enough, but it’s mostly a hulk that now houses a military museum.

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It was odd to see a Mercedes pull into the driveway and cross the drawbridge

The garden outside the wall was nice…

And there was some cool old artillery equipment scattered around the grounds.

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Mostly it was just a beautiful day and a wonderful view that ended up being the compelling reason for being there.

Perill De Caigudes

Cable Cars

We woke up this morning and decided that we would catch the #17 bus from PlaÃ§a de Catalunya out to catch the aerial tramway (cable-car) from Torre Sant Sebastia to MontjuÃ¯c.

This is Torre Sant Sebastia

255+ feet of steel latticework form the starting point of the cable car ride up to MontjuÃ¯c. It passes via Torre Jaume I which is 351 feet high.

While we were waiting in line to purchase our tickets I looked up and noticed this sign

I wonder what the service schedule is for this thing…for that matter, I wonder what the service LIFE is for something like this.

After we purchased our tickets we were whisked in a coffin like elevator up to the observation platform where we waited to board our cable car, along with about 15 other passengers.

It truly an amazing device. Like the one at the now defunct Astroworld back in the day, but obviously on a much larger scale.

Cynthia was a bit apprehensive but was brave. We boarded our gondola and were soon on our way. The view from up there was absolutely breathtaking

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Once you reach MontjuÃ¯c there are places you can easily walk to that have amazing panoramic views of Barcelona. There is also a much more modern cable car system called the Teleferic de Montjuic which takes you on up to MontjuÃ¯c Castle

Cynthia seemed much more confident with the Teleferic

It’s pretty cool. You buy a ticket and just board an empty car and ride up. I would guess it’s sort of like an enclosed ski lift if I had ever actually been on one in my life, which I haven’t.

The views from this one were equally spectacular

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Before long we were strolling along the walls of the old castle, enjoying 360 degrees of fantastic views of Barcelona.

The Bald Heretic – Short, bald dude with a goofy beard

Barcelona – Buskers Of La Rambla

Windblown Cynthia

Barcelona – MontjuÃ¯c Castle

Perill De Caigudes

Cable Cars

Vacation Freefall

Barcelona – Dragon

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