Back To Pamplona

Sunday, July 10  On To Barcelona

I  had hoped to view the bulls running again this a.m., but this time from inside the Plaza de Toros, the bullfight arena, but I decided that I could not depend on Ryan to get me to the train station afterward on time to catch my 9:30 ride to Barcelona. Too bad.  I hear that it is utter chaos! People and bulls come running into the arena, and then the doors are locked, preventing bulls and people from escaping.  Then some cows are brought in, presumably to calm the bulls.  They are "working girls", who enjoy knocking down people. How fun!  Would have loved to have seen that, but it would have left me with very little time to catch my train, and I already know I won't have nearly enough time to enjoy Barcelona.

The train to Barcelona was full and it was a smooth, quiet ride.  The scenery was mostly large expanses of arid land.  This would be where they grow those wild bulls.

Once in Barcelona I activated my 5-day rail pass and picked up my tourist pass.  These will allow me to use any subway or bus, and also the on/off tourist buses for 2 days. 

My cab driver got me to my hotel and insisted on carrying my luggage inside. Thank goodness he did! Not only did I not recognize the place as a hotel, but my room is on the 2nd floor, and there is no elevator.  At the top, he muttered something about poquito to the manager.  I gave him a 2nd tip.  My equepaja, luggage, is pushing 50 lbs, and is anything but  poquito!

To enter this hotel, you have to use an intercom or a passkey, go through the heavy, narrow, wooden door, go up the 2,000 steps, or so it seems, to the 2nd floor, and again use the intercom or passkey.  It seems a bit like a speakeasy.  But the room is wonderful!  It is a very old building, and there are 6 rooms to this large apartment, comprising this hotel. The rooms are very small, and decorated with wonderful antiques. I have a private bath, with a shower that measures 18" x 18", smaller than one you will find in an RV.  Don't drop the soap! Best of all, I have a large patio door, opening into a, well, a patio.  It's absolutely  beautiful! Lots and lots of plants, 2 bird cages, with actual, live, singing birds, and 2 large dining tables.  This is where I will have my breakfast. I love it!

It was the housekeeper who checked me in.  She's very cute and very sweet. As I was about to leave the hotel and hit the streets, she became worried and located her boss to translate her concerns to me.  I was walking out with a purse slung over my head across my chest, and I also had a camera over my neck.  They warned me of a band of young men, blue-eyed, blond, Eastern Europeans, who had been stealing from tourists.  They pretend to be tourists, and they flirt with or otherwise distract women, and then slash the straps on cameras, purses, etc. , and run. People may get hurt.  They were worried about me and  my camera.  I went back to my room and grabbed my unattractive, unassuming, water proof bag, which I had brought for the beach, and placed my camera in it. The ladies were very pleased that I did this.

The buildings in this area are about 100 years old, having been torn down and re-built. Homes were built so the owners lived on the main floor, and the upper levels were rented. The street corners are all rounded, and the crosswalks are about 20 feet from the corners.  This is supposed to provide better visibility for pedestrians.  I'm not convinced that it's working.

The hotel is only 2 blocks from a main street  frequented by the tourist buses.  How convenient!  I only have the rest of today and tomorrow in Barcelona, and I am on a mission.  I want to see the architecture of the Spanish architect  Antoni Gaudi,1852-1926. His work dots the landscape of Barcelona, and much of it is magical.  His designs are heavily influenced by nature, with lots of swirls and waves, and color. Very whimsical, and yet functional. He incorporated recycled pottery and tiles in his designs and also used recycled materials when building his models.

My first stop was Casa Batllo, built in the 1870s and remodeled by Gaudi, 1904 - 1906.  And, as luck would have it, a mere 4 blocks from my hotel. What an amazing, beautiful place. It is 5 stories high, with 2 very, very large skylights, open from the roof all the way down to the ground floor. The 2 shafts, about 15 ft wide, are lined with beautiful tiles, in varying shades of blue. The amount of natural light inside the home is incredible.  There are glass room dividers that contain water, and when you move by them, it looks like rain is pouring down the other side of the glass.  There are curves and swirls everywhere in the building, including the windows, doorways, and walls.  It's just fun taking it all in.  On the roof, he built a tile dragon. The chimneys are whimsical - looking like tile towers. It's an amazing place, unlike any I have seen before.

From here, I hopped on the hop on/off Turistca Bus, and went to Gaudi's church, the unfinished  Sagrada Familia.  Gaudi designed it, and built models for the various sections, and oversaw the building of the lowest level. He began work on it in 1883, and it was a quarter complete at the time of his death.  It is anticipated that it will be completed by 2026, the 100 year anniversary of his death. 

 I grabbed a few shots of the outside, which is a bit grotesque, I think, and went to the tour entrance.  It was almost 8 pm, and it was closing.  Hopefully tomorrow I will get to experience it.

I hopped on the tour bus, and continued the ride through the north part of the city. We went by the stadium that is the home of the world famous European Soccer 2010 Champions, Barcelona, or Barci.  It's the largest stadium in Europe, seating about 115,000.  I was surprised to learn that the Barcelona club also sponsors a number of other sporting teams, besides soccer. These include basketball and baseball.

I'm adapting to the Spanish way of having lunch in the late afternoon, and dinner after 10 pm. At 10:30, I found a wonderful place for dinner called Euskal Taberna.  They have a wonderful selection of tapas, or pinxtos as they are called in the Basque city of Pamplona, or pinchos, as they are called here in the Catalan city of Barcelona. I ordered 2, and received one, the Serranito, a wonderful combination of Spanish Iberian ham (jamon), serrano chile, and pimiento.  And wine.  I ordered another pincho.  I received one that was not what I had ordered.  But, boy was it good! I ordered a third pointing to it on the menu, and, again, it was not what I had ordered. And, again, I loved it.  My order was confused 3 times, but es no importanta. It's all good!

Monday, July 11    Barcelona

I think I've been averaging 4-5 hours sleep each night for the last week, but last night I had about 10 hours of deep sleep.  I awoke at 11:57 a.m.  I was shocked that it was so late!  I did have a bad dream - Iwas arrested as an accomplice to murder.  I don't recall the details, but this was following the night of the bull fights.  I don't believe that is a coincidence. At any rate, the long sleep was welcome!   But, I missed breakfast with the other guests on the terrace. Oh, well.  I showered and had my breakfast on the terrace at 1 pm. What a beautiful, relaxing place.  I love it here!

But, I'm burning daylight! I'm off!  The Turistca buses run every 10 minutes, and I quickly catch one.  Back to the Sagrada Familia. Along the way to see the church, I take a couple of photos, but when I arrive at the church, my camera is broken.  I carry 2 spare batteries, and neither helped.  Plan B goes into affect. I get out my little underwater camera.  The battery quickly dies, and I had left the spare at the hotel. Damn! Down to plan C, my iPhone camera.  And this for Gaudi's masterpiece!  Well, it's a whole lot better than having no camera at all, and it is what it is. I'm off to explore.

I enter the church. It is so beautiful, it's overwhelming.  I actually had tears in my eyes. The place is huge, but the natural lighting is incredible.  The stained glass is gorgeous.  My tour finishes in the basesment, which is basically a museum, containing Gaudi's  finely detailed models of various components of the church.  They're made of broken pottery and left over building supplies. Gaudi never expected to live to see his work completed.

I again grabbed the tour bus, and continued to the next stop, Guell Park.  What a wonderful place!  It has swirling, waving walls,and beautiful colored tiles.  It's a fantasy, a magical place. There's a wonderful tile lizard, which people are clamoring over as they pose for photos.  I think Gaudi was a genius.  And a great recycler.  I stayed a couple of hours here, at one point sipping sangria and people-watching. 

Most of today's photos were taken with my phone, and I have no tools as yet to download them to my Linux netbook.  Looks like they will have to wait until I get home.  Also, internet access has been spotty at best.

I went back to the hotel and dropped off some excess baggage, e.g. my broken camera, and a few souveneirs. Then I walked to the nearby old city center, a large plaza.  It's 10 pm and there are lots of families strolling, with their young children.  It's just getting dark, and the temperature, whatever it is, is perfect.  It's a beautiful evening!  From the plaza, I walked to the nearby pedestrian mall, Las Ramblas. There are lots of stores, restaurants, ice cream shops, and souveneir stalls.  The souveneirs appear to be cheaper the further you walk.  I found a tapas receipe book, in English!  I had searched Barnes and Noble a couple of weeks ago, and found only one, written in Spanish. Yay! 

I stopped for dinner at 11 pm at a lovely sidewalk cafe.  The waiter was not very friendly, unusual among the people I have met in Spain, but I enjoyed a delicioso paella y vino. There were some fun street entertainers stopping by, such as clowns, singers, and dancers doing gymnastics.  Life is muy bueno!

On the way back from Las Ramblas, at about 1 am, there were still families with young children out strolling.  As I was crossing the plaza, I made eye contact with a man who seemed to be starting to walk to me, and he was checking me out - and not in a good way, but more as a potential victim. I held his gaze and he stopped.  I turned and moved towards the light. Always move to the light!  I crossed the street and kept checking to see if I was being followed.  I was not.  This was not one of those blue-eyed, blond Eastern Europeans I had been warned about, but an apparent local.

To bed at 2 am, with a wake up call for 6.  That 10 hrs sleep the night before is much appreciated.  I only had 2 days in Barcelona, and I knew it would not be nearly enough. I was armed with information, passes, and apps for Barcelona, but, in the end, the only think lacking was time. The Turistca Pass included the tourist bus and discounts to museums, Casa Batllo, Sangrada Familias, and others, and was a great value. I also had a pass for all other transportation, including buses and subways.  I didn't use this pass, although I was just 2 blocks from the subway.  More time needed! I had a walking tour app of Barcelona, but didn't use it. And, the most useless app, a tapas and wine bar locator for Barcelona. If you don't see a tapas place, just turn around!  This is one city I would love to spend more time in, especially with friends. My bucket list now includes a return trip to Barcelona.  I love it here, and barely saw any of the sights. I missed the zoo, the stadium, the parks, the highly recommended Picasso Museo, and the topless beaches. And I spent 5 months working out just for those beaches!

On To Sevilla