Protests and Riots

Our trip on the train from San Sebastian to Barcelona was long and boring.  The countryside was barren and not very interesting most of the way.  I was also a bit worried about what we would find in Barcelona.  You may know that they recently had some conflict there. Here is a link to an article about the riots and protests.

Our good friends NDL and ES arrived in Barcelona on the day the region voted for independence from Spain. They had a bit of a struggle getting to their hotel.

What would we encounter?

I worried for nothing. Although we saw protestors and barracades, the protestors were not gathered around the seaside where our hotel was located.

These are protesters crossing a street next to our hotel.

We stayed at Hotel Arts on the waterfront close to where the Olympics were held in 1992. We had a great room on the 27th floor overlooking both the city and the sea. It was a fantastic view.

Hubby D says the Hotel Arts had the best shower of the trip. I would agree, it was a good shower.

Our hotel was right next to a sculpture by American architect Frank Ghery. It was very interesting both in the day and at night.

The hotel had a Murano glass chandelier in the lobby and wonderful flowers around every corner. There were even beautiful green leaves at our door. We had not seen anything like this since we went to Africa.  In Africa a green leaf is as valuable as a flower. These were beautiful.

A view of part of the Olympic Village from our window.

Finally we were in a position to see the sunset and I had my first beautiful sunset of the trip. It was a thrill.

Our time in Barcelona was spent touring the city. The next morning after crepes, bread pudding (MY FAVORITE) and eggs for breakfast, we were ready to head out and explore.

We spent a good deal of time at the Sagrada Família Basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí. From 1915 until his death in 1926, Gaudí devoted his life to the Sagrada Familia. Although the construction of the Sagrada Familia began in 1882, it is still unfinished.

He also designed several of the buildings around town and it was very easy to pick them out.  I am not sure I like this type of design, but it was interesting.

There is some very distinctive architecture in Barcelona. The Spaniards really like their design.

Once again, pork shops were plentiful.

At all of our stops for refreshments, they served olives with cocktails.  It was like nuts in the US, and with very tasty olive oil.

It was a full day and we ended it with a walk down one of Barcelona's busiest night spot streets, La Rambla, a recommended visit by Rick Steves, the travel writer.

All along our trip, Hubby D was constantly researching and reading about the locations we visited. Many times he started his suggestions to me with, "Rick Steves has in his book..." We brought several books with us from the Rick Steves collection on Europe. Only once did we not agree with Steves on a topic.

The books have also been a helpful resource to us on other trips. They were first recommended by our friends ES and NDL.

The La Rambla walkway stretches from the Mediterranean Sea to Plaza Catalunya. La Rambla is lined with clubs, bars and a host of mainstream as well as authentic places to experience an incredible evening. However after our busy day, we opted for a quiet dinner by the sea and some Spanish wine.

Tomorrow we leave early for Nice and our trip onward to Italy.

Cheers,
Brenda