This morning we were one of those 10, 000 tourists that
follow the flag lady and crowd around the Gaudy Cathedral and other “must see”
sights. I have never seen so much crowd (ok, may be in India long long time
ago). The building (the cathedral) is
amazing work of art and architecture but the crowd is overwhelming. Tip :
nothing you can do about it ( may be try going before 9am)
We are staying In a resort town 100 km away from Barcelona
but everyday there are 4 English and another 5 Russian (Did you think Russian
economy is suffering, think again) busses leave the town for Barcelona tour.
Then there are similar busses from all other resorts around the city. Each bus
carries 80 people, just do the math and you get an idea. The city is packed
with people.
Did you think, Spanish economy is bad, look at all the food
everywhere in every corner, at any time. The Ramblas are rumbling with people
from all over the world.
The word Rambla is an Arabic word meaning flowing and the
Ramblas are flowing with people, food, vendors and artists. Barcelona is a
mixture of old and new. Barcelonans are originally from Africa (Tunisia) , then
came the Romans, the Arabs, the Jews and the Christians and then the French.
The city, the culture, the language and the monuments reflect the tradition of
thousands of years. The Catalan language has more than 1000 Arabic words and
similarly big French influence.
Then Gaudi is everywhere. We just looked at his work from
outside and hopefully see more or it from inside tomorrow. Today the tour is a
panoramic view of the city, meaning get driven to a place, given ten minutes to
take pictures and having to run back to the bus. But, it gave the overview of
the city (kind of like starting a new class)
and taught Greenie to respect timing J
The city has the essential medieval streets, a castle, a
palace and many cathedrals but it also has two hills and a valley and the sea (
I am repeated reminded that it is a “sea” and not the “ocean” J ) and that makes it
very beautiful. The city has done a good job of keeping the old and adding the
new and adding lots of greenery.
Gaudy's Familia Segrada and insane amount of tourists
View of the city from the hill
Fountain on top of the hill
The Palace
Fancy ladies
Came back very tired. Somehow sitting in the tour bus and
following the flag lady is lot more tiring than running around all over the
city by ourselves . But, coming home and laughing with friends over a glass of
wine, cheese, crackers and fruits made it all better.
The hotel next door starts the loud music at ten and goes on
till midnight. People here do not sleep….but I need to try to. So, good night
from Barcelona….
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