May 29 - Barcelona

Today we decided to explore as much of Barcelona as could be reasonably expected over a single day.  We took the “hop/on - hop/off” bus tour, which got us to as many sites as possible without exhausting ourselves. 

The theme of the morning tour as was the Antoni Gaudí tour.  Gaudi was a local architect, who designed very unique buildings.  His most famous design was the Sagrada Familia, which is a church that is still being built after 100 years of construction. He has a famous quote that it did not need to be finished on a rigid schedule because God had all time in the world.   His designs are very unique and very creative, and they have a very psychedelic feel to them.  You can find his works all over Barcelona.

Count Eusebi Güell, who was Gaudi’s patron, actually set up a housing development where Gaudi’s designs and those of  his associates would be incorporated into houses in a self-contained community that would reflect the artistic dreams of the architects. Park Guell is a wonderful spot to spend a relaxing few hours. 

In the afternoon we visited the south end of the city which included the harbour.  After lunch we stopped at the Placa d’Espanya which is a magnificent plaza with fountains and an art museum.  It was also the main centre of the 1992 Olympic Games.  

We then went for a leisurely stroll along the waterfront, where we got to see a statue of Christopher Columbus that was erected for the World’s Fair in the late 1800’s.

After the tour, it has become very obvious that Barcelona is a very modern city that takes pride in its modern and unique architecture.   After seeing Barcelona you can agree with Prince Charles of England that most modern design suffers in comparison.  The cubism that you see in North America for its buildings is very boring in comparison to what you see in Barcelona.  Lots of imagination can be found in the buildings of Barcelona.

Tonight we went to a local restaurant call L’Havana. We knew that the food would be very good given the rather amble size of the owner. The lack of tourists in the restaurant indicated that we had found a local treat.