Barcelona, a ramble down the Rambla

Yesterday we spent the day in Barcelona. A Catalonian city of 1.1 million people. We have been to Barcelona (the locals pronounce it Barthelona) 3 times before. The last time we were here was for the Spanish Grand Prix which I think was 2016. We stayed 4 days that time, so we’re pretty familiar with the city. The most important and most visited site is the Sagrada Familia Basilica. That means church of the Holy Family. The building was begun in 1872. After the first year, the architect quit and Antoni Gaudi became the architect. He worked on the Basilica until he died in 1926. Over the years he became more obsessed with the building and being Catholic. He gave up all he owned, slept in the unfinished church and died a pauper. He was hit by a tram and looked so much like a beggar that he was taken to the hospital for the poor where he died and it took two days to identify him. The church is still unfinished and now they’re saying 2030 will be the finish date…..probably not. They still have 7 of the 18 towers to complete. I could tell you more, but I see your interest flagging. He also developed Parc Guell, I’ll show you pictures of both. Just know that Barcelona is a wonderful, vibrant city.

Before we got to the Rambla, we were walking down a street with 5 barber shops. Roscoe needed a haircut. Make sure and turn up the sound! The cost for a haircut, eyebrow, mustache and beard trim was €7. About $7. Roscoe paid him €20.

Two photos of the Rambla. The Rambla is about a mile walk from the Placa Catalunya to the Statue of Columbus. The word Rambla means river. This walkway used to be a river running down to the sea.

Roscoe’s 7€ haircut.

The next photos are the Parc Guell. Guell was a rich guy with 10 kids. Gaudi designed 5 homes for him. This park was to be a planned community with 60 homes. It was the last Gaudi design. No one wanted a home that far out from the city so the project failed. Gaudi lived in the model home until he moved to the Sagrada Familia. The Parc is now owned by the city.

The entrance To Parc Guell. Our guide brought us in the back entrance so that we walked downhill….she was worth every dime.

I always wondered why Barcelona has iguana magnets. It’s because of this. Gaudi’s iguana.

That’s the ceiling of the area that was to be the food market.

View of the city from the Parc. The Parc also has a public school.

ok I have to go to trivia….it’s 4:00. I’ll add more pics when I get back. So check in later. I’m back. It was progressive trivia day. Every day we’re at sea, we play progressive trivia and the team with the highest score at the end of this leg of the cruise, which is Dover, wins. Today we got 15 out of 20.

The Sagrada Familia…sacred (holy) family basilica. We have been to the church before. Maybe 10 years ago, but it is so beautiful inside that we decided to go visit again. I could give you lots of information about it but you probably aren’t that interested. Just know that there will be 18 towers when it’s done and one side represents the nativity and the other side represents the crucifixion. On the outside, the church doesn’t move me, but the inside is beautiful. Antoni Gaudi knew he wouldn’t finish it and left detailed plans and drawings. He was the second architect. The church is now on its 20th architect. The light inside changes depending on the time of day. It is awe inspiring.

The nativity has blue and green stained glass.

The crucifixion. Has red and yellow stained glass.

Ok, now for the “fun” part. There are 2 pictures left that I want to post. One picture is of our guide, Mar! As I said, we’ve been to Barcelona 3 times before. While we were waiting to meet her, I was second guessing myself and wondering if we really should have spent the money for a guide. I could have ordered the tickets etc…. I just want to tell you that guides in foreign cities are worth the money. She took us places we would have never seen. She told us stories and gave us information that we would never have known, we needed taxis and with her taking care of it, it was easy. We would never have known to go into the Parc Guell at one of the other entrances to avoid the crowd. Nor would we have known about the Amatller family or seen their house. They still make the best chocolates in Barcelona. Once again, toursbylocals.com came through and we were ever so pleased. Here’s a picture of Mar as Queen for a Day. Sitting on a Gaudi thrown in the Parc Guell.

Mar, our guide. Mar means sea. When she left us, she had the taxi driver take us to the best gelato place on the Rambla.

Last picture of the day made us smile.