Good Friday in Barcelona

We spent our last evening on the Insignia dining in Toscana with new friends Walt & Carole and David & Betty. It has been a fabulous cruise and for the record we thoroughly enjoyed our days at sea. Dawn had some initial adjustment, but once she got her sea legs, she was fine and after fighting a north wind heading up the Brazilian coast, we hardly knew we were on the water.

So, once again we got the boot and found ourselves on dry land – Barcelona. The weather was seasonable for this part of the world, but showers were in the forecast.

We taxied to the Hotel Jazz and immediately realized we had chosen well. This hotel is in the heart of the old town, two blocks of the Placa Catalanya, which is one of the best squares in Barcelona. This square is at the top of La Rambla, the main walking street that ends with Christopher Columbus at the harbour.

A quick look around determined that pretty much everyone who lives downtown has a balcony, once again a lot like Paris with all of the wrought iron.

We opted for a two-day pass on the Hop On Hop Off bus to get the lay of the land. At 31 Euros each for the two days, we thought this was a pretty nice way to see the city.

When you leave the old town and come to the Mediterranean, you quickly realize that this area is very new. In fact, thanks to the 1992 Olympics here, the waterfront got a total makeover. As a result some of the most modern architecture is found here.

Making our way up Diagonal Avenue, we came upon what is now a principle landmark of Barcelona, the bullet-shaped Torre Agbar. We must try to see this build at night with its amazing light show.

Then it was back to some of the more historic buildings, like the Bullring, which, for lack of better venues, has hosted many top musical acts including the Beatles.

Sant Pau Hospital was the next major attraction on our bus tour. At this point we were getting into Modernista Buildings that were influenced by Antoni Gaudi, who I will focus more on tomorrow.

We finished the tour for today back at the Placa Catalunya and will leave from here tomorrow to see another part of the city. This square has everything – fountains, statues, pigeon infested plazas and lots of people.

Just about everything was closed up today for Good Friday and as we wandered about before dinner, each church we came upon was busily preparing for Easter Processions.

We came upon one, coming up the already jam-packed La Rambla. The float carrying Christ – at least he didn’t have to walk this time – was proceeded by these spooky guys with Ku Klux Klan-type hats concealing their heads. This is clearly a cultural thing we don’t understand.

After lunch at the Hard Rock Café – had to do it – we had dinner in a pizza place at the top of La Rambla. We shared pizza and salad and that was perfect. On our way back to the Jazz, I tried to do a picture of the two of us in the Placa Catalanya, somewhat unsuccessfully, until a nice Spanish lady took the picture for us. I guess I’d better start carrying my tripod.

It was a great first day in Barcelona, which has already left us seriously impressed with this city.