Barcelona, Spain!: February 2012

The Last Tortilla (and Three Cheers for Mis Amigos / Amigas)

Well, mis amigos y mis amigas, this is the end of the Spanish Train! For now ...

I fly out tomorrow to Amsterdam (and I will see my cousin, Allison) and then fly back on home to Toronto.

Thank you for reading my blog!

Three cheers for me for travelling solo for the first time ever! And for figuring out how to upload photos from my new digital camera and how post a blog. (I am grinning like a Cheshire cat.)

And three cheers for ... drum roll, please ...

3. Jacob K. -- for being the only person who officially signed up for my blog (although my blog has been read about 300 times since I started it on February 5, 2012.)

2. Lisa W. -- for having the best quote -- "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's holiday." :-)

1. Beverly M. -- for following my blog daily and for posting such great and warm comments. Muchas gracias, mi amiga!

Here is The Last Tortilla:

Oh, I love Spain!

XOXOXO

Noticing the little things on Carrer de l'Hospital

If you have ever walked with me, you know that I tend to walk quite briskly. I can walk from my hotel on Carrer de l'Hospital to La Rambla in five minutes flat.

And I probably have tended to walk even a bit more briskly on this trip because I am travelling solo. No dawdling and squinting at my map. Sure-fire way to get pickpocketed!

As I walked back to my hotel this afternoon, I slowed down and I looked for things that I had not otherwise seen as I walked up and down Carrer de l'Hospital several times a day for nine days straight.

There are lots of sports stores:

Lots of flags flying:

How did I miss this?!! A WC on my own street! (Me, who needs a bathroom every hour! Okay, I got super-strategic on this trip.)

Hotel San Agustin would be a great place to stay next time I visit Barcelona:

Here is the beautiful Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu on Carrer de l'Hospital:

And the corner of Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu on Carrer de l'Hospital with a fountain and stone carving:

Here is the lovely, small carving I never noticed above the water fountain: Mary holding the body of Jesus:

This is the sign for Reial Academia de Farmacia de Catalunya:

Above doorway to Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu on Carrer de l'Hospital:

I know that I am nearly at my hotel on Carrer de l'Hospital when I see this juncture:

There are some green thumbs on Carrer de l'Hospital:

This is the building adjacent to my hotel:

Hostal Gat Xino, my home for nine days and nights (it's not that skinny!):

Here is a banner for Futbol Club Barcelona. The only thing on T.V. in bars in Barcelona is futbol (soccer)! There is really nothing else. The rivalry between F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid is HUGE!

Frutas (fruit) y verduras (vegetables) on display:

These are the memories of my street in Barcelona!

Back to La Rambla (and a T.S. Eliot quote)

As T.S. Eliot wrote in his poem, Little Gidding:

"We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time."

I felt that way when I walked along La Rambla late this afternoon. I can't believe I had never set foot on this street before eight days ago. It's just 1.2 kilometres long and it's so cool.

See the Catalan flag in this photo. The Catalan flag is EVERYWHERE! (For those of you who think I don't know how to spell in Spanish, it's because I have been spelling nearly everything in Catalan.)

You might have noted that I switched from calling this street "Las Ramblas" in earlier blogs to "La Rambla" in later blogs. The street signs say "La Rambla". What is the difference?

La Rambla is comprised of several shorter streets, each with different names. The plural form is Les Rambles in Catalan. In Spanish, the plural form is Las Ramblas.

From Placa de Catalunya down to the harbour, the streets are called Rambla de Canaletes, Rambla dels Estudis, Rambla de Sant Josep, Rambla dels Caputxins, and Rambla de Santa Monica. I have caught some of those signs in these photographs.

As seen in an earlier blog, La Rambla continues on a wooden walkway into the harbour. It is named Rambla de Mar.

Am I cool enough to stay at Internacional Cool Hotel on La Rambla on my next visit? :-)

Look at that gorgeous blue sky! I have been very fortunate with the weather in Barcelona. I shivered a lot in the first couple of days on the open air bus when I was in the shade, but a hat, gloves and turtle-neck helped a lot!

Carrer del Ferran and My Burning Question (see last entry)

After a day of sightseeing, I headed back to my hotel to pick up my laptop, so I could upload my photos and post on my blog. (Oh, I am so 21st century! These things turned out to be a lot easier than I expected.)

As I walked back along Carrer del Ferran (the street where I had that amazing cafe con leche and a very- dangerous-looking chocolate croissant earlier today -- remember -- the one you coveted when you saw it?), I took close note of the architecture and the ambience of the street.

The facade of the Eglesia de Sant Jaume on Carrer de Ferran was very eye-catching.

I also took a quick walk up a short street ...

To get one last glimpse of Placa Reial:

Why doesn't Canada have town and city squares where people gather like people do in Europe?! This is a burning question for me. In Europe, people gather together so easily. They meet, they talk, they drink coffee, they have a meal together. People in Europe are so closely knit together. I think the town and city squares lend a lot to this.

Remains of the Roman Temple of Barcino

The remains of the Roman Temple of Barcino date from the end of the first century B.C. The columns of the Temple of Augustus, which are more than 2,000 years old, is thought to be one of Barcelona’s best-kept secrets in a building on Carrer del Paradís.

Palau de la Generalitat

After leaving the Cathedral, I was also in awe of the beauty of the architecture of the Palau de la Generalitat. Since 1403, it has been the seat of the Catalonian Governor.

The entrance has a Renaissance facade. Above the doorway is a statue of Sant Jordi (St. George) -- the patron saint of Catalonia -- and the Dragon.

This exquisite piece of architecture below is on El Carrer del Bisbe, a very beautiful street in the Gothic Quarter.

These photographs are other views of the Palau de la Generalitat.

In the Cloister of the Cathedral

The cloister of the Cathedral was built in the 14th and 15th century. It has a wide variety of side-chapels, a central garden, the Fountain of St. George, and thirteen geese: a reminder that St. Eulalia was martyred at age 13. The cloister is beautiful and calm. Let me retrace my steps.

The Fountain of St. George:

Geese and a frog:

This is the side-chapel of St. Rita in the cloister:

This is the side-chapel of the Holy Christ of Empara and St. Jude Thaddeus in the cloister:

The is the sign for The Pieta de Despla in the Museum-Chapter House. I was not allowed to take any further photographs in the Museum-Chapter House! Rats.