Barcelona Day Two

January 14, 2008

Sun seemed to great the day, but well before noon clouds descended and spattering of rain fell, which made my bus tour, the Barcelona Bus Turístic, a trifle chilly and damp. I braved it on the top of the double-decker as long as I could otherwise it was difficult to see the sights unless one got off. The bus tour system was actually fabulous…They run every 10 minutes and you can jump off anywhere along the route to view something more closely and then pop on again when so inclined and continue on. They have three routes through the city; north, south and along the harbour and you can switch to any of them at particular points. (For photos, see bus tour)

The price for one day is 20 Euros, and 30 for two days. I didn’t actually get off anywhere as the ride itself was almost two hours long and I’d only hopped on the bus on impulse and didn’t take time to study what I wanted to see. I was looking for an overview of the city, and this provided it. I actually ended up getting refunded my money as the ticket machine wasn’t working on the bus I was on, so I didn’t have a ticket to get on and off. I decided not to do this in any case, so had a free tour of the northern part of the city. Tomorrow I might catch the regular city buses as they go every 2 or 3 minutes and only cost 1 Euro, so I can just go to a couple of places, if I choose.

I had wanted to got to the town of Figueres tomorrow to see Dali’s house, works and museum, etc., but the tours aren’t running this time of year and it would mean a two ½ hour train ride one way to get there. I’m sure I’d enjoy it, but not sure I want to spend five hours on a train and then hassle with finding my way around another strange town, especially as it’s quite chilly and I don’t have the proper clothing. I don’t really want to buy anything new since I’m coming home in a few days. I’ve decided I will come back to Barcelona when the weather is nicer and everything is operating. There is so much to see in this city and all around it, but it will be much more enjoyable in the spring or summer.

I’m staying in one of the best locations in the city, though it is too noisy at night and I’m not sleeping well…people in Spain party all night! Besides that I’m sleeping on a very thin futon and my body aches after my long walks during the day so it takes a long time to get to sleep…I haven’t been getting up very early, as I’m awake half the night and then finally conk out. There is a lovely metal blind on the windows here so it’s hard to tell what time it really is. Only nature calling forces me out of bed to see what part of the day is happening, which is usually 9 or 10 a.m.

The day was filled with so much colour, and sounds everywhere that sometimes I think I'm hitting overload...I took so many photos that I had to divide them all into different sections, which precede this text. Writing about everything I did on this day became a little overwhelming, so I'll have to do it another time and catch up with all the great sights I visited, though they do say pictures speak a thousand words....it might help though if I could actually mention what the photos are about, which I'll do soon....