Barcelona Day One

Sunday, Janaury 13, 2008

Wow! I’m living smack dab in the middle of the Gothic area of Barcelona….the sun is bright, and the buildings dark, but amazing.

I live on one of the narrow winding streets, and the apartment complex door is almost hidden amongst all the shops, etc. with their metal overhead doors drawn down. I can just imagine what it will be like when the stores are all open and the streets are even more filled with people.


I’m only a short walk to the major La Rambla street, which is a long street down the centre of which is a wide boulevard with a multitude of kiosks, sidewalk cafés , mimes, musicians, and peddlers.


At the palace there was a coin show and sale going on.





I go the streets are
narrow and winding, and stores and cafés are intermingled with historic buildings....




... like the medieval church….

I found a tourist information office and managed to discover I cannot take a tour at this time of year to Dali’s home and museum, but I can catch a local train to Figueres, which I’ll attempt to tomorrow morning.

I did learn that there are a few Internet Cafés available and I found one called the Travellers bar, which is run by some young Brits. I can take my laptop there and have free Wireless Internet….also they make great British food, so I had a full English breakfast for a change…..They also have a book exchange so I can get some English reading material.

And low and behold there are restaurants all over the place that serve paella and many kinds as well… There are many other ‘authentic’ Spanish foods available, as they seem to cater to the tourists more here, offering their specialities. The food here is less expensive than in Madrid. (Curious, as the accommodations are more expensive.) Perhaps I won’t be cooking at ‘home’ as much as I thought.

I’ve also discovered a laundromat just down the street from me, so I’m going to drop mine off and go for another wander. It’s also warmed up considerably since this morning, and is definitely a few degrees warmer in Barcelona than Madrid in general.


To be continued in next blog......