WANTED AN ESCAPE FROM THE COLD IRISH WINTER WEATHER IN DECEMBER
We wanted to get away from the cold N.Ireland winter for a while and decided to try one of the much warmer Spanish beaches. Barcelona came first to mind as I am very interested in the architecture and splendour of what this magnificent city has to offer, and we also wanted to stay as close to the beach as possible. After some research on the internet, we booked an apartment at the Playa Golf Hotel in Sitges, more or less 30 minutes from Barcelona. With the family travel tickets (T10) we could make our way around easily and take trips there by bus or train as often as we wanted to.
If you prefer to stay in Barcelona, I suggest that you try one of the numerous hotels on the La Rambla. It is very central and from there you have easy access to various places of interest. You also have access to different forms of transport to any destination in and around the city.
BARCELONA, CITY OF GREAT ARCHITECTURE
Two days later, it was time to take the road to Barcelona and we set off to the local train station in Sitges. Who wants to hire a car if you can travel in the comfort of the newly renovated and comfortable Renfe trains. Even though everything is written in Spanish, we did not find it difficult to get our way around. One quickly gets used to place names and streets and when unsure of our surroundings, there was always someone willing to give directions.
The excitement was almost overwhelming when we exit the subway into the streets of Barcelona. With the map out, we studied our location and decided to first head for Antonio Gaudi's most ambitious unfinished basilica, The Sagrada Famillia. Work still continues on it more than 120 years after building began. This is an impressive feat of human vision and ambition. When complete, the church will have a total of 18 towers, each dedicated to a different religious figure and each one hollow, allowing the placement of various types of bells which will sound with the choir.
If you love beautiful and unusual architectural buildings, it is worth visiting Gaudi's other structures. Colegio Teresiano is a school for the Teresian nuns which he built at the same time as the luxurious Palau Guell. When designing Guell Park he demonstrates his high regard for nature as he used recycled ceramics rather than firing new ones and to avoid leveling the land, Gaudi designed meandering viaducts. He also built a wavy wall around the Miralles Estate in Barcelona of which only the front entrance and a short expanse of wall remain today.
Josep Batlló hired Gaudi to redecorate Casa Batlló which is also known as "House of Bones"due to its design. The design of the house uses skeletal, organic and underwater elements. The walls are being coloured in such a way that you can actually feel you're in an underwater world (the walls look like water). Also, it is very hard to find a straight line in the entire house. At the rooftop, you can actually notice that it looks like the back of a dragon. Absolutely remarkable.
We went to see the Arc De Triomf in Parc de la Ciutadella, designed by Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. One can't help but feel very small standing in front of this beautiful arch, built in colorful brickwork in mudejar style. The statues on and in the vicinity of the arch are all fascinating pieces of art.
Visitors can hire bicycles for the day, or for as long as they need to use them. However, we have decided to walk as there are so many things to see and to do. Travel couches are also available everywhere and you can hop on and off as you wish, which is actually the way to go, otherwise you miss out on a lot of attractions.
The La Rambla was also one of the highlight of my visit in Barcelona. This street is pedestrianized and bordered by trees. Kiosks, flower stalls, pet stalls and street artists are in abundance here and traffic passes on either side of the pedestrian area. While walking there I found it difficult to decide where to look first as there are so many things going on at once. The street artists were so cleverly disguised with costumes and make-up, it is hard to believe that they are actually not statues.
The crowded fresh produce market, "Mercat St Josep la Boqueria" was astonishing. It has a wavy and colourful ceramic roof (build in clear Modernista inspiration) with an interesting conjunction of the old walls with modern elements and market stalls. I have never seen such a variety of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish (all sorts), shell fish in all variety's, mushrooms, olives, spices and other quite unusual kinds of food. I would want to live close by just to be able to visit this market once a week. One's imagination will run wild with such a selection of food on your doorstep. There won't be any chance of telling your hubby that you don't have any ideas left for the next meal.
SOME TRAVEL TIPS WHEN VISITING BARCELONA
1. Do some research on places you want to visit and take the list with you.
2. Make sure you have a street map that shows all the attractions.
3. Book a "Hop on hop off" tourist bus, then you won't miss out on the most important attractions.
4. If possible, don't take children with, they don't enjoy sight seeing and get bored quickly, and that means that you also will not be able to enjoy your visit to this marvellous city as much as you have planned to. Drop them off at the fun park if they are big enough to look after themselves. Otherwise if you have plenty of time, only visit a few places each day.
5. It is not crucial to do a crash course on how to speak Spanish before you go, as most of them can communicate in English. However, it helps if you know a few basic words or sentences. They appreciate your effort to talk with them in their own language, but it also helps you to find your way around a bit easier as virtually everything is written in Spanish only.
6. Go there when it is either winter or spring, especially if you are not used to high humid temperatures.
7. Read the reviews before booking an apartment, it gives the best indication of what you can expect.
8. If you like seafood, make a point of eating their famous paella.
9. It is good to book half board accommodation, in this way you don't need to spend all your money on buying food.
10. Enjoy your visit, Barcelona and Sitges are definitely one the best holiday destinations as there is so much to do and to see and there are many facilities to entertain the kids and youngsters too.
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