Barcelona to Girona, to Besalu, to Castellfollit de la Roca

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\We were up and out at 8AM to explore the area behind the Cathedral. There were recommendations from Amy for breakfast. She was right.  The coffee was good, and opposite was Santa Clara who had brilliant pastries...

After we had eaten we wandered round the alleyways for half an hour before heading back to the apartment to pack for our next days adventure...

 Although we couldn't resist some last minute images of the Barcelona cathedral... A side door...

And the front. First thing int he morning is a good time to do photography in Barcelona, as the tourists haven't woken up yet!

We then picked up our rental car from the airport, and headed first to Girona.  I had been there before but wanted to show Steven and Nikki.  Parking was problematic, but we finally found an uncdercover place, then walked over the bridge into the Old Historic Town..

I loved girona last time, and loved it all over again this time.  LIttle alleyways with narrow staircases linking up strets as they climbed twoards the cathredral.

We were worried about how expensive the parking was going to be, so we limited ourselves for an hour in Girona. As it was the parking wasn't that expensive, but we did get stuck in the parking building while we worked out how to pay to exit!

We then drove to Besalu. A medieval town dating back to the 10th Century of Roman Origin. Still in remarkable preservation an really interesting to walk around...

I found a grave, which I'm assuming to be a Knights final resting point.  I couldn't find any information though.

This is part of the original wall that surrounded Besalu...

After wanding around Besalu for several hours, we then hopped in the car and drove to Castellfollit de la Roca where we are staying for one night.  This villave is up on basalt cliffs and is stunning. We bought a bottle of wine for 1.10 - a tempranillo, nd had it on the deck overlooking this view!

This is just around the corner from where we are staying, Ancient!

Tomorrow we're off to Rupit and then on to Zaragoza.

PS the 1.10 euro wine was not too bad considering the price!

Barcelona - A Gaudi Day!

We had bought tickets online for the Sagrada Familia before we came to spain. Our guided tour kicked off at 9.15am, so we got up early, headed out for a coffee and pastry at a local bakery, then caught a taxi to the Sagrada Familia.  We got there about an hour before our tour started, so we walked around outside taking photos first. The heat of the day hadn't started so it was quite pleasant..

The sheer size of the cathedral blew us away...(I coudn't fit it in on my cellphone!)

A bit of perspective trying to fit a person in and the cathedral as well!

Inside was incredible.  The light reflected through the stained glass windows was intense and so beautiful I simply didn't know where to look next! Everything was a work of art, the design the work of a genius.

The stained glass windows were beautiful in their blues, golds, greens and reds...

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The ceiling...

The back of the cathedral...

The altar...

The side view...

We were there for three hours, the guided tour took about an hour, and then we wandered around ourselves.  As the sun came around to the west, the light through the stained glass windows got very intense...

This was in the school house also designed by Gaudi. Nikki sitting at the desk taking a break from religious studies and architecture!

Someone kindly took our photo.  It was very difficult getting us in, and the background as well.

Weary, hot, footsore tourists taking a break..

 After finishing at Sagrada Familia, we caught a taxi to Barceoneta on a friends recommendation and found Can Ramonet.  Nikki and I shared a Seafood Paella which was delicious.

 It consisted of Prawns, clams, mussels (which were smaller than ours) and some other shellfish I couldn't identify. All washed down with a bottle of spanish Rose.

It was washing day in Barceloneta, which made great photograhy...

We wandered down to the beach, put our feet in the ocean.  I couldn't get over how crowded it was all along the coast. My phone battery was dying so couldn't take a photo.  We then taxi'd back to the apartment for a siesta as the heat was getting to us all.  I charged my phone and worked on a few photos.  We then decided to go out for Gelato and coffee. However we never got there.  Instead we went to the Gaudi Museum Exhibition next to the cathedral.  It was fascinating learning about Gaudi and the genius he was. What blew me away was he way he was able to work out the weight bearing of the columns inside cathedrals by tying weighs on the end of strings, then inverting it.  We spent a couple of hours at the museum - the audio gudes not only had headphones, but also a text version one could read - perfect for our hearing loss!

After the exhibition we wanted to see Gaudi's apartment Casa Battlo, but thought it would now be closed.  I asked what time it opened in the morning, and we found out that it was open 9am to 9pm.  So a split second decision and we caught a taxi up to Casa Battlo as it was only 7pm.

Casa battlo was amazing.  I want to live there.  Every corner you turned was interesting.

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At the end, I sat outside waiting for Nikki and Steven to finish, found the wifi worked, and got a message from Amy, a friend I've corresponded with for many many years.  I hadn't realised she was living in Barcelona, so as soon as we finished, we jumped in a taxi and met her outside our apartment. We all then went to dinner at a local restaurant nearby and chatted for a few hours.  It was great to see her.

Barcelona has been great, interesting and fun.  Two days wasn't enough so I'll have to come back to explore some more sometime in the future.  We're picking up our rental car shortly and heading north

Barcelona!

We were all up early this morning, packed our hand luggage as light as we could in preparation for two weeks away from Netherlands. Michel drove us to the airport. Of note was the guards checking the odd car for bombs, dressed in full gear complete with machine guns. 

Security through Schipol was pretty tough, but I would rather that than lax measures.  The flight to Barcelona was two hours - very smooth and we shared a taxi to the Airbnb we are staying at which is in the heart of the Old Town or Gotic Centre. This is the photo taken out our window when we got here.  The floor is obviously on a lean!

The first thing we did was go to the La Boqueria market for some food.  We also had a Gelato afterwards, only because it is so hot - at 30C.

The markets were interesting, packed with all kinds of food, and also packed with people looking for something to eat!

Walking through the alleyways, nearly every door has graffiti over it...

The streets are really pretty...

This is La Rambler - one of the main streets...

Little narrow side streets are everywhere, tempting me to get lost...

We walked through this street several times - stopping all the time at the shoe shops.  Prices range from about 5 euro through to 90 Euro.  Not bad at all.  I haven't bought anything yet as my feet are two swollen from the flight, heat and the sore ankle..

This is one of the shops which is beautifully done up in side. I wasn't allowed to take a photo, but when she wasn't looking I snuck a phone image.  As you do!

More Graffiti and an interesting door knocker,..

Next to the Cathedral we found a historic building which is used for the City's archives..

From the cathedral steps you can look at the apartment we are staying at.  11th window across from left, one down. (3rd floor)

The Cathedral was very impressive inside. Huge too. I didn't know what to look at!

I accidently came across the lift which enabled us onto the rooftop for more photos of Barcelona...

After the cathedral we went back to the apartment  We all fell asleep for a few hours.  When we woke we headed back down La Rambler and had Tapas and Sangria and copious amounts of water.  I hope it'cooler tomorrow!