After our fun ride in from Tarragona and our lunch at La Rita, we got a decent night’s sleep on the first bed I had been comfortable on in 21 days. The next morning all six of us had been scheduled to do a 5-hour tour of the city, and the Gaudi highlights with Olga from Tours By Locals. Sadly, my brother had eaten something that did not agree with him so he and Jamie stayed at the hotel, and the rest of us set off for what was to be an outstanding tour. It was outstanding, primarily because of the excellent Olga.
I know I have mentioned Tours By Locals before, as we used two of their guides previously on this trip, Hans in Amsterdam and George in Athens. Both of them were great. I have used them on many occasions, but Olga may have been the best guide they have ever sent our way. To start with, she was 10 minutes early. I love early. I got a call from the lobby saying that our guide was there. As soon as Pam and Dave were downstairs, Olga’s driver pulled up in a wonderfully spacious Mercedes van. It was so GREAT not to be stuck in a “luxury motor coach.”
Kathleen and I with Olga on the roof of Casa Mila.
When I first contacted Tours By Locals a month previous, it had been hard finding a guide that either wasn’t already booked or could accommodate some of the things we wanted to do because of the festival going on for the entire time we were in the city. On the other hand, Olga was completely willing to work with me on setting up a tour that would incorporate the best of Barcelona. That’s what I love about Tours By Locals; the guides will work with you to see the things you want to see. When you go to Barcelona, some of the things most people want to see are the works of revolutionary Antoni Gaudi, the most famous of which is La Sagrada Familia. We knew upfront that the church would be completely closed to anyone but locals, so seeing the inside was not an option. Olga made suggestions of things we could see that would be a good alternative, and I liked them all. We decided to do Gaudi’s Casa Mila, Park Güell, see the outside of the La Sagrada Familia and then tour the old town. Olga said she would try and throw in some surprises along the way.
La Pedrera—Casa Mila)
When Kathleen and I were here in 2007, we toured the beautiful La Pedera—Casa Mila building. The building is an entire block made up of two condominiums totally designed by Antoni Gaudi (who designed La Sagrada Familia) as well as many other one-of-a-kind buildings throughout Barcelona. We wanted to see it again and make sure that the rest of the group also got to see it. Kathleen had no problem touring this building in 2007 and thought she could still do it because when you did the tour, you took the elevator to the top of the building. And then you walked down and did the tour on the way.
Olga told us that this had changed since we were there last (what hadn’t ??) and that now you walked UP the stairs and then exited by way of the elevator. This just wasn’t going to work for us. So Olga jumped into action as soon as we got there, and in no time, Kathleen and I were going up the original apartment elevator (not open to anyone but employees) to the top floor to start our tour down. I wish I had taken a photo because it was one elegant elevator. It even had a Gaudi-designed, hand-carved wooden bench that Kathleen got to sit on while we went up. This is what makes local guides so good. They know the people to talk to (because Olga toured there constantly), and they know what can and can’t be done with the right request. We were blown away.
We had an awesome time touring the building. I am going to let the photos and the captions tell you the rest of the story. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
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- Casa Mila from the outside
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- Looking up the façade.
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- The entry way is gorgeous
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- Gaudi loved to showcase nature in his work.
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- Loved the etched glass windows.
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- Looking up in the inner courtyard.
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- It almost looks like…
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- …a gateway to heaven.
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- The main reception stairs to the second floor apartments
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- Incredible ceilings
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- They have different rooms set up exactly as they were when the building was inhabitied.
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- The original owners lost the buidling during a financial downturn.
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- A bank bought the building.
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- The bank turned it into a museum…
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- …so the public could tour it.
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- The rooms were incredibly large for the time.
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- Gaudi also designed much of the furniture.
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- Of course every European household has a bidet.
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- A small tub for bathing the babies in the house.
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- The windows all had incredible views.
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- The office
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- I loved the patterned floors
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- Either done with wood or tiles.
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- Beautifully furnished throughout.
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- The dining room.
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- Even the ceilings were beautiful.
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- A Gaudi-designed bed.
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- And mirror.
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- The design of the furniture mirroed the design of the house.
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- It takes a while to tour the floor where people lived.
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- No showers in that age.
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- Even the coat rack was Gaudi-desgned.
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- When the building became public…
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- …this amazing space above the living space and below the roof was discovered.
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- The supports for the roof and the entire building were here and they are beautiful.
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- They have turned this area into a museum.
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- Here you can see how Gaudi worked
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- There is a scale model of the entire building.
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- As well as a display of Gaudi’s furniture designs.
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- And then you reach the roof.
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- It has amazing views.
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- In every direction
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- As well as these amazing sculptures everywhere.
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- Gaudi loved to design.
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- It is said that George Lucas came to Casa Mila …
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- And used these statues as his inspiration for the stormtroopers in Star Wars.
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- It sure looks like it.
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- The roof top is truly a gem.
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- And from there you have an amazing view of La Sagrada Familia.
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- When we were here in 2007, the air quality was horrid…
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- …so my photos were nowhere near this good.
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- Can’t you just hear the…
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- Darth Vader March.
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- Looking back down into the courtyard.
Park Güell
Our second stop on the tour was the beautiful Park Güell. This is another of Gaudi’s masterpieces that was originally built out in the country north of Barcelona, but over the years, the city has grown to swallow it up, and it is now almost in the city center. There is so much to see there, but I will just let you see it in my photos. Enjoy.
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- Note how the name is spelled. The man who commissioned it wanted a British Park.
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- Remind you of palm trees?
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- One of the many buildings on the grounds.
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- The view from the Park
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- Remind you of elephants?
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- A band was playing in the park.
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- The queen of Barcelona
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- On the upper level of the park. The place was swamped.
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- Loved all the nature depicted in the art.
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- This is the support for the upper part of the park.
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- More elephants? Everything is designed with a purpose.
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- Looking down from the top of the park.
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- This was Gaudi’s home for a while.
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- Underneath the upper park.
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- There are four huge circles in the ceiling.
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- They represent the four seasons.
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- The Park’s unofficial mascot, at the front gate.
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- Looking up at the top of the park.
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- Note how the tiles are both convex and concave.
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- The top of the house Gaudi lived in.
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- Check out the dots on top, which are actually coffee cups turned upside down.
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- On the house across the entrance from Gaudi’s home.
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- Gaudi’s house almost looks like a gingerbread house.
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- Looking back at the park.
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- The other house on the opposite side of the entrance.
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- Beautiful design was everywhere.
La Sagrada Família
Even though this incredible church was closed to non-locals due to the current festival, Olga wanted us to see it close up from the outside so she could explain the building and the significance of the art on the outside. You can’t believe the art on the outside of La Sagrada Família. Maybe you will have you see my photos. If you get bored with all the closeups, please feel free to jump out, but I did pair this down from more than 200 photos. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
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- I don’t believe I have ever been so stunned by a building.
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- There is nothing quite like this church.
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- As you can see from the cranes, after more than 100 years, this building is still not done.
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- They hope to finish it in the next 10 years.
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- So many incredible pieces of art on this building.
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- None of the artwork is Guadi’s.
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- The church itself is his work of art.
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- But the art is everywhere created by his disciples.
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- So much to look at.
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- This tree with doves is on the birth of Christ side.
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- There is fruit on top of the spires.
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- All kinds.
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- It is everywhere.
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- But the cranes are hard to shoot around.
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- You can see the fruit on the top of the spires.
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- This is the top of the recently finished Virgin Mary spire.
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- It is a very photogenic cathedral.
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- From every angle.
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- The nativity.
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- So much to see.
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- Olga explained all of this but…
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- …I would have needed to take notes to keep up with it….
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- …but I had a camera in my hands.
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- Aren’t you glad I did?
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- Otherwise you would have to read about this…
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- …amazing art instead of seeing it.
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- Sadly, this was right across…
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- …a very small side streed from the cathedral. I think this is JUST WRONG!
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- Moving to the front we passed the new chapel on the left side of the church.
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- And the towers that connect it.
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- With amazing spires.
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- And lions.
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- The current front of the cathedral.
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- With more art everywhere.
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- When we were here in 2007, I was shooting a small…
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- …point and shoot camera with no zoom lens.
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- I was so happy I could get closeups of the artwork.
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- Including this art of the crucifixion.
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- And the risen Christ.
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- Between the twin spires.
The old city of Barcelona
Our next stop after the incredible La Sagrada Família was to head downtown (in HORRIBLE TRAFFIC) to the oldest parts of Barcelona. We walked by the original cathedral, which dates to the 13th century, while Olga pointed out a lot of truly remarkable sights. We saw a piece of art by Pablo Picasso that he drew with his usual minimalist style.
About this time, we were starving. So Olga recommended we try pintxos. If you have never been to a pintxos restaurant, it is almost worth a trip to Barcelona just to try it. Olga took us to her favorite place, Bilbao Berria Barcelona. Pintxos are topping of every kind placed on slices of awesome bread, and they put different colors and styles of sticks into the stack. The stack includes either cold or hot toppings. Hot ones might include melted cheese, roasted tomatoes, sausages, and serrano ham and the cold ones include cheeses, veggies, and so much more. There are even dessert pintxos. These are all set up on a number of buffet tables, and you choose what you want. Then after you eat them, you put the stick into a small metal container on the table, and when you are done, they count the sticks (different prices for different colors) and give you your check. Five of us ate a BUNCH of these, and the total bill was less than $80 and that included a bottle of wonderful Catalan wine. An amazing value, and every one of them is delicious. Here are some pictures from this part of the tour.
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- The ancient cathedral which has had modern buildings built into it to support it.
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- This reminded me of the Bridge of Sighs in Venice.
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- Picasso’s drawing on a building front.
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- On the other side of the building.
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- These are the beautiful street signs in the old city.
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- I took this exact same photo in 2007.
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- Beautiful art on every wall.
After lunch, we walked from the cathedral campo towards another campo where Olga was hoping she had a surprise for us, and she did. Hopefully, you remember a couple of posts ago when I wrote about the human pyramid building contests in Tarragona. Sadly, I could not see any of the actual pyramid building itself when we were there. I only got to take photos of the parade before the competition, which got rained out.
But when we walked around the corner in Barcelona, there it was, a castella (the Spanish name for the human pyramids) right in front of us. We got to watch this team (who were doing a demo, not a competition) build a three-story high human pyramid. Just look. It’s amazing.
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- We arrived just as they started building.
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- I got to see the entire thing.
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- From differnt angles.
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- As they built up higher and higher.
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- Just watch it build.
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- The top person just has to get to the top, turn around and come back down.
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- Those that climb to the very top are usually just children.
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- Watching videos of the actual competition…
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- I have learned that they are judged for a number of things…
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- …height of the pyramid…
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- …degree of difficulty…
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- …time it takes to build it…
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- …and get everyone back down.
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- If you go to YouTube, search for Taragonna Human Pyramids.
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- Truly amazing stuff.
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- These kids blow me away.
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- Totally confident.
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- And Barcelona supports Ukraine. We saw this in a lot of places.
A walk on my own
After watching the amazing human pyramids being built, our tour time was over. Olga had released our driver when it got to five hours, but she stayed with us to walk the other Kathleen, Dave and Pam to Las Ramblas to grab a cab and walked with me as I headed back to the hotel about four miles away. I wanted a few more photos to show you the huge crowds and incredible craziness that is Las Ramblas, the main tourist street in Barcelona. Here’s my last set of pics for Barcelona. Don’t forget, if you click the first shot, you can then scroll through with your arrow keys or by swiping…and PLEASE…don’t look at my photography on a phone. Please…
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- La Boqueria Public Market was closed for the festival. I had gotten some great photos there in 2007.
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- The scene on Las Ramblas was crazy.
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- The old Opera House.
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- Looking down an incredibly packed side street.
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- When you are photo walking during day, this is an obligatory shot.
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- The Columbus monument.
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- With a very cool lion.
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- Columbus pointing to a land he though he discovered. Someone needs to tell the indigenous people who were already there.
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- I think I just liked the sky here.
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- All up and down Las Ramblas there are artists…
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- …doing charicatures.
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- There are beautiful buildings.
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- Now you know what he did after he finished being president.
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- On my way back to our hotel.
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- This building is really old.
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- Loved this painted door on a garage.
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- Finally found the queen of Barcelona in our shower window. And yes, our shower had a window.
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- In the park next to the hotel there was this dragon.
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- With a not so happy message for me on the back.
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- But there was a part of the festival going on in the park.
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- Lots of colorful costumes
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- The Nobu Hotel, our home in Barcelona…chosen by Viking.
That about did it for our day in Barcelona. It so far exceeded my expectations and gave us a wonderful end to this incredible 29-day adventure that had started in August in Amsterdam. I guess you could say that when it comes to European cities, we went from A to B on this trip. I have one more trip-related post for you. Hopefully, I will have it up by tomorrow. It will be my review of the entire cruise and what we loved and didn’t love on Viking Sky. Then after that, I promised a post on how I shoot my photos. I so appreciate all the comments I have gotten on them. They are my pride and joy. If you want to see more of my pics, please follow me on Instagram (jimbellomo13) or Facebook (Jim Bellomo) where I post a single travel photo every day. Just one. Or you can see a lot of my photography that I sell here on my Picfair site.
Barcelona is my life, and I do not plan to leave. —Gerard Pique
Will the cathedral ever be completed? I may have missed that information as I was admiring all the photos. And is your brother Stephen (or is his name with a V?) feeling better prior to returning home.
And my apologies Steve, spelled your name incorrectly ? in my defence I was hired for my ability to reach the top shelf and veterinary skills, not my spelling ?
Jim, Another great post with beautiful pics reminding us of our few stays in Barcelona. I second your comments on Tours by Locals. We have used them as well for many years and locations. Every one of them have been wonderful. Have you ever seen the inside of La Sagada Familia? It is just as spectacular as the outside. Have a safe journey home and thanks so much for the wonderful tour we have all taken along with you! Judy
PS I love the Risen Christ pic! I never noticed that! Also, I wonder when and why the pyramid building started. Those children at the top were so brave!
Judy, we. have been there before and been inside. As I mentioned, this time I had a decent camera that I could pick out some of the smaller pieces of art.
Great as usual. Interesting fact. Safety has reached Spain eh! The top guys were wearing helmets. Welcome home.