Due Vagabondi: BARCELONA

Walking through the peaceful, pre-dawn streets of Bilbao to the train station for the seven-hour journey to Barcelona gives us time to reflect on Bilbao and how we enjoyed our too-brief time here.

We have been warned that the people of Barcelona, the Capital of Catalonia don't like tourists. Indeed our AirBnb host meets us in person a few blocks from his apartment. Behind closed doors, in hushed tones, he instructs us that if anyone in the building asks us (obvious visitors) what we are doing here, we are to say that we are friends of his. If other tenants find out he is renting to tourists, instead of locals, he could be kicked out. Strange, but we quickly agree.

We have again been given a complimentary upgrade to a bigger room that has a balcony with table and chairs that gets the morning sun. The apartment is in the Eixample neighbourhood. We can walk almost everywhere. Perfect.

Needing a stretch after the train and to feel some sun, the first walk is to the beach (Barceloneta), and what a big beach it is. How wonderful for the people of a huge city to have this and other nearby beaches at the heart of where they live.

The next day dawns with pouring rain. We linger to late morning hoping it will let up, but not a chance. In this weather, we explore the Gothic quarter and the famous shopping street La Rambla, but rain dampens picture-taking. The stalls with flowers or trinkets or street food are out in full force in the rain. However, I'm guessing that the notorious pick-pockets that troll this street are somewhere inside, warm and toasty.

Pants soaked from hem to crotch, we huddle in a street food stall beside a propane heater slowly sipping a beer just to get a break from the wet. Raincoats and umbrellas have provided little relief, but Barcelona is full of tourists determined to be out experiencing this fascinating city. The rain continues into the late evening.

A couple of times we attempted to talk with locals but are met with indifference. Perhaps there is a grain of truth to the rumours. Perhaps we need to stay longer to get to know people, and of course speaking Catalan, the first language here, instead of our few words of Spanish would also be helpful.

To see photos of La Rambla when it's NOT raining, go here: La Rambla

Stopping in shops, another ruse to escape the rain brings us to a wondrous store, with wares from all over Spain. Below you will see colourful, wonky furniture; Picasso-like ceramics, other ceramics that almost look like there's an Asian influence and more.

Lady Godiva is a store decoration - not for sale. Love the fancy shoes on the feet of the furniture

The ceramic wall murals here are of many colours in contrast to Portugal's blue & white

Below are churches in the Gothic Quarter;

The next day unbelievably dawns as a cloudless, sunny day. Perfect. Off to explore some of the architecture that Barcelona offers.

One cannot think about buildings in Barcelona without acknowledging the genius of Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi. There are eleven major works of his here, six of which have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites. His modernistic style with organic shapes influenced by nature is known around the world. Of course, he influenced other architects, including Canada's own Frank Gehry.

We have to stop here to say that we only explored buildings from the outside. There are so many beautiful buildings here but each charge anywhere from 20 to 40 Euro or more per person to explore ... prices not in our budget.

Casa Mila, AKA La Pedera

Today Casa Mila is a Foundation that creates jobs for people with disabilities or who are at risk for social exclusion and is a major tourist attraction. Many stories circulate about cost overruns by Gaudi, court cases and wealthy peers of Mr. Mila (for whom the home was built) making a mockery of the building. Here are some cartoons from the day: Satire re. Casa Mila

The famous "Block of Discord" with the three modernist homes is near to our Airbnb. Casa Batllo is completely wrapped in printed construction cloth as it undergoes restoration. There are a few photos of Casa Lleo Morera and Casa Amatller. Click on any images to expand them.

Casa Lleo Morera

Casa Amatller

We are too late to get tickets to go inside La Sagrada Familia.... which is a 5-minute walk from our Airbnb. Tickets are sold out days in advance even at this time of year. La Sagrada Familia started in 1882, is to be finished in 2026 and is Gaudi's burial place. Three million tourists visit here every year.

Everywhere we went in Barcelona, Sagrada Familia dominated the skyline. A guided tour really would be a must to try to understand all of the symbolism in this magical building.

There will be eighteen towers when completed. Gaudi respected nature in all his work, so the tallest tower is only 170 meters, one meter shorter than nature's tallest point in Barcelona - Montjuic.

Some close-ups from around the entrance

Its 'home' to pack a picnic lunch then off to walk to Park Guell...where there is a Gaudi museum and his work is immediately recognizable with its undulating shapes that hint of nature. As you may guess, this park and the home in it was originally built for the Guell family.

The top photo is a bar/restaurant in the park

Gaudy lived in this house for 20 years, then donated it to Park Guell

Buildings by Gaudi in the park

The rooftop of another building in the park reminds us of tiled roofs in Croatia

This is a lovely park with great views of the city. Lots of hard-scape and built environment, but lots of grass, trees and flowers. Green parrots have a screech that we recognize from Mexico and they come in to snatch crumbs when someone starts feeding pigeons.

This building (not a Gaudi) known officially Casa Terradas but also known as Casa de les Punxes (or House of Needles) for its six-pointed towers. It was built for three sisters:

Another building that dominates the Barcelona skyline is the 33-floor, bullet-shaped Torre Agbar office building, built by a French architect. It's illuminated at night.

On our last day in Barcelona, we pack another lunch and hop the metro, then the funicular and finally the tram to get up to Barcelona's highest point: Montjuic and the fortress (known as the castle) perched on top. One side faces the sea while 3 sides are landlocked.

On one side of the castle grounds, people are practising the sport of archery. There seem to be many different skill levels; targets at half a dozen distances away and some bows are clearly much more powerful than others.

These two young fellows are getting ready to practice their climbing and rappelling skills (no adults in sight).

Spain has had a tumultuous history and the fortress has played a role in most of it. Here is one of its more shameful moments:

A current exhibition has photos and events from around the world reminding us that people have given their freedom and their lives to fight oppression and a suggestion that with growing disparities between rich and poor in our current global reality, that we must speak up and act up.

Throughout Barcelona, there are yellow ribbons of all sizes, on homes, trees, lawns, signs, government buildings and other places. These awareness ribbons are in support of politicians and former members of the regional government of the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia who are currently in prison or exile. On October 1, 2017, they were accused of organizing an illegal referendum about Catalonia's independence from Spain. Their charges include rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds. Politics here is taken very seriously. Many people fly the Catalan flag from their balcony.

Visitors are encouraged to go to the rooftop of this castle, large enough to hold a garrison of 1,000 soldiers. The sweeping views of Barcelona show how large this city is. On this day we count a total of six cruise ships in the harbour. No wonder the local people grow tired of tourists.

On the way down we wander through the parc at the bottom of the hill. Today is Sunday, family day and the ground is covered with families, large and multi-generational picnicking and having fun.

Random Photos from Barcelona: