Spain
Plaça de la Vila de Madrid

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    • Day 211

      Mercat de la Boqueria

      January 15 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

      Nach einem sehr gemütlichen Vormittag sind wir mit dem Bus in die Stadt gefahren. Mit Hunger haben wir uns direkt auf den Weg zum "Mercat de la Boqueria" gemacht. Die Markthalle ist in der Nähe der Promenade "Las Ramblas" und recht touristisch, trotzdem schön und ganz anders als die Märkte in Frankreich. Wir haben uns eine ganze Weile dort aufgehalten, viel geguckt und einiges probiert (und dann gekauft).
      Später haben wir uns durch die Straßen treiben lassen um Häuser und Läden zu gucken.
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    • Barcelona Spain

      September 19 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Just arrived in Barcelona
      Street performers on the La Rambla
      Yacht in the bay
      Barcelona beaches
      Christopher Columbus monument
      Merce Festival with concerts
      Saw the Americas Cup sailing
      Barcelona Basilica at night
      Chris with his big ass beer and new friends
      La Sagrada Familia cathedral was incredible
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    • Day 13

      We do Barcelona Part 1

      September 23, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C

      Having got the basics out of the way we decided we'd devote the next two days to visiting Barcelona itself. Brian carefully mapped out a plan whereby we'd drive into the city, park at the Estacio de Nord (the northern bus station) then do the tourist thing by buying tickets on one of the hop-on, hop-off double decker buses.
      Talking first about the drive, it can best be described as hair-raising, even if Brian doesn't have a great deal of hair to raise.

      Our hotel was about 75km out of town, and given that about half the trip is on motorways with speed limits between 90 and 120 kph, it's clear that the bits at each end were dead slow. That's something we didn't realise when choosing where to stay. At one end are the narrow country roads and hairpin bends while the Barcelona end is jammed with traffic. Making things scarier, the speed limits are all about 20kph above what we Australians would regard as sensible, and the Spanish view anyway is that the posted speed limit is the absolute minimum at which one should drive. In our 1000km or so of driving we never once saw a police presence on the roads. There are many places where the traffic lanes are way too narrow which adds further to the challenge of driving a left-hand drive car.

      The first part of the trip took us through the centre of Manresa, a place made famous by its laundrette and its misguided saint Ignatius who lived in a cave. We were to follow the road through Manresa a few times on this trip.

      Anyway, back to the more interesting aspects of our holiday. Everything went to plan and we then caught the very efficient Metro from Arc de Triomf to Place de Catalayuns. We bought two-day passes and jumped on the first of our buses. The city is spectacularly beautiful, with so much interesting architecture, statues and promenades to see. So many of the old Spanish buildings have been beautifully restored, then there are the fascinating early 20th century buildings of Gaudi and his contemporaries. Finally, there are many modern buildings which are stunning in their unusual features.

      One of the stops was the famous Sagrada Familia, the famous cathedral designed by Gaudi. The crowds milling round it were HUGE with hundreds of selfies per minute being snapped away. It was hard to get any sort of shot which wasn't like everyone else's and which didn't have lots of vehicles and fellow tourists dominating the foreground. Brian took what shots he could with the mobile phone.. Tickets to the cathedral were well and truly sold out so we never did get to see the interior.

      Speaking of Gaudi, we'd been highly recommended to visit Parc Guell, a futuristic precinct initiated by Gaudi. It was one of the listed stops on the bus route, so we hopped off at the so-named stop. From there, it turned out that we had a 15 minute climb through narrow streets to reach the park entrance. That was fine and we handled it easily. What we weren't expecting when we got there were the very large crowds. Furthermore, as with the cathedral, tickets had sold out for the day. The very helpful information lady at the entrance told us how to get tickets online, warning us that there were plenty of dodgy websites claiming to sell tickets. Unfortunately by the time we got back to base, tickets for the following day were sold out too. Barcelona certainly beckons us to make a return visit, one which is better planned and more leisurely.

      Having done a lot of walking and having seen a great deal we navigated our way back to the car followed by the long drive back. We must have hit the evening rush hour because the traffic in the city was exceptionally slow and challenging.

      Rather than head straight to hotel we diverted into Cardona village where we enjoyed a cheap and cheerful meal. The place didn't have an English language version of the menu, but fortunately our waiter was able to drag the cook out of the kitchen and her English was good enough for us to be able to know what to order. After that it was back to the hotel to draw breath for Day 2.
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    • Day 14

      We do Barcelona Part 2

      September 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      By this time we knew what to do, so once again we hopped into the rental car with all its high-tech features and headed to the parking building we'd used the previous day. This time we were catching buses on the so-called red route which was going on an entirely different circuit of Barcelona.

      Again, it was great to view the beautiful architectural styles, admire the parks and squares as well as view some quite spectacular boulevards.

      The bus route then took us outside the built up areas and into the hills overlooking the city. The public gardens there are really impressive as too are the views over the city. It was hot and we stopped for a cold drink at an outdoor bar which seemed to offer the best views of all. It had been part of the Olympics swimming centre, and what is now a public pool is still there.

      A few hundred metres further on and we came across a museum dedicated to the works of the innovative artist Joan Miro. We were all set to buy entry tickets only to be told that they were free because the day was a public holiday. Not sure of the logic there but we were happy to accept their generosity.

      The building itself is in a beautiful modern style and we thoroughly enjoyed the hour or so that we spent there. We then jumped back on one of the buses and completed the circuit back to the Arc de Triomf where we'd first got on.

      Fortunately, due to the public holiday there was no rush hour traffic to contend with on the way home.

      What about Barcelona? We have mixed feelings. Firstly we realise that it was a tactical error to stay in a hotel so far out of town. It would have been far cheaper, more efficient and less stressful to have stayed at a hotel in the city. We hadn't realised what a long hard drive it was between our magnificent hotel and the main attraction, which was Barcelona itself. Barcelona is a fascinating place and we barely got to scratch the surface. We'd love to have visited Park Guell and Sagrida Familia, not to mention some of the city's famous art galleries and museums.

      There are some negatives. The level of petty crime is out of control, and we were among the many victims of it. It certainly put a dampener on our holiday. The other major negative is that the city is totally overrun with tourists, many of whom are young people who are out to party and have a good time. In some respects the place has turned itself into some kind of a giant theme park. That said, we are keen to return to both Madrid and Barcelona for more leisurely visits when we can get to know both places a lot better.
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    • Day 51

      Els Quatre Gats and Barri Gotic

      July 1, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      My sister Ro is a great fan of Rick Steves self guided tours, so I downloaded his Barcelona book and headed off on the Barri Gotic walk and it was great. Steves takes you off the beaten track and gives you a bit of history of each place you visit-places only a guided tour will take you!
      The Barri Gotic is a world of shops, bars, and winding streets. It’s where the Roman’s founded the city, where the Jews were forced into ghettos and where protesters seek justice. The highlights for me were finding Els Quatre Gats a cafe where Picasso hung out, chatting with an art shop owner about Joan Miro, and simply wandering down the narrow laneways, turning a corner to find yet another tiny plaza or square where you can have a rest, buy a coffee and collect your thoughts.
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    • Day 628

      Barcelona, Spain

      January 24, 2019 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 6 °C

      Barcelona – why did we wait so long to visit you?
      Such a beautiful, grand city packed with wonderful restaurants, cafes, shops and remarkable architecture. There was a taxi strike happening for many of the days we were here, but the city is so walkable and the metro so excellent that we didn’t miss the taxis at all.
      Our dear friend Cindy met us here (she also met us in South Africa and Peru making this our 3rd meet-up!) and it was wonderful to catch up and explore the city together.
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    • Day 16

      BARcelona

      July 18, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

      Tja, Barcelona hat echt viele tolle Sachen zu bieten. (Un) vergesslich war aber definitiv die Rosé Sangria, ein echter Genuss. Die zwei Menüs, die wir uns zu viert für 50€ geteilt haben, sind aber auch nicht unerwähnt zu lassen, denn jeder Gang war super.
      Ansonsten sind die Touri Sachen überall in Barcelona natürlich auch sehr schön und Gaudi hat schon ein paar schöne Häuser entworfen, obwohl das Ganze doch ziemlich an Hundertwasser erinnert.
      Oh und das Naturschauspiel was uns Barcelona geboten hat war auch toll, ein richtig schönes Sommergewitter, bei dem man dachte, der Himmel breche auseinander.
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    • Day 11

      Barcelona

      September 8, 2019 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

      Heute haben wir uns mal mit dem Womo nach Barcelona reingetraut. Abenteuerlich! Parkplätze für Wohnmobile gleich null, entweder besetzt oder im Umbau. 🙈 Wir haben dann in irgendeiner Seitenstraße über 2 Stellplätze geparkt, wobei ich bis heute nicht das Parksystem mit den blauen, grünen und gelben Linien verstanden habe. 🤷‍♂️ Glücklicherweise gab's keinen Strafzettel, soll ja in Spanien nicht sooo günstig sein. 😉 Auf jeden Fall eine sehr schöne Stadt, wir haben uns einen Hop on - Hop off Bus gesucht und sind durch die Stadt getingelt. Als wir zum Camper zurück wollten, hat es dermaßen geregnet, dass wir fast eine Stunde unter einem Dachvorsprung warten mussten, sonst wären wir komplett durch gewesen. Fahr nach Spanien, ham se gesagt, da ist immer Sonne, ham se gesagt. 😉😊Read more

    • Day 2

      Volle Ladung Barcelona

      January 6, 2020 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      Als erste Belastungsprobe bin ich den ganzen Tag durch Barcelona gelaufen und hab noch weitere Touripunkte abgeklappert. Erst ging es hoch in den Park Güell, von wo aus ein toller Blick auf die Stadt möglich ist, dann weiter durch die schnurgeraden Straßen auf den Plaça de Catalunya, wo man von durch Futter angelockten Taubenschwärmen umgeben war, über die Marktstraße La Rambla zum Hafen und schließlich noch hoch auf den Montjuïc (ja, auch hier ohne Seilbahn). Hier hatte man nicht nur einen tollen Blick auf die Stadt im Licht der untergehenden Sonne, sondern auch auf den beeindruckenden Frachthafen.

      Neben Schulter-, Rücken-, Hüft-, Bein- und Fußschmerzen bleiben mir vor allem die vielen katalanischen Flaggen an den Balkonen und Fenstern im Kopf, mit denen die Menschen ihren Willen zur Unabhängigkeit zum Ausdruck bringen. Barcelona möchte ich auf jeden Fall noch mal länger besuchen!
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    • Day 4

      4. Tag Barcelona

      March 4 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 13 °C

      Wenn Landeier in die Stadt fahren, gibt es was zu erzählen, oder so… mit dem Bus des Campingplatzes sind wir am Morgen nach Barcelona gefahren - und wollten die Stadt mit einem „Sightseeingbus“ erkunden - nur - keine Hunde erlaubt 😢 darum haben wir uns entschieden, die Stadt zu Fuss zu erkunden. Also ab zur nächsten Tourist Information, Stadtplan gekauft, sehenswerte Orte markieren lassen und los gings. Aaber - Blondie und Karten lesen - lustig - laufen, laufen, laufen - irgendwann hab ich mich in einem Laden schlau machen wollen, das Problem war, dass der Typ noch weniger Ahnung hatte wo wir überhaupt sind, drum sind wireinfach weiter - Richtungsänderung und dann haben oh Wunder dochnoch ein paar schöne Orte entdeckt.
      Zwischendurch mussten wir uns mal stärken, und Laufen macht durstig 😉 so machten wir Rast und genossen Wein und Tapas.
      Chilly ist geduldig mitgetippelt - jetzt ist er „kniebel“ und schläft friedlich in seiner Box.
      Auchwir werden heute wohl bezeiten in die „Heja“
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Plaça de la Vila de Madrid, Placa de la Vila de Madrid

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