After months of planning, flight and train ticket purchasing, hotel room booking, cramming in as much Español as I could, I went, I saw (some of) Spain and I came back. The actual 2-week vacation flew by ever so quickly. Grrr. I'm home for several days now. I guess it's time for me to sit down and blog about it, sort of to relive it. I know for a fact that I'm not the best story-teller, blog writer and picture taker out there and it may take these postings some time to be put up, so please, please bear with me, okay? :) Thanks...
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Alhamdulillah after uneventful flights, I safely arrived at Barcelona El Prat airport at noon, Friday. The Aerobus was a cheap solution to the city, especially when it made one of its stops at Plaça Espanya. From there, I just walked to the hotel, which was only a few blocks away.
It was an apartment hotel (aparthotel). The room was pretty spacious and it came with a small kitchen, well-equipped with the necessary kitchen utensils. And there was a supermarket conveniently located right next door. So you could actually cook up something. Seriously though, what kind of cooking do you do when you're vacationing abroad? I don't even cook that much at home :D
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| Some of the places that were covered on Day1 and Day2 |
Later that afternoon, after I've settled down in my room, I walked around to size up the city and to keep myself awake until the local bedtime. I retraced my tracks and went back to Plaça Espanya and Palau Nacional.
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| The Venetian towers with Palau Nacional in the background |
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| Girls... I mean, 'Arenas de Barcelona', a shopping mall that was once a bullring |
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| The Venetian towers from another angle |
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| Closing on Palau Nacional on Montjuïc |
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| So grand |
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| Even closer |
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| Not so perfect photo-stitching attempt but for the very least, it shows the panoramic view at the top of the hill |
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| On the other side of the hill; Sagrada Familia, Torre Agbar and the Mediterranean Sea in the distance |
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Then, I hopped on the Metro to get to Casa Batlló and La Pedrera (Casa Milà), two of Gaudi's work here in Barcelona.
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| Casa Milà |
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| Casa Milà's front side |
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| Casa Batlló is up ahead |
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| The facade |
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| Pretty cool. I bet the inside would be spectacular. |
Another Metro ride brought me to Torre Agbar that closely resembles London's Gherkin. A more colourful version if I may add. The T10 travelcard was enough to cover my Metro rides throughout my stay in Barcelona.
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| Torre Agbar (and no, I didn't even retouch the picture (: ) |
I spent most of the second day in the La Rambla, Barri Gòtic and Port Vell areas, starting from Plaça de Catalunya. In these areas, you could find among others, these noteworthy buildings/landmarks:
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| Barcelona Cathedral |
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| The palace's nice-looking dome |
- Mercat de Boqueria: This is such a cool market. I simply loved the atmosphere. And the bright, beautiful colours. Sure it is a touristy place, but the locals do their grocery shopping here too.
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| The entrance to La Boqueria market |
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| Tourists and locals alike flocking to La Boqueria |
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| Colours, colours everywhere |
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| More colours! I just realized that it's the same guy from the previous picture. Was I stalking him? LOL! |
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| Seafood! |
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| Is that considered cheap? |
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| They really love their ham |
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| Dragon, umbrellas and Japanese paintings gave this old umbrella shop a distinctive look |
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| You may not notice it if you don't look down |
- Plaça Reial: A plaza or square with restaurants
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| The crowd hanging out at Plaça Reial |
- Mirador de Colón: At the end of La Rambla, you'd find the the monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus' first voyage to the Americas. Irregardless of the direction where he seems to be pointing to or where he should be pointing towards, I believe he's giving me hints of my next vacation ;-)
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| Christopher Columbus monument |
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| A fun buoy |
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| on this side of Port Vell, where you could also find a shopping mall, IMAX and the Aquarium |
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Phew. That's it folks. The first post. Let's hope the next one will come sooner.
wahhh best nya. i love the gaudi houses. only seen it in documentaries and travel shows. also i love all the catalonian stuff. jamon jamon everywhere! :) can't wait to see the rest of your trip ni! how long were you in barcelona or was this only the first day there? hehehe.
ReplyDeletethanks sila. this one just covered 2 days out of 4 in barcelona. alamak, pressure ni. dont put such high expectation ok? :)
Deleteniiiiice and such blue sky - something that was not seen in march in paris this year, booooooo...
ReplyDeletei still haven't been to barcelona so i've got to plan a trip there sometime. too many places, too little time!
it did rain in Spain, but stayed mainly in the plain. hahaha.
Deleteso, i did go to somewhere you haven't been to? wow, that's a first :)
oh there are plenty of places you've been to that i haven't!
Deletecantik tempat.. tp sure will cost more than 66k per person-cant afford that... heheheh...
ReplyDeletewoah, 66k per person? kalah anak raja tuuu
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