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March 2005
A weekend in Barcelona.*
*for best results, ignore
poorly Photoshopped nature of images. La Boqueria
images here.
Don't forget the Newcastle and Coast pages.
More soon.
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| Typical street characteristics: narrow enough that you don't suspect cars coming along; grubby and garfitti-splattered; people actually live there; dark with splashes of sunlight through balcony plants; follow street pattern ancient enough to feel Roman. | The harbour area and the Hivernacle cafe at the Jardin Zoologica. |
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| A street running from Placa George Orwell | The Cathedral at the medieval/Roman heart of the old city. It has a tranquil garden in the centre. Just left of here I glimpsed an open church door: inside, every inch owas caked in gold. |
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| Casa Batllo, the 'dragon house' designed by Antoni Gaudi. I walked past this so I wouldn't have to admit that I went to Barcelona and saw no art. The wavy green tiled roof represents the dragon's back, the chimney, St George's cross, the windows, the skulls and bones of those eaten by the beast. St George is Barcelona's patron saint, well, one of them. | La Rambla, as the clocks were striking 10pm. Still really busy, shops just closing. Cold though - I bought a hoody AND a jacket just to stay warm. |
 Opposite: Placa Espanol from Montjuic. That's the so-called Magic Fountain, after the Venetian style towers on the right is the city's active bullring (the other one's a museum). |
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| Above: Placa Catalunya at 9 pm. This bank was the HQ of the Revolution during the Spanish Civil war. Or something. Come on, I was only there 3 days. | |
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| View from the funicular railway up to Montjuic. I also experienced the Spanish Metro, excellent. Very clean, though with woefully limited news/snack facilities. | Excuse rubbish merged photos. It's so big you just can't stand far enough back. |
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| I came out of the Metro and said, So,
wahere's this so-called chur- And there it was. The knobbliest church I have ever seen. It was fantastic - if disturbing. I mean, it had lizards and snails attached, also bowls of coloured fruit on the tips of the spires. Parakeets were screeching and swooping all round, and with 80 years' construction to go, they're still building it. Amazing place. Opposite: Me at Sagraga Familia, taken by someone who didn't understand that, just press the button, included the implicit instruction, and hold it still at the same time.... Never mind, it was still fab to be there. |
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This page was last updated on 17/02/06
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