To soak in a little more of Barcelona’s history we again do a walking tour but this time down “La Rambla." There are wavy tiles all along the pedestrian lane which represent the stream that once flowed there. Ramble means “stream” in Arabic - this used to be a drainage ditch along the medieval wall of the Barri Gotic. The Ramblas is the main boulevard from Plaça de Catalunya to the waterfront. It is full of people and stores, restaurants, a food market, mimes, pickpockets and any other thing you can think of. The tour begins with photos below.
The tour actually starts at the next photo - this is a view from our balcony in the morning when Dave woke up to pee.
Before we begin we pick a tapas restaurant that has a full lineup to choose from. We sit on a stool in front of the case, ask for two beers, and point to the food that looks good. The guy behind the counter puts a little grouping on a plate and microwaves it slightly if required. He hands them over the glass case. It makes for a great start to the day.
Our first stop is the "Fountain of Canaletes." If you drink from the black-and-gold fountain you are assured a return to Barcelona. I guess Monique will return. Many people of all ages squeeze the handle and drink. The street at one time was a drainage ditch. When the city tore down its medieval wall to grow the city it transformed the Ramblas into Barcelona's Champs-Elysées like promenade. This fountain was one of its early attractions.
We continue to the Royal Academy of Science and Arts building (it’s now home to a performing-arts theater). The clock high on the facade marks official Barcelona time.
Next, we take a detour through a passageway marked Passatge de la Ramblas to a restored Roman Necropolis. In Roman cities, tombs (outside the walls) typically lined the roads leading into town. We are getting spoiled seeing truly amazing sites. This was underwhelming.
We return to La Rambla, walk down and look to the right to see some historic decorative tiles over a fountain still in use by locals. The scene shows the original city wall with the gate that once stood here.
A zigzag across the boulevard and we are at the 17th-century Baroque church: Betlem Church. It is a tight street so a good picture is difficult. This church is dedicated to Bethlehem and for centuries locals have flocked here at Christmastime to see it Nativity scenes.
The walk continues to the "Rambla of Flowers" A colorful section lined with flower stands. We see some pots reminiscent of Off the Wall Pots filled with a cactus Dave has not seen before - it is a miniature cactus with large bright flowers, they must be happy.
Then we look across the street and see the entrance to Barcelona’s great covered market, La Boqueria. It has been a market as far back as 1200. The Barcelonans sold their animal parts here - history is everywhere. We go in and wander the stalls.
It reminds me of Milwaukee's Public Market but with more unusual items. We see a group of pig legs with the hoof tied down and someone cutting very thin slices. You can see a lot of of raw meat - skinned rabbits, goat heads, tongues, brains, and all varieties of animal organs. There is a fish stall that assaults your senses and at the same time I see a counter full of people eating a variety of cooked fish dishes. It must be a good place because you would be hard pressed to find a single seat.
There are many cut fruit and juice stands - we choose a squeezed juice that costs one euro each. Very refreshing. We also buy a traditional almond candy we have seen everywhere. The woman in the stall was from Cuba. This city has people from every part of the globe.
We stop for a picture of a medieval church tower called Santa Maria del Pi, a popular venue for musical concerts and look to the other side of the Ramblas.
At the corner we see the Escribà bakery, with its fine Modernista facade and the Antigua Casa Figueras sign arching over the doorway. In the sidewalk in front of the door, a plaque dates the building to 1902 so we shoot a picture of our feet on the tile. There are colorful macarons in the shapes of ice cream cones displayed in the window. We are still full from lunch so we pass the beautiful sweats without purchase.
We find the red-white-yellow-and-blue mosaic on the path created by Joan Miró. The mosaic’s black arrow represents an anchor, a reminder of the city’s attachment to the sea.
On the corner a Chinese dragon holding a lantern decorates a former umbrella shop. The dragon is an important symbol of Catalan pride for its connection to the local patron saint, St. George (Jordi).
We go into the Liceu Opera House (Gran Teatre del Liceu), which hosts world-class opera, dance, and theater.
Turn to the left and we enter Plaça Reial, a square dotted with palm trees and is ringed by yellow buildings with white Neoclassical trim. This square has restaurants on all sides. There are two helmeted lampposts that are Gaudí’s first public works.
Continuing down we cross the boulevard walk a half-block down to see Palau Güell another building by Antoni Gaudí. This is a early Gaudí (built 1886-1890). It is more Neo-Gothic than his more famous later buildings. You can see the early elements of his later Modernista vision.
We end the walk at the Columbus Monument on the harbor. The 200-foot column honors Christopher Columbus, who came to Barcelona in 1493 after his journey to the Americas. It was erected for the 1888 Universal Exposition, an international fair that helped push Barcelona onto the world stage.
Then we walk the harbor and stop for a freezer fruit bar. It is warm in the sun and the harbor has few trees to hide under. We see an incredibly large yacht and decide to check it out. We turn around and spot a large sculpture that we know instantly that it is by Roy Lichtenstein. We need a picture of that.
We then follow the path past the "Museu d'Historia de Catalunya that will bring us to the beach area. We find a nice table in the shade, order beers and an appetizer with sardines, shrimp with there heads on, cheese, olives and a few other unknown dishes. We eat and for entertainment watch the people at the very busy beach.
We start the walk back but decide our feet would appreciate a ride in a peddle taxi. We negotiate a deal (10 euros) and hop in. We converse with our peddler and learn he is from Argentina and lives here with his girlfriend. His name is Sebastian and upon reaching our drop spot says the light is perfect, "let me take your picture." He takes it seriously and shoots four pictures and acts like he has done this before. Just before he leaves, because the light is good, Dave gets him to pose for a picture too. He laughs and peddles away. We head for the Metro and are quickly heading to our hotel. A glass of our room wine awaits. Another good day.