A swim on the beach

On our free day we decided to head back to the beach and hopefully swim a little.  We were pleased to find the green flag up (safe swimming) and much smaller surf than the other day when we stopped by. 

Also, since it was a week day and schools are still in session here, there were very few people on the beach. 

There was a harbor by the beach with a lot of sailboats coming and going. 

We got to use our "blanket" (i.e. Colorful cotton fabric) that we purchased the other day.  Delaney coaxed me in to the cold water, then we sunned ourselves and read a little before heading back to the hostel.  Every few minutes vendors would walk by calling "Sangria, Mojitos" with a tray of drinks in their hands.  One of the group decided she was thirsty in the park when we first arrived in the city and got one of the "Mojitos".  I remarked that it looked like green Kool aid.  After a taste she confirmed that it tasted like green Kool aid with a sprig of mint in it.  One additional vendor on the beach was a lady offering "massage!"  I have to say I was slightly tempted by this one.  It sounded very relaxing.

Several people in the group thought seriously about parasailing (trips offered out of the harbor), but in the end it didn't happen.  

Modes of Transportation for this trip

It's always fun to look back on all the different modes of transport we've taken while on the trip.  Note that the one that is NOT in this list is a car.  We've traveled through four countries without getting behind the wheel.  I wish the US could come close to having this kind of transit infrastructure.

Metro

Bus

Bike

Row boat

Train

Funicular

Cab Car

Tram

Boat

Airplane

AND WALKING.  LOTS OF WALKING!  Everyone's pedometers and fit bits calculated steps and mileage at wildly different rates, but I'd expect an average of 5 miles a day for the past 2 weeks, some of which involved laborious hauling of luggage up and down stairs, into luggage racks, etc.

Shopping

Although there are super stores in Europe, they are not the norm.  In the cities there are a lot of small street front specialty stores for what you might need.  A plumbing store, a power tools store, and electronics store.  All separate, not a Walmart.  David and I walked past a store with an intriguing variety of goods out front and decided to wonder it.  It was the most eclectic collection of goods I've ever seen

Part Party Store and Dollar Tree

Home Depot

The Container Store

Ace Hardware

Some random interesting food found in the grocery stores in Barcelona:

Chocolate shredded wheat with some kind of filling??  Ew. 

These bottles were next to the eggs.  It took some deciphering to figure out they are bottles of egg whites for cooking (crepes?) and other pastries. 

This is a white chelate bar - coconut and cornflakes.  Also Ew. 

Perhaps they have Bagette slicers at home, but I've not seen one.  Seems very handy to have in a bakery around here. 

Montjuic castle

Our last stop on a busy day was at Montjuic fortress.  We splurged for a cable car ride that gave a magnificent view of the city (and saved us walking up a steep hill!). Barcelona is a much bigger city from this hill top than we expected.

There were first fortifications on this hill dating back to the 1000s, but the current one dates to the 1700s.  An early battle between the Catalonians and the Spanish throne was fought in 1641.  The Spanish failed to take the fortress, but did put down the revolt in the province.  Various additions were made over the years, with 120 canons installed around the walls.    The castle has been held by the Spanish and the Catalonians over the centuries and has been used as a prison and torture center by both.  

Outer wall with garden.

Inner fortification with watch tower.

Great view of the industrial port facilities of the city.  We were surprised there were no container ships being loaded, but there was a dockside full of shipping containers.

Outer wall

There were lots of wild flowers along the wall that made the view of the city below quite pretty.

Our group enjoyed chilling after a full day.  The breeze coming off the ocean was perfect, making the day not too hot. 

On our way down the hill, we passed the Olympic stadium where the 1992 opening ceremonies and track and field events were held.  The white metal structure on the left in the picture is the flame torch. 

Santa Caterina Market

Part of our explorations today included a stop at the famous Santa Caterina market place to pick up some lunch and see the wide variety of fresh foods available.  The market was the main market for this area of the city dating back to the 1850s and the original white building is that old.  The multicolored ceramic roof is a relatively recent addition and protects the original building to some extent (and adds a nice flare).  

If we had trouble finding a wider variety of fresh fruits in the regular grocery store, there was no problem here. 

Fruits, including many I could not identify.  We got some raspberries and grapes. 

Meats, including full sheep's heads (with out the skin, but with all the other parts)

The fish were frozen in a thin sheet of ice that coated them, so you could see them well, and then laid on top of the ice for display.  Surprisingly it didn't smell fishy, probably because they were frozen.  I saw all sorts of strange fish on display. 

This was the olive section.  I had no idea so many different olives existed!  I know green, black and kalamata, but there were lots of other sizes and options here.

We also found a very sizeable olive oil store.  We decided to purchase several sample size bottles of infused oils. 

Vegetables.

I was thrilled to find a wide variety of dried fruits (I hadn't found much in the regular grocery stores), and some nuts as well.  We got some fresh dates. 

The market also had some stores with prepared food, including empanadas and wide variety of 'rolls' of some kind with meats and cheeses in some kind of breaded meal coating.  I got one of each to try, but when  David's backpack was stolen, the thief got this part of our lunch.

Cathedral of Barcelona

This Cathedral is dedicated to Sta Eulelia.  It was built mostly in the 1300s and took about 150 years to complete. Saint Eulelia was a 14 year old vigil who was martyred.  Her remains are in the crypt of the church, which is visible from the main nave. 

This Cathedral was very well lit, with lights on the vaulted ceiling which looked quite lovely and made the church less gloomy than they sometimes are.  

High alter

Organ

Crypt

The cathedral had a very nice terrace/court yard attached that was filled with more side alters.  Iv'e not seen many churches with so many alters on the exterior, not just the interior.  There were also a lot of geese with a nice pond in the center.  I read something about them, but need to go back and look it up again.  I thought it was a symbolic reference, not a literal one. 

I looked for the ticket booth to go up on the roof and was told by two different staff members that it was "inside".  I finally found it in one of the chapel niches. I had planned to send the group up to the roof for a skyline view, and paid for them to go as they were ready.  I hunted down the last remaining members and discovered that the elevator had broken while I was looking and we were not going to be allowed on the roof.  I asked if we could take the stairs, but it was 'not possible'.  Fortunately we had lots of other good city views from roofs and beyond.