After dropping off our bags, we went to the boqueria which is a very crowded and busy market hall selling everything from all parts of pig, chicken, goat, sheep and rabbit - including penises to anything that comes out of the sea, flowers, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, candies, nuts, chocolates, cheeses, wines, breads, pastries, etc. There are also several stands selling assortments of foods and tapas. Ernie got to try razor clams and the Spanish treatment of oxtails. Great food, beer and company - met some ladies from South America and shared stories of traveling.
Saturday evening we went to the plaza outside the cathedral watching sardana dances. This is a patriotic dance in which proud Catalans join hands and dance in a circle. Sounds pretty boring but what fun to watch. The music was great - so great we bought a CD of sardana music. Folks of all ages take part in these dances. Unfortunately the video doesn't have sound (guess I should get a good video camera or maybe not since it's just one more thing to carry.) Check out the man in the blue shirt in the second photo. Doesn't he remind you of one of the grumpy old men from Sesame Street. He didn't miss a dance!
Sunday morning found us back at the plaza by the cathedral to have our palms blessed. They do things a little different in Spain as one buys their palms, or bunches of rosemary or bay leaves and then wait in the plaza to have them blessed. After the blessing, we took off to find the first of what
will turn out to be many processions for Holy Week. These processions are amazing as the floats are
quite old, some having been built as early as 1920. They are ornate, covered in gold or silver and filled with statues, flowers and candles. The most amazing thing about them is they are carried by about 20 people. These folks were very specific headware, back support and knee pads. They all take their place under the floats and then carry with their shoulders - most times while in a standing position but sometimes on their hands and knees when they have to clear the church entrances. These floats are stored in the church and then carried out the front entrance, processed through the streets and returned to the church.
Once the procession past by us, we started a walking tour of the gothic area of the city.
Tapas in Barcelona were a bit different than Madrid and we had to figure that out. In Madrid, you
order a drink, you get a tapa and so on until you say enough. In Barcelona, they don't give free tapas.
You buy your tapas at an inexpensive price and buy your drink. The one that is different is in a
Basque tapa bar. There all the tapas are laid out on the bar (sort of cafeteria style) and they all have a
toothpick in the sort of to hold them together. You take what you want and save the toothpicks. When you are done, you hand your plate to the bartender and she counts the toothpicks and tells you what you owe (they were €1.90 each). That was really fun and they were absolutely the best tapas we have had since we arrived in Spain.
I'm going to let the photos tell the rest of the story of Barcelona. Ernie and I both agree that we've
done Barcelona and really don't need to return. We just never connected with this city. I don't know if it was because it is so touristy and therefore the folks in the restaurants and stores don't seem as friendly or warm as we experienced in Madrid. Suffice it to say, we are glad we scheduled this city
but do not plan on returning.
The other thing that I must mention is that we celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary here and
Ernie got me the more beautiful ring, necklace and earrings from an artisan jeweler here so I will always remember that about Barcelona.
The Saldana dance
Grumpy old man
This guy was trying to get to the other side if the plaza during the dancing
and he was not having much success. We just laughed at him.
Cathedral
Check out the elaborate palms
Again, palms for sale to be blessed by the priest in the plaza.
Beginning of the first procession we saw - Jesus coming into the city.
This float is being carried by a team of people underneath it
The Four Cats Cafe. An old resting stop for Ernest Hemingway
Inside the Four Cats
An old water fountain. The locals actually collected their water from here as recent as 20 years ago
Ernie is standing by a mails lot that was actually built into this ancient building
Decorated for Holy Week
The holes in the front of this church is bomb damage from their civil war
This is one alley in the Jewish quarter. At its peak, there were over 4000
Jews living within a few alleys
The spires of the cathedral of Barcelona
Just a few musicians playing behind the cathedral
This is the bridge of sighs.
I couldn't help taking a picture of this silly mannequin
This is one of my favorite signs in all of Barcelona. It speaks for itself
Carving of St. George who is the patron saint of Barcelona
This is the plaque on the entry to the Roman Temple of Augustus. It states that you are standing on the summit of Mount Tabor - at16.9 meters, elevation 55 feet. This is the highest spot in the. Gotic quarter of Barcelona
This is all that remains of the temple. Below is a rendering of what it is thought the temple originally looked like
Tis puppeteer was in a small plaza as we turned the corner going to our next stop on the walk.
This is a gargoyle on one of the building. In the Place de Sant Jaume which was the seat of government for 2000 years
Had to take a phot of this cab on one of the streets we walked down
Another great poster in a small shop window
This is a pedestrian bridge linking the Ramblas with the modern shopping/acquarium/entertainment complex at the harbor front
This is one of the Gaudi buildings.
A closer view.
Check out the roof of this building. I can't help but think it would be fun to live in something like this.
Sagrada familia church designed by. Gaudi
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