Day 53 : Some Sights in Barcelona

La Rambla

I had an interesting welcome into Barcelona, which may have been caught on TV!  I started my exploration of Barcelona with the La Rambla, a long tree-lined pedestrian walkway and the busiest and most lively street of the city.  Barely after stepping onto La Rambla, I saw a number of TV cameras lined up, seemingly waiting for something or someone to arrive. 

I decided to hang around for a little while and shortly after, a small truck appeared with music playing in the background.  The videographers from the TV company started moving around to capture the best angle of the performance.  I could only assume that they were some celebrities or personalities doing a short appearance on the streets. 

One of the male “celebrities” got off the truck and opened up the back which slowly appeared a group of other ladies all interestingly and colourfully dressed, and they started walking up towards people asking for a dance.  I was about to catch a few more pictures when one of the male “celebrities” walked up to me and asked for a dance. 

I didn’t know how to refuse and so quickly put away my camera and dance publicly in the streets, while cameras were flashing from the crowd and I could see the TV crew coming close up to film me dancing with one of the “celebrities”.  That probably lasted for about 3 minutes before the “celebrities” ended their dance routine and started getting back into the truck.  I still have no idea who they were though!

Mirador de Colon & Marina

I continued my way along La Rambla towards the port and came across a tall monument with a guy standing atop with fingers pointed out in the distance.  It was the monument of Christopher Columbus, the man who discovered America.  It was erected in 1888, as a tribute to Christopher Columbus who chose to disembark in the port of Barcelona on his return from America.

The statue has him standing on a prince’s crown and half a sphere to remind all about the newly discovered part of the globe, and he holds a navigational chart in his left hand, and points to the route to America with his right. 

There are further carvings on the bottom of the monument that depicts various scenes in his life.  Apparently there are a total of 64 Columbus monuments around the world, though this is supposed to be the tallest of them all (at approximately 60m).  There is also an option of going up in a lift to the top to see the view, which I did not choose to do so.

I continued my way along the boardwalk and came to the marina which houses ALOT of boats.  Was fairly surprised at the number of sailboats there were in the marina!

La Playa (Barceloneta Beach)

Slowly continued on my route and came towards the beach line of Barcelona.  There were quite a fair bit of people by the beach, and there were also quite a few women which were topless.  It seemed to be quite common around here in fact!

I didn’t find the beach that great though and water seems average. 

Parque La Ciutadella

I continued walking back towards the city area, and decided to cut through the Parque.  While doing so, I came across a really beautiful monument and lake. 

Arc de Triomf

Located near the Parque la Ciutadella was the Arc de Triomf, which I happened to come across yesterday night while walking from the bus station to the metro, to get to the downtown where I would be staying.  

 

Buffet Lunch at a Japanese & Argentina Restaurant

I was enroute trying to find Palau de la Musica Catalana, and by this time, I was getting really hungry, and started making my way out of the park and keeping my eyes out for a place where I could feel my stomach.  While walking, I came across a sign which said “Japanese & Argentinian Restaurant”.  I thought that this was a really strange combination, and walked round the front of the building, where the price of the buffet was posted. 

The buffet price was actually really cheap, compared to what other restaurants are charging for a set lunch menu.  I walked in as was curious to find out the spread, though wary about the quality of food due to the weird combination and also do not have very good feel about the taste of Asian food in a European country.

There were a lot of people inside, and there were quite a wide range of offerings!  Sushi, Salad, Jamon, a section of cooked food variety (fried noodles, fried rice, croquettes, fried vegetable, prawns, etc) and a section of raw food (prawns, crabs, octopus, squids, clams, mussels, bamboo clams, fish, chicken, mushrooms, peppers, eggplant, asparagus etc) which you can ask to be fried over a teppanyaki, Argentinian grill (beef, chorizo, corn, and other meats), desserts (cakes, ice-cream, fruits, sweets, rice crackers).

I sat down at one of the table and practically spent about 1.5 hours just feasting!  The food was sooooo good, especially the teppanyaki items!  I would probably have to say that this is one of the best meals I have had in Spain, and with the price!  You could not imagine the amount I ate (even I still can’t believe how much I ate!!!).

I must have eaten a dozen prawns (Yin – you will love this!), half a dozen bamboo clams, mussels & clams, a couple of crabs, a selection of sushi, salad and grilled vegetables, some grilled meat items, and ended off with a huge plate of dessert and ice-cream.  It was probably close to 4pm when I left the place, and was sooooo stuffed, I didn’t even need to have dinner that night! 

I am definitely coming back here again, probably on my return when I fly back from South America to Barcelona!

Plaza Catalunya

I continued my walking, and to also walk off the food that I had eaten, and headed towards Plaza Catalunya.  This is one of the main squares in the city as it is centrally located and is known for its fountains and statues.  I found it strange that a number of the statues had needles in them, and didn’t know how it got there and why it was placed.

There’s also a Hard Rock located here, and it was really packed when I walked by.

Palau de la Musica Catalana

I finally managed to locate this building, which had a colourful and interesting exterior.  There were tours for the interior of this building, but found it really expensive (around Euro 12), and decided not to do the tour. 

Cathedral

I did say I was not planning to visit any cathedrals on my trip.  I wasn’t planning to be visiting this, but happened to walk through this place and saw lots of people here. 

The building had a slight gothic feel about it, and it was actually free admission when I was there, so decided to go in and take a look.

There were quite a few things under construction though.  I however did pay to take the lift up to the top of the cathedral to see the view of the city.  It was really nice, and quite amazing to get a bird’s eye view of the distance I have covered in just a day of walking.

Mercat La Boqueria

Located along La Rambla on my way back home, I walked passed a market and decided to check it out.  Extremely colourful stores!  There were a lot of vendors selling fruits and juices, and sweets, as well as other wet products like meat and seafood.  Can get some good deals with fruits here!