Barcelona Bus Touristic (29.05.08 - 30.05.08)

We bought a two day bus pass to explore the city with. After we had got our tickets we dicovered all these discounts for things we had already done - oh well, that's life!

First stop Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo in the Gracia district. The house is amazing - looks like something that emerged out of the ocean and almost looks edible. It is a mosaic lover's dream come true - in fact the whole of Barcelona is! Everywhere you look are broken bits of tiles rearranged and glued back together. It explains why the tourist shops sell mosaic bulls, frogs, clocks, bowls...you name it, they have covered it in ceramic shards.

Next, some more Gaudi - it was a Gaudi day. We walked up the road to look at the facade of the Casa Mila (otherwise known as 'La Pedrera') a building that evokes the motion of waves. I find these building amzing but I am not sure I would want to live in one. I am not sure how you would match your furniture with the architecture. The Sangrada Familia (our next stop) was insane. It is a church that Gaudi devoted his life to and it is still undergoing construction. The building is only continuing on tourist funds and donations. When they run out, building halts until more cash flows in. It looks like something out of Lord of the Rings. I like the Hospital de la Santa Creui Sant Pau (a bit of a modernist mouthful) at the other end of Gaudi Ave better.

To top off our Gaudi (or as Jon says gaudy Gaudi) tour we visited Park Guell. Jon refused to get off at any more Gaudi stops after that so we called it a day. In the evening we hiked up to the Palau Nacional and watched the famous light show. It was a late night for us - someone was actually asleep in our dorm before us!

The following morning, our last in this city, we set off for the Picasso Museum. I thought it was essential we went here, although we haven't been to the Dali or Miro museums. I figure paintings can go on tour but buildings can't. It was interesting to see a lot of Picasso's earlier works and the progression of his artistic style. It was a bit frustrating that a large chunk of his cubist years were missing. I think these are in the main museum along with Guernica. We are both not big enough fans to seek these out.

Next we had a look at the facade of the Palau de la Musica Catalana, another modernist building (it all adds up when you pay entrance fees so we are mostly looking at the exterior of the buildings). Then onto our third cable car ride this holiday to have a look at the views of Barcelona from the castell at the top of Montjuic (a hill).

We ended our day with a walk along the harbor and beach (I like Australia's beaches better - nicer sand and more space) with dinner on La Rambla watching the crowds go by.

We really enjoyed Barcelona but are ready to move on and see more sights... although, I am not looking forward to the 4am start. I will miss the gelati stores ever ten metres. For every kilometre we walked, we ate a scoop of icecream. No loosing weight for us!