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    #26
    Originally posted by Gerontophile View Post
    I think I might have mentioned this before. When wandering around the streets, keep looking up. The buildings are full of surprises.
    Was is Barcelona where Gramsci was doing this and fell down an open manhole? (Nope...Jakarta.)
    Last edited by WOM; 11-07-2017, 12:19.

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      #27
      Firstly, thanks to everyone that provided recomendations. They were great and, interestingly, a lot were corroborated by lots of other people.

      Secondly, wow, what a fucking place. Initially, I thought it was a beautiful European city in that way yer Europeans do so well - Paris, Prague, Bilbao etc - and we try to copy but possibly not so much now that we want to leave. Then I realised it was, in very many ways, like a less-socialist and refurbished Havana, one of my top 3 favourite cities in the world. Then I realised it was like a like a less-socialist and refurbished Havana with added mental Gaudi and modernista architecture.

      First day was wet so we wandered around the Gothic quarter and then the port and, even wet, it was already obvious how lovely it was. We went to place called Tapas 24 that was recomended by one of the best chefs I know which was pricier than normal tapas but if you want the "go where the locals queue to go in", this is your place. Their patatas bravas was more like potato wedges with tomato and aioli sauce but good but the Russian salad was excellent and they did toasted cheese and Iberico ham sandwich with black truffle! For the evening, as our hotel was in Eixample and, as nowhere that was recommended was near, we found a place in the Time Out guide called "Velodromo". I heartily recommend it for anyone going. It is an institution that has been refurbished brilliantly by the local Moritz brewery and, as such, does pretty good beer (not that I hated Estrella). The food and service is also really good but the main points are the wonderful room and the atmosphere. The room is a high ceilinged one unlike the other ones we went to with a mezzanine that makes for great people watching and that is the main draw. The whole place was just full of Barcelonistas (is that word?) drinking, eating, enjoying themselves in a stylish and buzzy manner. Indeed, I loved it so much I have used the word "buzzy". It even had a massive snooker table - unused looking - and the best toilets of the trip. Anyone that knows me knows that I am a great fan of elaborate/restaurant toilets and these were just behind the Philharmonic in Liverpool and the place in New York whose name escapes me but I will edit back in when I remember. It was only one of two places that we returned to. The other one was also another find near our hotel. El Arbol is a brunch place. Brunch seems to quite the thing in Barcelona at present, it seems. This place is, it has to be said, a hipster hangout - all avocado toast and smoothies in jam jars. However, it was really good. I had very good scrambled eggs and mushrooms, even enjoyed the salad they served it with and amazingly converted to smoothies when I realised I was never going to get coffee without vile UHT. Indeed, I never found any in the whole of Barcelona which was my only criticism and a shame as coffee is supposed to be fantastic in Barcelona. We went every morning and even went back for a restorative beer one evening.

      We did take advice from here and took the tourist bus. Actually, while we were waiting for the bus at the Plaça de Catalunya, I saw the most amazing hawking techniques going. The street sellers would have their handbags and whatnot on a sheet that had ropes at the corners. As soon as the coppers turned up - lazily, it has to be said - they would pull the ropes into a sack and walk off. They would then wait 5 minutes and then set up in the same spot. Anyway, the tourist bus was amazingly good. We did all three routes and it not only showed us the layout of the city - which is much more massive than we realised - but the bits that weren't really worth bothering about. One thing I never realised was the Nou Camp is so far out from the city proper. The area it is in seems to be more upmarket properties and the business district. We didn't get back to do the Nou Camp tour but, as someone who isn't a Barca fan, I am not bothered. I also found that the area to the east of the city behind the long stretch of beaches that was turned into the Olympic village a touch dull but even that had interesting sculptures and an interesting history. We did get to see Park Montjuic on the bus but didn't get to go back and didn't get to take the cable car but some stuff can wait for the inevitable return trip.

      Of course, the other thing about the bus tour was that it gave us our first views of the Gaudi architecture - Casa Battlo, La Pedrera and, obviously, Sagrada Familia. See the top of the latter just over the top of the roofs before we turned the corner was like seeing the Death Star coming around a moon. It is, obviously, incredible. Nothing like I have ever seen before. Bearing in mind, I walk past the not unshabby Bath Abbey fairly regularly, I was still blown away. They really should always pu Sagrada Famillia at the end of any bus trip as, after that, even the rest of the beautiful architecture and sculptures, that would other cities would be more than proud to have just a handful of, seemed a touch mundane in comparison. After six hours on the bus though, we only really had time in the evening to go to the most amazing restaurant of the trip which was Botafumeiro up the top of Passeig De Gracia. It was old school white linen, white-jacketed waiters and wine poured for you - the sort of places where old men took their suspiciously young, beautiful and expensively dressed boyfriend and girlfriends. It was also eye-wateringly silver wedding anniversary expensive but still well worth it. I had a sort of spider crab thermidor and the wife went for sea-bass that I always find boring but was very well done and interesting. Well, the sauce was. We will be back for our golden wedding anniversary to spend a year's pension there. To round off the romance of the evening, we went to the rooftop bar of out hotel which had amazing views of the city and a lightning storm out to sea.

      On the sunniest day, we went to Barceloneta via an unsuccessful trip to Park Guell. Actually, not entirely unsuccessful as we enjoyed walking to the summit of the free bit but then found out that we had to book so did so for 7pm that evening which was the earliest slot. Barceloneta was nice but I have to say that, as my son would say, I wasn't quite feeling it. I thought that it was hyping itself up a bit much and was really just similar to many coastal resorts. It wasn't terrible or even bad but it didn't seem to fit in with the rest of Barcelona in a way. We paddled, had a beer, had a little sunbathe bt it just felt a bit samey which was totally unlike the rest of Barcelona. I did enjoy walking through the district behind Barceloneta especially as we ended up at the much-recommended Bitacora which, oddly, was probably the first proper hole-in-the-wall tapas meal we had although we had beers at a fair few. Well worth visiting if you are down there. An oasis in a load of expensive and trashy seafront places. I think it was the Wigan accents that put me off the promenade. Park Guell was awesome and well worth the second climb up the hill. I have to say that I thought the 8 Euros each to see the monumental zone was well worth it and there are definitely parts like the amazing Hypostyle Hall which you can hardly see from the rest of the park. It was my wife's one wish to see it and it didn't disappoint. The balcony/square part was ludicrously crowded with everyone wanting to take pictures on the mosaic benches with the view over Barcelona but it wasn't too bad in the rest of the park.

      Yesterday was mental. Learning from Park Guell experience, I booked the Sagrada Familia tour the night before and still only got a 5pm time slot at the earliest. Before that, we decided to go to the Museo d'Historia de Catalunya on the port but, being Monday, it was shut. However, the cafe on the rooftop was open and it has to be visited. It has an excellent view of the harbour and the port and the ridiculous yachts. We didn't eat but the tapas looked surprisingly good value for such a prime position. We also happened on the Catalunya tourist office on Passeig de Gracia that a free Dali exhibition and documentary on the televising of El Classico which was much more interesting than you would have thought even for Mrs B. The lovely gardens also make it well worth a visit to see what's on. We then spent some time wandering around the Gothic Barrio before having a quick lunch at a tapas bar called L'Antiquari in the square with MUHBA surrounding it that had every right to charge much more than it did and did an amazing baked cheese with honey and the most delicious olives of our trip.

      Then we went to Sagradia Famillia and the pictures we took and any words can't do it justice. You just have to go and go inside to get the experience. Our early evening slot meant that the light shining through just added to the amazing visual experience. I mean, it seems overused, but Gaudi was a genius. What I love about it is that, in Britain or elsewhere, they would slap a order on it so that nothing could be added to the original Gaudi-era towers but to keep building to Gaudi's specifications and use the current architectural and design followers in his footsteps to sympathetically adhere to Gaudi's vision but also to build on that with their own creativity is genius on the city's behalf. It just has to be seen. If anyone is looking for tips, I would say to definitely pay the extra for the audio guide. There are lots of details I would missed entirely or the significance of without it. We didn't go up the towers but, again, for another visit, hopefully when it is finished (2026 last estimate - typical bloody builders). Having saved the best until last, we were then off.

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        #28
        Did anyone else know that there was a 10000 character limit on posts? I didn't. I was slightly worried that it said 10000 words.

        Anyway, a couple of final points - firstly, it was very easy to get into the late eating of Barcelona. In the end, we were having a nap at 9pm and going out at 10 for dinner. Also ,no-one mentioned that it is the gayest city going. It makes Brighton look like Merthyr. I only say that as it is certainly something that gay visitors would be interested to know. Also so I can recount that, when she was on a cocktail hunt on the first night, I had to say to Mrs B that "firstly, this bar is too loud. Secondly, it is a gay bar" which she hadn't noticed. OTFers, I hope, will realise that it was the former that was issue for me.

        Also, it is, as with all my favourite cities, one of the most walkable going for most of the interesting stuff but, as was recommended here, the Metro and, in particular, the 10 trip tickets are excellent.

        Finally, as has been mentioned, every single tapas bar (indeed, bar/restaurant) that we went to was just the sort of place that you could sit for hours whiling away the day, drinking cava and beers and watching the world go by - even the one that just happened to be next to the stop for our bus to the airport. There weren't any that disappointed me or let down the reputation of the city being so great for such places. Indeed, just the great tapas bars and amazing (non-Gaudi) architecture which seem so cliched to talk about are enough to go without Park Guell, Sagrada Famillia etc. However the modernista stuff and Gaudi's in particular take it above and beyond.

        Anyway, I will now be handing out coffees and mints while we watch the slide show.....

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          #29
          Fuck sake man, sounds like no bocadillo was had from Frankfurt Sant Jaume. Poor show.

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            #30
            Ha, funny you mention that. On the last afternoon, while frantically, trying to find a tapas bar to eat after El Xampanyet was closed and Satan's coffee house was full, I went there. I didn't realise that, from the description and photo, it didn't have space for seats inside. When we found it, the wife's look suggested that a take away bocadillo was definitely not what she wanted so we went around the corner to L'Antiquari. Maybe next time.

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              #31
              Also, it is, as with all my favourite cities, one of the most walkable going for most of the interesting stuff but, as was recommended here, the Metro and, in particular, the 10 trip tickets are excellent
              Huh. I've never considered Barcelona particularly walkable as European cities go, but then I'm usually in the parts where most of the interesting stuff isn't, ie out by Diagonal Mar or the Olympic Marina.

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                #32
                Originally posted by Bordeaux Education View Post
                It makes Brighton look like Merthyr.
                You could have just written that and saved yourself 10,000 words.

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                  #33
                  Thanks for the post, Bordeaux, and the rest of the thread, everyone. The family and I are going in a few weeks. Already have our tickets for the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and the Camp Nou tour. I'd really like to see the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion, but I know that the rest of the family has no interest, so we will have to pass. I'd also really like to see La Pedrera or Casa Batllo, but these admission ticket prices really add up, and we don't have a whole lot of time already unaccounted for--from Barcelona we're going to Girona, then on to Nimes.

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                    #34
                    Originally posted by Ginger Yellow View Post
                    Huh. I've never considered Barcelona particularly walkable as European cities go, but then I'm usually in the parts where most of the interesting stuff isn't, ie out by Diagonal Mar or the Olympic Marina.
                    Mrs B will tell you that I will walk for miles rather than pay.

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                      #35
                      Originally posted by Incandenza View Post
                      Thanks for the post, Bordeaux, and the rest of the thread, everyone. The family and I are going in a few weeks. Already have our tickets for the Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and the Camp Nou tour. I'd really like to see the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion, but I know that the rest of the family has no interest, so we will have to pass. I'd also really like to see La Pedrera or Casa Batllo, but these admission ticket prices really add up, and we don't have a whole lot of time already unaccounted for--from Barcelona we're going to Girona, then on to Nimes.
                      We didn't go into either and didn't feel particularly like we missed out on anything as the exteriors are outstanding whereas we definitely would have had missed out we not paid to see the interiors of Sagrada Famillia or Park Guell. La Pedrera or Casa Batllo are funny as it is like walking up Oxford Street and then seeing these amazing buildings amongst the designer label shops. We ended up waking past them a couple of times and night-time is an especially good time as they are both quieter as far as tourists are concerned and lit up beautifully especially the latter (and the very nice building frontage next door to it). The Catalunya tourist office is just up Passeig de Gracia from there as well so it is definitely worth popping in there to see if the Dali exhibition is still there as well as the El Clasico documentary in the lovely back garden. Both are free and will take you less than an hour.

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                        #36
                        My friend Alex just wrote a thing on food in Barcelona.

                        https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifes...=.73bf551a839a

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                          #37
                          Originally posted by Bordeaux Education View Post
                          We didn't go into either [Casa Batlló or La Pedrera] and didn't feel particularly like we missed out on anything as the exteriors are outstanding whereas we definitely would have had missed out we not paid to see the interiors of Sagrada Famillia or Park Guell.
                          The words of someone who definitely didn't go inside Casa Batlló.

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                            #38
                            Ugh, don't say that Sam, that's over 100 Euro for the family to go in!

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                              #39
                              Indeed.

                              Originally posted by Sam View Post
                              The words of someone who definitely didn't go inside Casa Batlló.
                              It's a good point but I did think that it was nice to leave some stuff to go back for

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                                #40
                                Absolutely, as you're only an EasyJet flight away. I mostly wanted to make Inca aware that it is in fact well worth doing, although I apologise to him now for having done so. What I will say, Inca, is that the stuff you've already got booked plus a good look around all the beautiful outdoors bits will still be a great trip.

                                Oh and in case I didn't mention it further up the thread, make sure you go to Plaça Reial - in the Barri Gótic - and have a look at the lampposts there. They were Gaudí's first ever professional commission.

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                                  #41
                                  May I just point out, that GOING TO BARCELONA makes it a worthwhile trip, no matter what you have or have not arranged to see and do.

                                  Barcelona is lovely. As BoE says, if you miss something this time, it means you have to go back.

                                  The best tip is, whilst being safe, keep looking up.

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                                    #42
                                    Oh yes, definitely. Accidentally happened upon it and it was the first thing that made me think of Havana (although the influence is, of course, the other way around).

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                                      #43
                                      So, we never made it to Park Guell. Something to see next time.

                                      I think the Sagrada Familia was the highlight of all of our trip; the light inside and the rainbow created by the stained glass windows were breathtaking. My daughter and I did the elevator up to the tower. I had to laugh at the droll and straightforward way the elevator operator described the journey--"so, you take this elevator up, you cross the bridge, and then you walk 400 steps down." JV had warned me of the view straight down when you get to the spiral staircase. One of the benefits of being fat is that I thought to myself, "well, if I do fall down to the center, I'll probably just get stuck in the middle and won't plummet to my death." The day after that we all slept in very late (the day before besides Sagrada Familia, we went to the Picasso Museum, then the Camp Nou tour), so we had to choose between Park Guell and Montserrat. Montserrat won out, and we all enjoyed it.

                                      Girona was extremely cool, I wish we had longer than an afternoon and night there. From Girona we went to Nimes. Just about the only minor disaster on our trip was discovering that the buses from Nimes to the Pont du Gard don't run on the weekend, and we could not rent a car on a Sunday, but we had plenty of other sites to see in Nimes. Then from Nimes we went to Marseille to fly to Sevilla. Sevilla was nice, though I felt that we only saw a tiny bit of it, just around the Cathedral. We wrapped up in Granada. I wasn't expecting so many boho/gutterpunk types hanging out. I didn't feel uncomfortable, it was just a little surprising, though the park that a lot of people were hanging out in had a lot of crude radical graffiti--I saw ACAB in a few spots around the Albayzin.
                                      Last edited by Incandenza; 16-10-2017, 01:34.

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                                        #44
                                        Your photos on Facebook were a delight to see, Inca. Montserrat was recommended but looked too far away for us but, again, next time.

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                                          #45
                                          Thanks, I felt bad bombarding everyone with 20+ photos every day. Montserrat was about 1 hour on the train, only about 9 Euro to get there and get up the mountain, either by the gondola or the funicular.

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