January 3, 2012
-
Barcelona, Spain
If you'd look at the map of my walks through Barcelona today...
View Barcelona 20120103 in a larger map...that would probably give you the impression of me being seriously confused. The red route, the one I walked counter-clockwise during the day, criss-crosses the city centre more or less at random (or so it seems) and there are a couple of points where I was twice or three times even. There was a reason, believe it or not, for this random pattern, and that was simply because there were some places I wanted to go to. Such as the FNAC store on Plaça de Catalunya and the St Josep covered market. Thursday and Friday are big public holidays here in Spain. Epiphany is celebrated much more than Christmas in this country, and it's the main occasion for giving each other presents and have lavish meals. The St Josep market clearly demonstrated that. So much wonderful fresh food! Poultry, fresh fish, delicious meats, vegetables and fruits - the market is a true delight. I love every visit to it, but today it was just a bit more enjoyable.
I then returned to the El Gotic area, and walked through some of the streets of the Call Major. Barcelona is an ancient city, already an important settlement in Roman times over 2,000 years ago when it was known as Barcino, and parts of that Roman place are still visible, such as the huge city walls north east of the centre, as well as some remains of temples such as the Temple to Augustus. In medieval times the city housed a big Jewish community in two specific areas, Call Major and adjacent Call Menor. These neighbourhoods, once walled, have very narrow streets and Europe's biggest synagogue is also to be found there in an ancient building. A great part of the city for a stroll.
And on I walked, some more of the El Gotic and the northbound, zigzagging my way down the newer parts of town towards the Sagrada Familia, Gaudi's masterpiece basilica which seems to be progressing ever much faster whenever I'm in town. As you can see from yesterday's picture, the centre part of the building is now becoming very visible and it looks massive. Once the basilica is complete, now expected by 2028, the eight towers that were the predominant features of the church-under-construction will be dwarfed by five centre towers that are currently being built. The picture above shows the statue of Apostle Philip on one of the current towers. The half moon was just next to the tower. It's a real picture, not photoshopped (except for contrast) and I am quite pleased with it.
In the evening I decided to have another long walk, basically from my hotel all the way down to França station and back, having some drinks along the way. No other purpose for that walk than to enjoy the city at night... and also to get a bit more exercise. 18.1 kilometers today, or 11.3 miles. Doing good!
Recent Comments