|
Barcelona At the end of our week in the Canaries, Ben went home to sleep, and Marc and I continued on to Barcelona. We arrived at the airport late one night, rented a car, and began the hunt for a hotel room. Marc drove and I would run into each place, asking about prices and availability. We stopped into the Husa Oriente hotel, which is right on the Rambla (the main street in Barcelona, and got the last room in the place. It was a third floor room with a balcony overlooking all the action. Definitely the place to be. We spent several days touring the city, and were able to see all of the Gothic Quarter and many of Gaudi's works. Gaudi was a 19th century artist and architect whose buildings are characterized by curved lines and a unique sense of style. Most buildings look the same in every city in the world, and it is hard to distinguish a gothic cathedral in Germany from one in Prague. Gaudi's buildings are one of a kind, and his cathedral, the Sagrada Familia, is truly memorable. We spent some time in Olympic Park, the site of the '92 summer games. We saw the stadium, as well as a Pat Metheny concert one evening. We ended up meeting some Americans, including this hilarious guy Cletus. He really made us homesick. Overall impressions of Barcelona were positive. It is a great place to spend three or four days, and there are many things to see. The people were nice, but the city is fairly dirty, and pollution is a big problem. I had a runny nose and a cough after two days, that didn't leave until we got back on the beach in Ibiza... |
