Barcelona through my eyes...(2)
Barcelona
So, from Plaza Catalunya along the beautiful boulevard Passeig de Gr? cia we headed to the hotel. Even the fact that repairs were going on in the middle of the road did not spoil the overall picture of the attractiveness of this street.
There are 2 more Gaudí houses Casa Batlio and La Pedrera. Since this day was Gaudí 's day for us, we decided to visit Casa Batlio.
Casa Batlio.
Although we were very tired, we decided to visit this house-museum. No queues, it was around 6 pm, not a single person at the cash register at all. A ticket without any discount costs 21.50 euros/person. Discount from basturistik - 3.00 euros. I wouldn’t say it’s cheap, but when we look everywhere inside, well, the red price for this ticket is 10-12.00 euros, well, not 21.50 at all. To go or not to go inside, everyone decides for himself. There are such museums or art galleries where you want to return, but we will definitely not go to this museum again.
There is an audio guide in Russian, but everything is told so not interestingly and very slowly.
In Russian, which means for Russians, it means you can speak a little faster and not necessarily pronounce every letter in every word, in a word, well, very boring. And again, with a huge number of small details that are immediately forgotten, one has only to climb from floor to floor. The roof can be accessed / descended by elevator.
In a word, this museum is not mine, it didn't stun me, didn't stun me, didn't delight...
Not very enthusiastic about visiting this creation of Gaudí , they decided not to go to La Pedrera on this visit. Maybe next time I'll be in the mood for it.
3. Gothic Quarter and Mount Montjuic.
In the morning it was decided to go to the Gothic quarter. As simple and easy to use as Barcelona's subway was, I didn't like it. There are practically no escalators for going down, and sometimes there are no going up, and what kind of transitions ...Maybe in 30-40 years no one thinks about this, everything is easy and simple, but it bothered me.
There were plenty of steps and stairs, seeing various sights in different cities, and here you also have to stomp on the steps in the subway, therefore, wherever possible, we went by bus.
Of course, there are also elevators right from the street, we saw such ones, and even went down a couple of times, of course, very conveniently and quickly. And sometimes it was like this: somewhere in the subway they went into the elevator, they wanted to go up, but it only worked for the descent, where it was not necessary. But we didn’t always look for an elevator, and sometimes we didn’t try to look for it, so as not to waste time, especially in the morning, cheerful, rested ...but in the evenings, yes, it would not hurt to go up and down the escalator / elevator. But we got along fine with buses, and crossings, for example, to Sq. Spain we did from above, through traffic lights. Well, somehow it was more pleasant to go like this than to go into the dungeon.
Palau de la Musica.
The first was the Palace of Catalan Music Palau de la Musica. Near the hotel there is a bus stop number 17, sat down, drove almost to the Palace.
An internal inspection was not planned, for a start only an external one. On this day, some kind of event was held there, because there were a lot of schoolchildren of about 4-5 grades, or maybe they were just taken on an excursion, because they are held here every day. One moment was very interesting and unusual: next to the Palace, on a small "patch", the teachers seated all the children around, on wet, damp asphalt. The children took out their sandwiches / buns, ate, washed down, one of the teachers passed around a large bag in which they put the garbage, then the children got up and went further to the Palace. Standing under an umbrella, I watched this picture and thought: that's why it was necessary to seat the children on the wet sidewalk, was it possible to eat standing up or not? ...
We went into the hall, there is a cafe, went everywhere where it was possible to go, and this is not much at all.
And the little that we saw was impressive, you need to come back here again to inspect it with a tour, or rather buy tickets for a concert.
The palace was built in the last century, in 1907, here you can see marble columns and stairs, multi-colored stained-glass windows, luxury is felt in everything.
Walked around the outside of the building. It is a pity that it stands on a narrow street, I would like to consider it not point-blank, but at some distance in order to see all the beauty of the design. And the weather in the morning was not important: gloomy, overcast, rain. In the play of sunlight, it would look even more attractive. Let's move on.
La Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eul? lia - Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia.
This magnificent Gothic cathedral is the main temple of Barcelona, which began to be built in the 13th century.
The temple is dedicated to the Holy Great Martyr Eulalia, one of the patrons of the city, who at the age of 13 was martyred at the hands of pagans, not wanting to give up her Christian faith. And now 13 geese always graze in the central courtyard, where each goose is one year in the life of the martyr Saint Eulalia.
On this cloudy, still rainy day, we saw the facade of the Cathedral not at all the same as on the postcards. He was somehow gloomy, gray, dark. We hurried inside before it closed for service. Entrance in the morning was free, although many write that it happens for a fee.
The cathedral has a screen that gives information about what you can see for free, and what you need to pay money for. For money, for example, you can go up to the observation deck, but I saw photos taken from there. The roofs of houses, no more, so we did not climb.
We walked around the temple 2 times, you can take pictures, fortunately for us there were few people, so everything could be seen without fuss.
The cathedral is just beautiful, I really liked it. Legendary geese were seen in the courtyard, but at that time there was a renovation going on there. Partially everything was closed, the sculptures stood in one place ...I think that after reconstruction or repair, this courtyard will look just wonderful. Move on.
Santa Maria del Pi - Cathedral of Santa Maria del Pi.
It is believed that the Church of Santa Maria del Pi was built in the 13th century, survived earthquakes, civil wars, fires ...In 2009-2010, the church underwent extensive restoration work. Characteristic of this church is the stained-glass rose window, one of the largest in the world, which is located above the main entrance. As well as fifty meters or more, the bell tower.
The church is named after the pine trees ("Pi" in Old Spanish means pine) that once stood in front of the church. Today, a pine tree also stands in Piazza del Pi, which is naturally much younger than the church. Was planted in 1985.
Entrance fee, 4.00 euros / person.
This church is somehow sad, gloomy, cold. The room seems somehow uncomfortable, not alive ...and there are no people, my husband and I, and a few more people. No special pomp was noticed either. But they say that the church comes alive and is perceived in a completely different way when concerts are held in it.
There is also a cafe, on the right, in the far corner, as in an extension, an exit to some kind of small courtyard, surrounded by ordinary residential houses and a small treasury. Seen, photographed, moved on.
Palau G? ell - Guell Palace.
After visiting the church, we walked a little along the famous Rambla on the way to the Palau Gü ell.
A busy pedestrian street, dangerous (as they say) did not seem at all, but there are so many police around it, after Tunisia this is the first city in which we saw such an increased police patrol of crowded places. Well, then, going to any city on excursions or just walking, I have special bags with a long strap, which I call "in the gun", only the bag forward. It is very convenient for me: my hands are always free, I don’t need to hold a bag or adjust it on my shoulder. You won’t forget it anywhere, you won’t leave it anywhere, and it’s difficult for thieves to get into it, because it’s always in sight, it’s somehow calmer for me. For the first acquaintance, Barcelona did not seem to me to be some very criminal city, maybe we just didn’t see much ...In general, we walked along the Rambla only here, this is not a big piece.
I really love pedestrian avenues, and I think that if we walked it from beginning to end, it would give us pleasure.
So, we are heading to the Palace Gü ell. We thought and pondered whether to go inside or not, we went in. The ticket costs 12.00 euros / person, I forgot about discount coupons from basturist, whether they exist or not for this museum, I don’t know. Well, here is an adequate price, well, not more than 20 euros, as for the Casa Batlio museum. Maybe the entrance ticket to Casa Batlio is so expensive because the house is privately owned? ...
A bit of history: the mansion was built in 1885-1890 by order of Eusebio Gü ell. This is one of the early works of Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona, which was completely completed by him, and has come down to our times almost unchanged. This house is now listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
"In 1944, the Palace Gü ell tried to buy an American millionaire who wanted to dismantle Gaudi's masterpiece and transport it "pebble by stone" to his country, but, fortunately, in the end, the mansion was acquired by the provincial council of Barcelona in May 1945, which owns the building to this day. Daughter and the heiress of the mansion's first owner, Merce Gü ell agreed to cede the palace to the government, but firstly, she asked for a lifetime pension, and secondly, she set three conditions: that the building should not be subjected to distortion and destruction, that it serve cultural or artistic purposes, and that it perpetuated the memory of its creator, Gaudí , and his client, the first Count Gü ell. " (from the Internet)
There is practically no furniture in the Palace so that tourists turn their attention to the architecture of the house, and not to the household items of the Gü ell family.
There is an audio guide in Russian, we inspect the house, floor by floor we rise higher and higher: the main staircase, the front rooms, the front hall with a parabolic dome, the golden chapel, the reception hall ...master's apartments, a roof terrace with fantastic turrets (chimneys and ventilation shafts)...I liked it here, it was interesting here.
After visiting the Palace, we return to the Liceu metro and go to Placa d Espanya - Plaza of Spain. Plaza de Españ a is a very memorable place, with a fountain and sculptures, with two Venetian towers, with a beautiful view of the National Palace, with a magical Font Magica fountain, which we did not see this time, and much more. We head to the Center Comercial Las Arenas, take the high-speed panoramic elevator to the roof for 1.00 euros / person / ascent / descent, on which there is a circular observation deck. By this time the rain had stopped, the clouds had parted, and the sun was shining brightly. Life got better.
You can also go up here on the escalators inside the arena, most likely for free. The ticket, bought by us, can be used as payment in one of the restaurants located here, upstairs. We look at the city from all sides, go around the site in a circle, how great it is that once again you can look from above at beautiful Barcelona.
Castell de Montjuic - the fortress of Montjuic.
Having admired the views enough, we go to look for the bus stop number 150 to get to the Montjuic fortress. There are 2 stops in Plaza Españ a, one next to the elevator, on a small island, and the other next to the right tower. The route of this bus is not big, pl. Spain - Montjuic fortress.
We arrived, climbed to the fortress, well, the wind was there, and not only there, in general there was a strong wind, but especially there.
Until the 16th century, here, on Mount Montjuic at an altitude of 173 meters, there was a watchtower, then the castle of the Catalan counts, then a fortress appeared, and in the last century a military museum was opened here, in 2007 the Montjuic fortress passed into the possession of the city municipality. We were mainly interested in the observation deck with amazing views of Barcelona.
It was cold upstairs in the fortress, even tea did not warm, and we hurried down. To begin with, we wanted to go down by teleferike. But when we got there, we ran into closed doors.
Judging by the schedule and mode of operation, the teleferik should function, but no one is there. We decided to wait a bit, maybe someone from below would come, although we didn’t really hope for it. Even if booths come here, anyway, after all, this room should be open, someone here should receive them? The next comers came up, pulled on the door and went home.
Our attraction fell apart, we didn’t ride on the TV, we went down a few stops on the same bus number 150, to the Miramar hotel. While riding the bus, I kept looking around, no, the booths did not move. As it turned out later, it was just the period of his prevention, from January 20 to March 5.
From the stop we walked a little back in the direction of the Miramar Hotel. There is also a huge observation deck in the form of a semicircle. We go to the right, there is a cafe and not one, not a big square with different sculptures.
We pass this square to the end, there is another cafe and the entrance to the cactus garden is nearby, or as it is correctly called: the gardens of Mossen Costa and Llobera Jardins de Costa i Llobera, named after the poet Mikel Costa i Llobera, where we are going . Or rather, a garden not of cacti, but of cacti and palm trees, because they grow together there.
The garden is quite large, interesting, cacti of all shapes and sizes.
I would not say that I am an ardent lover of cacti, but it is always a pleasure to look at the unusual bizarre forms of these plants. We walked and walked along one path, and came to a gate that opened onto some street with very heavy traffic. We went down lower, went along the other path in the opposite direction. It is deserted here and green, and completely calm. We met a couple of walkers all over the garden.
When we went upstairs, we again felt a strong wind. The red cabins over the port also did not move, as we saw on the first day. So it was also not possible to ride on the old cable car over the port.
We return to the square. Spain all on the same bus. Some got off the bus, the other part continues to sit in it, including us. The driver turns to everyone else and says: Fenito. It became clear that this was the final one, and all the rest were guests of Barcelona.
Everything, our planned program - at least 100% completed. Before, when we were younger, we tried to see as many sights as possible, in fact, we galloped everywhere. Now this ardor has subsided, and the pace is not the same, now everything is done only with pleasure, as they say "with feeling, with sense, with arrangement. "
There was no time for shopping. On the way to the hotel, we stopped, of course, in some shops, and I liked what I saw. On the next visit to Barcelona, maybe in a year or two, it will be necessary to plan a separate time, because late in the evening after trips to the shops they no longer wrap their feet.
The next and last of this trip will be a review of Pension Mihlton Barcelona. I will add some photos from the Palace Gü ell and the cactus park to it, now they are not at hand.
It was hospitable Barcelona through my eyes!
