Barcelona
На русском. 🇷🇺
Three November days in Barcelona.
In 2022, I let my vacation go to waste and ended up with 10 unused days that "burned up". In 2023, I decided to take a more responsible approach to this problem and planned some small trips, including a couple of days in Barcelona. Round trip tickets cost about 80 euros. As usual, I was going to spend most of my time walking around, so I decided to book the easiest accommodation for the night. I thought Hostal Portugal was a hostel. It turned out to be a private little room after all, for only 81 euros for two nights. The place is conveniently located near the historic part of the city (near the Columbus Monument).
Later I accidentally found out that my friend from Tomsk, Anya, who kindly offered to keep me company and show me around Barcelona.
The trip was almost on the verge of being canceled. In the summer I made a bad flip off my bike and broke my leg. After recovery, I was prescribed 3 weeks of physical therapy, which ended/overlapped neatly with the planned trip. In the end, the chief doctor took pity on me and let me go 3 days early.
My main goal was to see the Sagrada Familia, and I added a few more places along the way, including Gaudi's buildings.
Back in Berlin, I bought a 3-day ticket(21€) for public transportation. Then it turned out it wasn't valid on some routes, but it was still convenient to get around (I mostly used the subway).
I flew in the afternoon and on Anya's advice I went for a walk to 📍Castell de Montjuïc. After Berlin, Barcelona has a strong sense of hillyness and altitude difference. The castle is on a hill and there are small museum-like displays inside. The evening began with a beautiful sunset, with a panorama of the city from the site.
On the way I met flocks of green parrots, which in Barcelona are part-time sparrows.
Taking advantage of the evening twilight, I decided to see the illumination of the 📍[Torre Glòries] tower (https://maps.app.goo.gl/8LwAuWsyJ1gmh9A89). There I also briefly met Anja, and got a valuable recommendation to try the local sandwiches grated with tomatoes. Very tasty.
Next I walked "home" through 📍La Sagrada Familia, there was illuminations almost until midnight.
The next morning I went to📍Parc del Laberint d'Horta. It's a beautiful park with a labyrinth and water bodies, generally there seems to be a fee to enter, but this time the park was freely open.
From there I went to the ruins of a civil war bunker📍MUHBA Turó de la Rovira. Met a couple of local recreationists. :)
Got a view of the city from the hill. We agreed with Anya to meet on this hill and then went sightseeing.
We walked past the hospital 📍Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau through a bakery and coffee shop to the main attraction - 📍Sagrada Família.
The beautiful and monumental long under construction building left a pleasant impression despite the crowds of tourists and construction equipment.
The trail continued on through the 📍triumphal arch to a large and beautiful park.
Besides the geese, 📍Ciutadella Park has a fountain with turquoise water and golden horses. Nearby, there are also 📍ruins from the XVII century under the roof of a market building.
It was getting dark and the time was for a refreshment, Anya suggested stopping by 📍Honest Greens, a cozy place with delicious food.
It's always nice to walk around an unfamiliar city with someone who knows where to go!
With renewed vigor, we walked through the evening streets to a couple Gaudi houses: the Casa Batlló and Casa Mila. Even at late hours, they are surrounded by tourists.
I still had a good part of the next day left before my flight. I went to the beach first, despite the cool season, there were people in the water.
📍Park Güell was next on the list to visit. There was a line at the entrance for about 20 minutes, the park itself is crowded. But the place is interesting and diverse, you can wander around for a couple hours.
Lastly, I decided to visit Gaudi's houses again to see them in daylight.
Barcelona left a pleasant impression with its diverse architecture and seaside resort. Hopefully the Sagrada Familia will be completed in the foreseeable future and I can visit it again. :)