Well, our last stop on the itinerary before we fly home. We are in Barcelona for 3 nights. We arrived by train from Girona, after a lovely morning revisiting the Cathedral and another walk along the river admiring the painted houses, and then walking more of the city walls.
In Barcelona, we are staying in the Barri Gotic, a part of the old city, and opposite the amazing Palau de la Musica, a modernista building of fanciful mosaics and leadlight glass. The view out our balcony is of the beautiful tiled columns on the first floor, and of the milling crowds waiting to attend the flamenco performance. Downstairs is a music school, so we are entertained during the evenings by a continuous and varying cacophony of violin / percussion / piano / oboe / teacher shouting and clapping time.
Unfortunately, I am not feeling the best, so we have a fairly quiet afternoon. We wander one block to view the Gothic Cathedral, which we can see at the end of our street. The Placa is filled with people, sitting in the sun, drinking wine, listening to the various musicians in the square. At last, warm weather. Bliss.
The Cathedral has a Gothic style facade, built in the 1800s, but based on a medieval design. Inside, the church dates from the Romanesque to the 16th century. We especially enjoyed the 16th century organ, which was being played while we were there. The music was ecclesiastic, but then, as we took the lift to the roof, a saxophonist in the next building let fly with blues. It seemed slightly surreal to be on top of a cathedral, looking out over a sunlit city to the sea, listening to a cruisey “Summertime” being played.
As I was feeling quite tired, we just had a stroll around the old city, taking in the vibes and people watching. It was Sunday evening, and it seemed that everyone was out on the streets, eating and drinking, or just walking. After dinner, I retired early at about 9.30, and Mike went out exploring till 11.30 … I believe that he bought a gelato …
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