Day 24 - Barcelona - Las Ramblas

Day 24 - Barcelona - Las Ramblas - Park Guell

July 28, 2018

This morning, Gregory went online to buy tickets online for Gaudi’s Parc Guell at 8:00pm which is a great time considering the heat of the day. It has been so hot in Barcelona that we hesitate to go out but, come on, we are in Barcelona after all! We left the house at 1:00pm which is probably the worst time but we are also on vacation, so I'm not hurrying anyone up! We took the metro back to Las Ramblas and walked to the end in the huge stream of tourists. After 20 minutes, we were all done with crowds.

We made it to the port and saw the famous Columbus Column. We were entertained for a while watching people dressed up as different characters like Don Quixote, an ocean creature, and more while Gregory tried to make a collect phone call from the last payphone in Spain. He hasn’t finished closing up his affairs completely. Did I mention that we bought a property in Oregon a week before coming to Europe and now we need to sign and notarize some documents? He also didn’t sell his car, so he is in the process of doing that as well. Anyway, we were all tired so Gregory guided us out from the touristy zone and took us to a nice cafe-bar which it was recommended by Google. I love the fact that Gregorio does all the research and likes to go where locals go because that’s where the good food is and the best prices.

We ordered our by-now usual pitcher of sangria and some tapas for a snack. The place was empty and cool (temperature, that is). We enjoyed ourselves for a while and then we walked to El Barrio Raval which is the immigrant neighborhood. Sunshine commented, “I feel like I’m back to Morroco.” This was the neighborhood that my friend had advised me not to stay in, but after being in Tangiers and seeing how friendly people are, I wasn't worried at all. We saw women wearing hijabs and the kebab stores on every other corner. We saw a lot of Pakistanis as well.

Walking through a courtyard we found an old (medieval) building which turned out to be the National Library. Outside were benches and a little stand with books to borrow. Gregory and Sunshine found a book to read in the shade while Daniel and I played giant chess. Of course, he beat me in no time. I guess all those chess classes after school taught him something!

Daniel and I went upstairs to visit the library. It was very nice and one of the walls, they had photos of the history of the library which used to be a hospital.

On the ground floor, there was a photo exhibition of a very famous Catalan photographer whose name was Pau Audouard. I love to see old photos of people and places and see how they lived! We left the library, walked back to Plaza de Catalunya, better know by our family as Pigeon Park and took the metro back home to rest a few hours before visiting Parc Guell. I took a nap in my cool room, the kid's bedroom doesn’t have air conditioning and I’m thinking that AC is a necessity here. When I woke up, it was almost time to go. I asked everyone if they had eaten something because obviously, we were going to have a late dinner. Of course, no one had. At that point it was too late, so we grabbed a small snack. Why do they always have to wait for the mamma for food?

We took the bus this time, which left us only a few blocks' walk from the park. What Gregory didn’t tell me was the hike that we had to do to get to the park. I was sweating and my legs were burning when we made to the top of the hill by 8:15pm. The kids did not complain, only me! We got in during our time window and I was happy all over again. The park is like walking in a Dr. Seuss book or a magic land where everything moves. We spent about an hour and a half walking, admiring and taking fun pictures of the park. I talked to a guard and asked why didn’t they put more trash cans. It was a pity to see so many water bottles dropped on the ground. He said that that was nothing, that in the morning it's worse -- after they close the park, homeless people and gangs jump in and trash the place. He also explained that the salamander head had been destroyed twice and that was the main reason they had to start charging to come in the park. It is a bummer but what are you going to do?

We left the park at 9:30pm and walked for a while to the metro station. Did I mention that there is a taxi strike? Which seems to be common here in Barcelona and the reason: well, they were protesting Uber! Our Uber driver had told us the first night how aggressive the taxi drivers were. So thanks to the strike, it took us two hours to get home. But it doesn’t matter because we are on vacation! Although Gregory threatens to wake us up early, at 9:00am to pack and go to the US consulate to sign some documents. It was a good day!

Colombus Monument