Sunday around the neighborhood
We prefer the Frommer’s Day by Day travel series over every
other equivalent series. Not only do you get a nice little map in a cool
plastic pocket, but the books always have a chapter dedicated to walking tours
that aren’t too long and cover a bunch of interesting things. Today, since we’re
living in the Barri Gòtic we decided to do that walk. But first – coffee.
Except today being Sunday, our little shop nearby was
shuttered. I’m always disappointed when the management of a place I like decides
to give their employees a break, and today was no different. Pulling ourselves
together, we went off towards La Rambla where we found another place with a
decent pain au xocholat and good coffee. It wasn’t the same, but it did the
trick.
Heading back the starting point of our adventure in front of
the cathedral, we stopped to watch a big circle of people doing a famous
Catalan dance. Everyone piles their belongings in the center and then they form
a ring, bobbing to the music which today was provided by a decent sized band
sitting on the cathedral stairs.
From there it was off into the warren of
streets, past the best remnants of the original Roman walls and up a street
that led to supposedly what was the most beautiful square in Barcelona. It wasn’t.
Perhaps the most austere, but not the most beautiful. Three original columns
from the Temple of Augustus were located in a little alcove off to the side,
and I remembered them from our last
visit.
Next on to the square in front of the Catalonian government building and
then down into the Jewish Call, the original ghetto from the 12th
century, with some even older elements. Back and forth we went on these little
narrow lanes taking time to photograph gargoyles and people-watch.
(click to enlarge)
We stepped
into a small square in front of the Cathedral of St. Philip Neri (figuring we
had to since that’s the fancy church in our old town at home) and stuck our
heads inside the door to grab a peak at the supposedly magnificent Baroque
chapel. It was, but there were services going on so no pictures out of respect. Out front, the book informed us that the pock marks on the
front of the church were caused by a gun and bomb battle in 1938 during the
Spanish Civil War. A sobering thought here in such a peaceful spot.
Conveniently, the tour ended right in front of our apartment
so we took a break for lunch.
Re-energized and using the 1€ map I bought at the tourist office
we went back out as the sun was just beginning to dip below the buildings. The
goal this time was a Roman cemetery that was not mentioned in any of our books
but was certainly appealing to me. We found it quickly, in the middle of a nice
little park far off the tourist beaten path but redolent of dirty people and
urine. An old man sat on one of the benches drinking straight out of a box of
cheap wine, and then it struck me why I hadn’t heard of this place – the guide
books often sanitize their suggestions in order to avoid the wrath of more
delicate travelers. We decided not to go down into the actual display itself-
rather took a photo from the overlook and left in search of the next step on
the Tour Romana, a few remaining sections of the original aqueduct. We found
these easily in a small neighborhood park filled with families and kids playing
on a climbing gym. There was a little boy at the base of the artifact, pounding
the ground with a rock.
From there we decided to go looking for spot to sit and
enjoy a glass of wine. We found it in the Plaça Reial at a nice restaurant with
tables in the shade. We had a nice respite until a planeload of Frenchmen
decided to sit down and light up. They had 2 cartons of Marlboros on the table,
so clearly they were there for the long haul. Smoking is allowed in these
outside venues, and we always pick carefully but you cannot guarantee who will
show up before you’re done. Sometimes the gamble works, sometimes it doesn’t.
After taking a spin around the square to check out the other
restaurants, we went back out onto La Rambla where we found the up until now
missing street performers. On our past trip, they were right up in the center
median, amid the shops and restaurants that line the street. Having not seen
them this time, we were wondering what had happened. The median today still has
the flower vendors and the occasional gelato store, but now the whole expanse
is taken up by restaurants in white tents, with acres of outside seating.
Either the city has decided that more money can be made in this way, or because
we were here last in the dead of winter, it’s not clear why the performers were
relegated to the shadow of the Columbus statue. But there they were. We took a
few photos of the best of them and headed back home.
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