yk's Trip Report: Barcelona Modernisme + Montserrat daytrip - Nov 09

Wow - a trip report already! I'm impressed. Can't wait for the rest - Barcelona has long been on my List.

looking forward to your report....

Apartment Review
Sots3 apartment in Barri Gotic (1BR)
http://www.habitatapartments.com/en/barcelona/apartment/view/sots3.htm

Our Rate: €85/n for 2 people; but since we booked for 7 nights, we got a 10% discount. Our final cost for 7 nights was €535,50 (€76,50/n)

I decided to go with Habitat Apartments since they get decent reviews here. Because our trip was fairly last-minute, there were only 2 apartments that fit our dates and budget and location. N prefers to stay in the Old City (instead of Eixample). We had to choose between Sots3 and Princesa8 (see this thread: http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/quick-helpopinion-needed-for-barcelona-hapitat-apartments.cfm )

The Princesa apartments get good reviews, but I didn't want Princesa8 because it does not have an outside window in the living room. It's already depressingly dark in Boston which is where we live, so we didn't want to stay in a dark apartment while in Barcelona!

CAPH52 stayed in Sots3 a few months ago, and she thought it was acceptable - which was good enough for me.


- Habitat Apts is easy to deal with: from booking to reservation to check-in & out to payment.
- The agent who met me at the apartment was very thorough and explained how to operate everything
- 2 sets of keys given
- elevator in building
- fully equipped kitchen with full-sized refrigerator, 4-burner stove with oven, microwave, water kettle, coffee maker, toaster, and your standard Ikea cooking utensils.
- a safe in the apartment
- sofabed (which I slept on the whole week) was actually comfortable!


- no extra amenities such as cooking staple (salt/sugar/oil etc). In fact, there was NO toilet paper when we arrived; but the agent lady was nice enough to run to the store and bought a 4-pack
- street noise: the street it's on is mostly pedestrian traffic, but the street is narrow so sound travels upward. If people talk on the street, we can hear every word (with windows closed tight). There are a few bars and restaurants around the corner, so when the patrons leave and talk loudly, we can hear it. Also, a dump truck comes by twice a week at 2:30am and makes lots of noise. So, if you're not used to city noise, bring ear plugs (which we did).
- very small bathroom with not enough towel racks

Caution
- The apt has a washing machine but no dryer. There is a clothes drying rack out in the balcony, but since Barcelona is quite humid, it took 2 days for our clothes to dry. So make sure you bring enough spare clothing while you wait for the clean ones to dry
- The bathroom is an ensuite bathroom. It's not an issue for couples staying here, but for us, it is less convenient since I have to go through N's bedroom every time I need to use the bathroom
- Very small bathtub for those who like to take a bath and soak

Location
Great location for sightseeing, esp in Barri Gotic
- 3-min walk to Jaume I metro stop
- 3-min walk to waterfront
- 10-min walk to La Ramblas
- 12-min walk to Placa Catalunya

Food Shopping
- small convenience store type supermarket in El Born
- Manhattan-sized supermarket inside Santa Catarina Market
- Very Large supermarket in the basement of El Corte Ingles in Placa Catalunya


Do I recommend this apartment? Yes, with the above reservations.

Will I stay here again? No - not so much because of the apartment, but I think I'd rather stay in Eixample next time for more open space and more green space.

Photos of the apartment:
Living Room/Sofa bed http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4695.jpg
Living room http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4697.jpg
Dining area and kitchen http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4698.jpg
Bedroom http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4700.jpg
Balcony http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4701.jpg
Bathroom http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4702.jpg

ttt

Day 1 - Getting there and settling in; followed by a l-o-n-g walk

Even though we both live near Boston, N & I ended up flying different airlines (long complicated story). I flew AA BOS/JFK/BCN; N flew KLM BOS/AMS/BCN.

My trip over was uneventful - except for a really noisy toddler just across the aisle from me. He was screaming from time to time (just when I dozed off) for 80% of the flight from JFK to BCN. Because of strong tail winds, we actually arrived at BCN an HOUR early at 8am instead of 9am.

Since the earliest check-in time for the apt is 11am, I knew I had plenty of time to kill. I even checked my luggage, even though it's a small 19" suitcase.

With the extra time, I decided to take the Aerobus (€5) to Plaça Catalunya so that I can check out the Visitors Information Center and kill some time there. The Aerobus trip took 30 minutes.

At the visitors center, I picked up a few brochures, including information regarding daytrip logistics for Montserrat (more about that later in the TR). I also wanted to buy the Ruta del Modernisme guidebook, but the counter for that (counter #1) doesn't open until 10am.

At 10am, I bought my guidebook (€12). I highly recommend this - I think it's really a great deal because the book comes with a discount voucher booklet which offers discounts to many sights, including Casa Mila, Casa Battlo, Sagrada Familia, MNAC... http://www.rutadelmodernisme.com/default.aspx?idioma=en (see the column on the R side of the page)

After buying the guidebook, I immediately used a voucher to book the Modernisme walking tour offered by the tourist center. http://bcnshop.barcelonaturisme.com/Barcelona-Walks-Modernisme/_vf-SMlY1yIuKQTV1aq49kAo1OWJ1ZmyqsW8lMeMFwjmBy4iHT-xzYQ The tour is normally €12 but the voucher offers 20% off for €9,60.

Since it's still early, I decided to walk from Plaça Catalunya to the apartment. With luggage in tow, it took about 15 minutes.

N arrived at the apartment around 1pm. After we freshened up, we went out for lunch. Even though I came armed with a long list of restaurant recommendations - most of these places are just a tad more than what we'd like to spend. So for most of our meals, we just ate at whichever place looks good that's within our budget.

In any case, we had lunch at Bliss at Plaça Sant Just 4, very close to the apartment. It offers lunch deals starting at €9 - entree + drink. I had the pasta of the day - can't quite recall the details but it was very tasty.

After lunch, we went food-shopping. Our first stop was Santa Caterina Market. Unfortunately, most stalls were closing by 3pm (it stays open late until 8:30pm Thu/Sat); so we went in search of a supermarket in El Born - recommended by the Habitat Apt lady. What we found instead, was more like a convenience store. It has limited choices but we managed - we mostly got breakfast items such as milk, yogurt, cereal, juice etc. A few days later, we found out that there is a larger supermarket inside Santa Caterina market. Somehow we missed it completely in our jet-lagged state today.

N does NOT believe in naps on arrival day, so we went out for a walk. From my personal experience, I do fairly well on arrival day as long as I’m outside wandering and not have to think much. Since our apt is only a 3-min walk from Passeig de Colon & Roy Lichtenstein's Barcelona Head, http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4727.jpg

we walked along the waterfront: We started at the Museum of Catalonian History & marina http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4705.jpg , cut across Barceloneta to the beaches, all the way to the edge of Port Olimpic where Gehry’s Fish sculpture is.

Along the way, the view of the beach and the Mediterranean sea was quite beautiful, as it was late afternoon. It reminds me of a Whistler painting. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4708.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4717.jpg

We turned around once we reached Gehry’s fish http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4719.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4726.jpg

We walked about 3 miles total.

Dinner that evening was at a tapas restaurant in El Born. I suggested Taller de Tapas, but N didn't want to eat at a chain restaurant. So instead, we went to Tapas del Born at C/ Argenteria 45, just a few store fronts from Taller de Tapas (C/ Argenteria 51). Food was pretty good there - we shared 5 dishes:
Octopus; Galician clams; grilled asparagus; cod fritters, and sauteed mushrooms. In addition, we had Pan con Tomate. N had a glass on Sangria as well. (I don't drink, so at almost all my meals, I had agua con gas.) Our dinner came out to €36.

Back so soon! Welcome home yk, I'm looking forward to reading this.

Really nice, complete report. Your detail is amazing and will be very helpful. Barcelona is one of my top 5 favorite cities.

Off to an excellent start as always, yk!

I'm glad the apartment worked out ok for you. I was somewhat surprised to read about the noise you encountered. We'd actually been impressed with how quiet it was! But it was warmer when we were there and we had the air on constantly. I'm wondering whether that didn't make a difference.

Looking forward to more!

I agree with you about Eixample - my favorite part of one of my favorite cities.
We are going to Barcelona in the spring (for the fourth time),
I am looking forward to some of your suggestions.

Thanks for all your comments - and danon - also a special thanks to your input to my trip-planning questions.

CAPH52 - I wonder if you are more used to city noise? I live in a suburb and it's very quiet here, and I'm a light sleeper too. Also, the street noise was worse on the weekend (Fri/Sat esp); were you there during a weekend too?

Hi, yk. We're in a 'burb too and on a quiet street. Though, during the night, we do hear some noise from nearby busier streets. But I suspect you're right in thinking that the fact that we weren't there on a weekend is what made the difference. We were there Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

One thing I forgot to mention about the Sots3 apartment:

Habitat Apts does not offer wifi or any internet connection at the Sots3 apartment. However, CAPH52 told me that her son was able to get on the internet when they were staying there. So I did bring my netbook along and was able to get on the net via someone else's wifi network.

OTOH, the Princesa apartments do offer free wifi.

Bookmarking. Thanks for such a detailed report yk! Looking forward to the rest of it. We are going to Barcelona in April and I can tell this will be very helpful when it's time for me to get into full-scale planning mode.

Thanks for all the detail & the pictures in your TR -- very helpful. Looking forward to the rest.

Great report! You have a gift for writing precise, intersting comments!

OTOH, the Princesa apartments do offer free wifi."

You are right. I stayed there in March, my girlfriend was able to e-mail from her blackberry.

Day 2 - Montjuïc

I didn't get a chance to visit Montjuïc on my previous trip, so I was a bit confused about the layout and transport options of Montjuïc. Well, it turns out to be very straightforward...

We took the metro to Paral.lel stop (the Catalan language is quite curious; with a period within some words); then transfer to the funicular. The transfer is FREE - just follow the sign for the funicular.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4732.jpg

Once we get off the funicular, there are plenty of signs for directions. It is a short walk to Fundació Joan Miró (Joan Miro Foundation). http://fundaciomiro-bcn.org/
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4734.jpg

Entrance fee is €8, and I paid another €4 for the audioguide. Most guidebooks I read recommend the audiogude - and I think it was very worthwhile.

The layout of the museum/foundation is chronological, and explains his life and works pretty well. Before my visit, I do like some of his works but I never "understood" his squiggly line paintings. After this visit, I do feel I have a better understanding and appreciation. While N likes his later works, I prefer his earlier works, esp his Dream paintings and his Constellation paintings.

No photography is allowed inside the building, but it is allowed outside. The roof terrace has multiple sculptures; and a nice view of the city.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4737.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4738.jpg

Apart from the collection, I find the building interesting. It was designed by Josep Lluís Sert, who was also co-founder of the GATCPAC. The building reminds me of the Bauhaus-Archiv building in Berlin, designed by Walter Gropius. Therefore, it wasn't too surprising when I later found out Josep Lluís Sert succeeded Walter Gropius as dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design in the 1950s-60s.

We spent 90 minutes in the galleries, and when we finished, it was lunchtime and we ate at the Cafe at the museum. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4739.jpg

The cafe only serves sandwiches and drinks. There is also a nicer restaurant next to the cafe. I had a panini with cheese and turkey for €4. While 4 euro doesn't sound like much, it was quite a pricey sandwich considering it is simply 1 slice of turkey, 1 slice of cheese, and 2 slices of white bread.

From Fundació Joan Miró, we headed towards MNAC via a slight detour to Jardins de Laribal (Laribal Garden). Within the garden is the Font del Gat building designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch, now a restaurant. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4742.jpg

[Puig i Cadafalch, Domènech i Montaner, and Antoni Gaudi are the big 3 architects in Barcelona responsible for the Modernisme style. You will see me refer to them a lot in this TR.]

Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya (MNAC for short) http://www.mnac.cat/index.jsp?lan=003 sits on Montjuïc facing Plaça Espanya down below. It's a great vista spot. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4744.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4770.jpg

N & I split ways here, as I wanted to see the museum and she's had enough museums for the day. Entrance fee is €8,50 but with my Ruta del Modernisme voucher, I paid €5,95. The ticket is valid for 2 days.

MNAC's collection is split into 4 sections. The most famous section is its Romanesque collection of Catalonia frescoes, rescued from churches near the Pyrennes. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4746.jpg

I went through the next 2 sections rather quickly - Gothic and Baroque. The last section - Modern Art - has some of my favorite items, such as furniture set from Casa Lleó-Morera, and decorative objects designed by Gaudi.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4755.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4766.jpg

I also enjoyed the paintings in that section - seeing the Catalan equivalent of French Impressionists and post-impressionists. Ramon Casas is now my favorite Catalan artist, and I also like the works by Camarasa who has a style similar to Klimt.

There are also several galleries dedicated to the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection.

The MNAC building used to be the National Palace - it's enormous with a painted dome. Just below the dome are plenty of super-comfortable couches, where I took a power nap during my museum visit. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4753.jpg

I spent about 2 hours at MNAC; then made my way slowly down the hill towards the Magic Fountain. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4773.jpg

My next and final stop of the day is the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion, located just west of the Magic Fountain. The Pavilion is open daily, but guided tours are only available from 5-7pm on Wed/Fri. http://www.miesbcn.com/en/pavilion.html

I don't know much about this building, which turns out to have a facinating history. It was built for the 1929 World Exhibition in Barcelona as the German Pavilion. However, it was dismantled after the exhibition was over. Decades later, people began to realize the significance of this modern architecture. It was rebuilt in the 1980s based on incomplete blueprints and B/W photos.

You may find it strange that while I like Art Nouveau buildings with all the over-the-top ornamentation, I also like modern architecture as well. It's a different kind of beauty - a kind of clean and streamlined beauty.

Admission fee is €4,50; no extra charge for the tour. I arrived at 5pm, but the one-and-only guide has to do a Spanish tour first, so I had to wait for half an hour before she conducts the English tour. I was the only person on the English tour.

The building is simply brilliant. So simple yet so elegant, with use of horizontal and vertical lines, and different materials for the walls (4 types of glass, different types of marble, plus onyx). None of the walls are weightbearing; the roof is supported solely by 8 steel pillars. I highly recommend visiting this place - and if you're not familiar with this building, I definitely recommend the guided tour.

Before sunset: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4776.jpg
After sunset:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4787.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4784.jpg

From Plaça Espanya, I figured out the bus map and took a bus back to the apartment. That evening, we had dinner at El Gran Cafe at C/ Avinyó, 9; just off the main tourist drag of Carrer Ferran. http://www.grupcacheiro.com/restaurantes2.asp?id=8 This restaurant is mentioned in Maribel's guide.

I had a Fisherman's soup to start (tastes like Bouillabaisse), and a rocket/mozzarella salad as entree. N had a salad then a risotto. Food is pretty good. Our bill was €36.

I'd always though the Mies Van der Rohe pavilion was primarily something to see for the exterior. Thanks to your info, I'll check inside next time I'm in BCN. Looking forward to more.

What a wonderful report, yk. I am right beside you. Tell us more.

Again, thanks for all your kind comments. I know I get overly verbose with my TRs, but I hope it benefits others in the future; plus I enjoy reliving my trip!

JulieVikmanis -
I'd always though the Mies Van der Rohe pavilion was primarily something to see for the exterior.

You're right about that, as one can see quite a bit from the outside; but it's impossible to see several of the walls inside the building or in the back unless you enter.

Day 3 - Liceu, Palau Güell, Boqueria, CaixaForum
Part I

Before the trip, I was ambivalent about taking a guided tour of Gran Teatre del Liceu, but I ended up going. This turns out to be one of the *highlight* of my trip!

http://www.liceubarcelona.cat/cms/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=44&lang=en

Okay, before I talk about the tour... N wasn't interested so she went to visit the Cathedral instead. On my way to Liceu, I made a detour to Plaça Reial to see the lampposts by Gaudi - his first public commission. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4790.jpg

Liceu is the main opera house in Barcelona; burnt down in 1994 and reopened in 1999. The fire destroyed the stage and the main auditorium, but left the entrance foyer and the private club - Cercle del Liceu - intact.

English tour is offered once a day at 10am; lasts 70 minutes and costs €8,70. You canNOT prebook a tour in advance.

On the tour, we learned about the interesting pasts/history of Liceu. The horseshoe-shaped auditorium is beautiful, and feels very intimate (no photos allowed). I was very surprised to learn that Liceu is the largest horseshoe-shaped opera house in Europe, and is the second largest opera house in Europe (after Paris Bastille). It seats 2300.

With the rebuilding, they were able to extend the size of the stage and bring in modern technology. Each seat (except seats in the front rows of each level) has its own LED surtitle screen, with choice of Catalan, Spanish, or English. In many of the boxes, the view of the stage is very limited; so there are small TV screens in each box that shows the action on stage.

We then went to the main entrance foyer and the Room of Mirrors, both of which are original from 1847. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4794.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4795.jpg

The best part of the tour (apart from the auditorium), is a visit to the private club, Cercle del Liceu. It was started by the original owners of the theatre, as a place for the bourgeoisie to meet, talk business, relax etc. To this day, it remains a somewhat private club. Potential members have to be either from a famous family, or be invited to join by 4 existing members. So no chance for me to be a member . Initial entry fee is a few thousand euro; membership fee is 1000 euro per year.

Since it's still a private club today, even if you have tickets to a performance at the Liceu, you cannot visit the club. Therefore, this guided tour is quite unique.

We visited 4 rooms of the club on the main floor (no photos allowed here). The first 2 rooms are of fairly typical 19th century style, with several paintings by Ramon Casas. The 3rd room is of Modernisme style, and the 4th room is a gem. All the walls are covered by paintings by Ramon Casas (12 total). They were specially commissioned for this space. Each painting depicts a scene related to music. The room is quite dark, with spotlights shining on the canvas, making the paintings glow in the dark.

Overall, I really enjoyed this tour. If you are an opera fan and/or Ramon Casas fan, don't miss this.

N met up with me after the tour and we went to Palau Güell. This turns out to be a HUGE disappointment.
http://www.palauguell.cat/fitxa.php?idioma=Eng&idm=12&idsm=0

When I was in Barcelona last year, Palau Güell wasn't open for visit. It's undergoing restoration which will finish in 2011. Currently it is open partially and is free entry. Well, what is open is really just the basement with not much to see. There is a short video which shows the rest of the house.

Palau Güell entrance http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4799.jpg
Close-ups of wrought iron work
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4800.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4797.jpg
Basement http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4804.jpg

Day 3 To be continued...

Continued:
Day 3 - Liceu, Palau Güell, Boqueria, CaixaForum
Part II

After Palau Güell, we walked up La Rambla towards Boqueria. Armed with my new Ruta del Modernisme guidebook, we looked for Hotel Espanya (Sant Pau, 9-11), hoping to check out the restaurant: http://www.hotelespanya.com/eng/restaurantes.htm (click on the photo thumbnails)
However, the entire hotel is under restoration currently.

Along La Rambla, we saw Casa Doctor Genove (Rambla 77) http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4806.jpg and the famous Escriba which used to be Antigua Casa Figueras (Rambla 83) http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4809.jpg

Boqueria wasn't too crowded during this Thursday lunch hour; but getting a seat at Pinotxo is still impossible. After circling around all the stalls with our mouths watering, we decided that we will pick up some ingredients to take back to the apartment and make lunch. N isn't thrilled at the idea of cooking in the apartment, so we bought ready-to-eat foods.

In the end, we got: jamón serrano, soft manchego cheese, 2 types of Spanish olives, whole wheat baguette, arugula, and tomatoes. All these cost about €8 and we had leftover!

It is currently mushroom season, so many of the stalls have heaps of fresh mushrooms: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4810.jpg

By the time we finished lunch at the apartment, it was quite late. And I was tired too - from both food coma and from jetlag. Therefore, instead of going to a major sight, I decided to head back to Plaça Espanya to visit CaixaForum. N went to MNAC instead.

http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/english/caixaforumbarcelona/caixaforumbarcelona_en.html

CaixaForum (free) has revolving exhibits. What interests me more actually, is the building itself. It was a textile factory designed by Puig i Cadafalch for owner Casimir Casaramona. The factory opened in 1913 and was the first factory in Barcelona to have electricity. The buildings are made of brick, with some ceramic tiles and wrought iron decoration. Inside, there is a small exhibition area focused on this modernisme building.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4815.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4818.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4819.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4824.jpg

Since the bank la Caixa took over and rehabbed the building, a new entrance and underground new visitors center are added. In the new foyer, there is a wall drawing by Sol LeWitt http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4821.jpg

One can climb up to the building's roof terrace for a better view of the former factory; plus it has a good view of MNAC.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4831.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4833.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4835.jpg

One of the current exhibition is on Islamic art from the Aga Khan Museum collections. Many of the works (ceramics, illuminated manuscripts etc) are very intricate.

There is also a permanent installation of a work by Joseph Beuys: http://obrasocial.lacaixa.es/nuestroscentros/english/caixaforumbarcelona/josephbeuys_en.html
A bit odd - a room lined with lead with a lightbulb plus 2 silver rings hanging from the ceiling.

For dinner, we wandered around our apt neighborhood and stumbled upon a very local tapas bar called El Tropezón (corner of C/Regomir and C/ d'En Cignas). It's very no frills but we like the fact that it's frequented by locals only. Prices are a lot lower than the more touristy tapas bars - and we ordered way too much tonight. El Tropezón is famous for its La Bomba (The Bomb?). It's a bit like arancini; except that the filling is potatoes and the size is bigger.

We shared a la bomba, a spinach empanada, braised eggplant with tomato sauce, Tortilla Española, fried calamari, and cod fritters. The last 3 dishes are especially huge in size; there must be at least 20 cod fritter balls and 2 dozen calamari. Dinner was €28 and we took most of Tortilla Española home.

Everything looks so beautiful, I love the photos.

Welcome back. Did you enjoy the Teshigahara documentary? I saw it at the Film Forum when it was revived there recently. I think the score is by Takemitsu. You should check out "Woman in the Dunes" next.

I'd be interested in seeing the Pavilion again. Now older and wiser, having seen the Johnson Glass House and Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye, I wonder what my reaction to the Pavilion would be. What did your tour say about the furniture? Wonder what the story about that is -- how much of it actually designed for the Pavilion, etc. So much of it is still ubiquitous these days.

If memory serves, there are interesting photos by Jeff Wall with the Pavilion as backdrop. I think there could be some famous photos by Thomas Ruff too. Speaking of photos, there are some by Eikoh Hosoe on Park Guell. There's a lot that inspires in Barcelona.

"You should check out "Woman in the Dunes" next."

Unrelated to Barcelona...."Woman in the Dunes" (1964) is an absolute masterpiece , a must for film lover.

Thank you so much for your trip report. It sounds like there will be some good vegetarian tapas too! I can't wait to see Barcelona, we leave in June!

Enjoying your trip report and looking forward to more. We hope to visit Barcelona next year.

111op - yes, the Teshigahara film was lovely. I got the 2 DVD set: first disc is the film and second disc is an assortment of other related short films/documentary. One of the documentary is a BBC production made/hosted by Robert Hughes, who is also the author of the book Barcelona I'm trying to finish. It was a nice combo.

The only furniture inside the Mies van der Rohe pavilion, is... you guess it... the Barcelona chairs. Otherwise, it's just a black carpet and a red curtain drape. The combination of the black carpet, red drape, plus the yellow oynx wall = color of Germany flag.

[BTW, I sat in one of the Barcelona chairs for about 5 minutes while waiting for my English tour - and then the guard saw me and told me I couldn't sit in it. Later I saw a small sign asking visitors not to sit in those chairs. Ooops. ]

Mies van der Rohe also planned the lights within the frosted glass wall, seen in this photo: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4784.jpg
The outdoor lights behind the bench are modern addition - Mies van der Rohe did not put lights there.

Day 4 - In the footsteps of Modernisme
Part I

Today is my BIG Modernisme day. I covered A LOT of ground: I walked between 7-8 miles at least. Instead of giving you a turn-by-turn boring account of where I went, I'll do a brief account of my "route", then list the buildings I visited with links to photos.

I walked almost non-stop from 10am-6pm except for lunch. Majority of the sites I stopped at were exterior visits only. I went to the big 3: Sagrada Familia, Casa Milà, Casa Batlló; but I didn't pay admission to enter to any of them, because I did just that last year. Instead, I gave the discount vouchers of the Big 3 from the Ruta del Modernisme guidebook to N, who went to these places today as well.

In addition, I took 2 guided tours which I will describe first.

Route
I started at Hospital de Sant Pau, down to Sagrada Familia, due West to the few blocks (Valencia/Mallorca) just E of Passeig de Gracia, then up along Ave Diagonal to Rambla Catalunya. After lunch, I went south along Passeig de Gracia until I arrived at Plaça Catalunya. At Plaça Catalunya, I joined the walking tour which took me via Palau de la Musica Catalana all the way back to Diagonal metro stop; then I walked back to the apartment.

Tours
Tour #1 - Hospital de Sant Pau
http://www.santpau.es/patr_visites.asp
English tour @ 10:15am & 12:15pm daily. Fee: €4,50; 50% off with RdM voucher

I was the only person who showed up for the 10:15am tour. The guide was EXCELLENT - very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. I actually did visit Hospital de Sant Pau last year but I didn't take a tour. I love this place so much that I just HAVE to revisit again.

The architect for Hospital de Sant Pau was Domènech i Montaner. He also designed Palau de la Musica Catalana. These 2 buildings together are designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The hospital was known as Holy Cross hospital; the name Saint Paul was added when the current "new" complex was begun in 1905. The hospital benefactor was a man named Pau Gil - he donated $$$$$ for the building of the new hospital, so the "Saint Paul" part was added to the hospital's name.
You can see the main building and a sculpture of Pau Gil in the foreground: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4870.jpg
Close-up of the hospital crest (L is Holy Cross; R is flag of Catalonia) http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4871.jpg

Apart from having the hospital named after him (or the saint that bore the same name), there's dedication to Pau Gil everywhere you look. There are 4 main symbols used among the decorations:
a cross (for Holy Cross)
vertical stripes (for Catalonian flag)
G (for Gil)
P (for Pau)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4869.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4855.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4852.jpg

The big entry building is the administrative building. The entrance atrium is decorated with ceramic tiles and flowery sculpture elements http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4867.jpg

On the guided tour, I was allowed to visit the conference room on the first floor (US 2nd) of the admin building. It is not open to the public otherwise. From the conference room, one gets a nice view of the hospital complex, esp the surgery pavilion http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4843.jpg

Decoration inside the conference room is similar to the Palau de la Musica, but less over-the-top: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4844.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4847.jpg

The rest of the hospital campus is made up of individual pavilions, each for a different type of illnesses. The campus is also divided into men & women pavilions; they are mirror image of one another. While the pavilions are separate (to avoid transmission of diseases), they are linked by passageways underground.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4851.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4852.jpg

The hospital complex ceased to function as a real hospital this year. A brand new hospital was built in 2003 and the services have been gradually moved to the new hospital - located just behind this campus. The buildings are all undergoing restoration at this time, expected to complete in 2018. The future use of the buildings in unclear at this time; but it'll be dedicated to culture.

IMHO, the Hospital de Sant Pau is a must-see sight in Barcelona.

Day 4 To be continued...

Day 4 - In the footsteps of Modernisme
Part II

Tour #2 - Modernisme Walk
http://bcnshop.barcelonaturisme.com/Barcelona-Walks-Modernisme/_vf-SMlY1yIuKQTV1aq49kAo1OWJ1ZmyqsW8lMeMFwjmBy4iHT-xzYQ

Okay, I'm jumping ahead with this Day 4. I took the Hospital de Sant Pau at the beginning of the day (10:15am), and took this walking tour at the end of the day (4-6pm). I have visited most of the stops on this tour earlier in the day between 12-4; but I wanted some in-depth information on Modernisme.

This tour is only offered twice a week (Fri/Sat) in late afternoon. Here is the route: http://bcnshop.barcelonaturisme.com/imgfiles/ecv/bwt/PlanoModernisme.pdf

Cost is €12; €9,60 with voucher from RdM

Overall, I'd say it's a decent intro tour to Modernisme; but I was disappointed because it's not as in-depth as I'd like.


~ I learned some background history of Barcelona
~ There are a few places covered on this tour that I didn't know about
~ The guide uses a microphone/earphones system so there's no trouble hearing her at all


~ Dusk/Sunset is around the half-way point of this tour, so it's difficult to photograph many places due to low light
~ Our guide/tour moved fairly slowly, so we actually did not visit all the spots listed on the map

It's important to keep in mind that this tour only visits the exterior of the buildings. One really needs another additional day (or 2) to visit the interior of many of them.

Day 4 To be continued...

YK - this is great. I wish you went before me!

I'm enjoying your report. Sounds like you had a great trip. Weren't you thinking of staying home because you had concert tickets? Good call.

Hi Nikki, I'm still sad about missing the concert (Berlin Phil/Simon Rattle playing Brahms No.3 & 4). He said it was the best concert he's ever attended.

Who said so (who's the "he")?

NYT reviewers were favorable for the Carnegie Hall run. I went to the Schoenberg "Chamber Symphony" and "Erwartung" and Symphony no. 2 coupling. I liked the concert, but there were no encores. No. 2 is also my favorite Brahms symphony. I've been listening to the Abbado recording this weekend.

Anyway, I don't really follow recommendations of the Brahms cycle, but you can buy a CD of Carlos Kleiber's recording of Symphony no. 4 (throw in the famous recording of Beethoven 5 & 7 if you don't have it). It will give you a cheap fix.

You can continue your Spain theme with Luis Bunuel's "Las Hurdes" if you haven't seen it yet:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023037/

I thought the music was Brahms's Symphony no. 3, but imdb claims no. 4. I haven't seen this in years.

What I regret missing from reading reviews is Haitink's Mahler 9 a few weeks ago. The reviewer likened it to Karajan's valedictory and highly praised performances of the piece in the 80s.

So far I haven't found anything on the internet that says Brahms no. 3 was used in "Las Hurdes," but as an illustration that you can't believe everything on the internet, this link claims the use of Brahms's Symphony *no. 5* in "Las Hurdes"....

http://archive.sensesofcinema.com/contents/05/37/surrealist_documentary.html

Funny.

Who said so (who's the "he")?

Ooops, I didn't proof read. "He" is my husband. I had bought tickets for the concert before the trip was planned. My cousin took my seat.

Obviously, my husband is no music critic. After I got back from the trip, he kept insisting that he heard Brahms No. 3 & 5 at the concert . I told him that there is no Symphony No. 5, but he didn't believe me until we looked it up in his concert programme booklet.

I have a CD of No. 4 with BPO/Karajan. I can listen to it over and over again.

That's funny.

Amazon likes the Walter Brahms no. 2 and 3, which I have also.

I think that I may still have the 1980s Karajan/BPO no. 2 on tape (there are at least two Karajan/BPO cycles, if I remember correctly).

Day 4 - In the footsteps of Modernisme
Part III

Sights I stopped by
Hospital Sant Pau (described above)

Sagrada Familia
Needs no introduction. N visited on her own early in the morning. She arrived before 10am and encountered no line. She also took the elevator up the Gaudi facade; again NO LINE either! As I mentioned before, I only walked by it but didn't enter.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4872.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4875.jpg

Casa Macaya (Passeig de Sant Joan 108; by Puig i Cadafalch; 1901)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4882.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4883.jpg

Casa LaMadrid (Girona 113; Domènech i Montaner; 1902)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4886.jpg

Casa Granell (Girona 122; Granell i Manresa; 1901-03)
Exterior: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4893.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4894.jpg
Entry hallway:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4890.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4888.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4892.jpg

Casa Thomas (Mallorca 291-293; Domènech i Montaner; 1895)
The street & 1st levels are the showroom for design firm B.D. Ediciones de Diseño.
Exterior: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4898.jpg
Interior: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4902.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4903.jpg

Palau Montaner (Mallorca 278; Domènech i Montaner; 1896) This place is open for guided visits on weekends.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4905.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4906.jpg

Palau del Baro de Quadras (Diagonal 373; Puig i Cadafalch; 1904)
It is now home of Casa Asia, free entry. This is one of my favorite mansions.
Exterior: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4928.jpg
Interior: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4908.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4913.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4916.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4926.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4925.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4921.jpg

To be continued...

thanks for the wonderful pics.
We once walked by a beautiful building, like the ones you photographed, it was a residence with a concierge - he let us take a look inside...
One can only envy someone actually living in such splendid works of art.

Day 4 - In the footsteps of Modernisme
Part IV

Sights I stopped by

Casa Comalat (Diagonal 442; Valeri i Popurull; 1909)
Highly influenced by Gaudi:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4933.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4936.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4937.jpg

Palau Robert Courtyard (Passeig de Gracia 107)
This is not a modernisme building, but there is a neighboring courtyard which is a nice respite from all the people and traffic with benches to rest your feet. It is mentioned in this recent NYT travel article: http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/travel/01explorer.html

Casa Mila (the last work by Gaudi except Sagrada Familia; needs no description)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4940.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4941.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4943.jpg
The interior courtyard can be entered for free; part of laCaixa's exhibition
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5005.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5000.jpg

Casa Casas-Carbo (Passeig de Gracia 96; Rovira i Rabassa; 1894)
This building is home to the popular kitchen/interior store Vinçon. However, in the past, it was the home of painter Ramon Casas and writer Santiago Rusinol. Even if you're not interested in shopping, it's worthwhile to go upstairs to the first (US 2nd) floor, as the store retains many of the original structural & decorative elements; including a fireplace and mosiac floors.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4989.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4986.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4991.jpg

Mansana de la Discordia (Block of Discord) consists of:
1. Casa Lleo Morera (Passeig de Gracia 35; Domènech i Montaner; 1905)
Lleo = Lion; Morera = mulberry. Therefore, one can see the facade decorated with lions and mulberry bushes
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4965.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4967.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4966.jpg

2. Casa Amatller (Passeig de Gracia 41; Puig i Cadafalch; 1898)
This was designed for Mr. Amatller, who owns a chocolate factory. The building has a stepped gable influenced by Flemish designs. The ground floor has a shop which sells souvenirs as well as chocolates by the Amatller factory. Upstairs are being restored and can be visited with advance booking. Unfortunately, I didn't contact them far in advance enough to get in on a tour. http://www.amatller.org/index.php?id=114&L=2
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4949.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4950.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4951.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4953.jpg
Stained glass skylight http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4954.jpg
Glass door http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4961.jpg

3. Casa Battlo (Passeig de Gracia 43; Gaudi; 1904)
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4946.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4984.jpg

3 stops that are located in Barri Gotic
1) 4 Gats Restaurant (Montsio 3bis; Puig i Cadafalch; 1896) http://www.4gats.com/
This was where Picasso started his artistic career. It was a meeting place for artists, and where he had his first individual exhibition. Many of the paintings and drawings from that exhibition are now in the Picasso Museum.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4968.jpg

2) Palau de la Musica Catalana (Domènech i Montaner; 1905)
I highly recommend taking a guided tour of this gem. We attended a concert here the following night.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4971.jpg

3) Texidor shop (Ronda Sant Pere, 16)
In Barcelona, about 100 shops/stores are designated as "historic"; of the 100, 20 are of Modernisme style. Each one of this shop has a plaque on the pavement in front, designating its legacy.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4974.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4976.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_4979.jpg

Food
With such beautiful architecture and decorative elements, food seemed unimportant on a sightseeing day like this. However, I did stop for lunch while in L'Eixample. I had every intention to eat at Cervecería Catalana, given all the rave reviews it gets here. However, while walking on Diagonal, I got caught up by the menu at El Mussol (Diagonal 488). They currently offers a special mushroom menu for the month of November. Myself being a huge mushroom fan (esp after seeing all the fresh mushrooms at Boqueria yesterday), I just could not resist.

The special mushroom menu is in Catalan only, but the server was kind enough to translate for me. I chose a dish of Catalan grilled sausage with mixed field mushrooms. I did ask for the sausage to be well done, so that came out a bit dry. The mixed field mushrooms were great with a lovely foresty flavor. This dish + Pan con Tomate + water + coffee = €14,50.
http://www.mussol.angrup.com/mussol-restaurant.html

N & I ate in for dinner. I stopped by Mercat Santa Caterina on the way home: bought some argula, jamon serrano and Catalan goat cheese (really delicious), plus we had lots of leftover from the day before. So, it was a dinner of salad, goat cheese, baguette, Spanish olives, and Tortilla Española.

This is End of Day 4 ; hope I didn't bore you guys to tears...

yk -certainly you could never bore anyone to tears! I hope to visit Barcelona in June along with Madrid. This will be my first visit to Spain. Your reports (I am also reading your 2008 report) are fascinating. I appreaciate all the time you have taken to make them so detailed. I also love your photos.

Susan

This is wonderful yk, keep posting!

I'm glad some of you are enjoying the photos. Some of these buildings (such as Casa Granell) had the front doors open, so I wandered in and took the pics. I also entered a few other less elaborate buildings, but with the low-light setting inside, it was difficult to capture with my point-and-shoot.

I did get chased out by a guard at Casa Comalat. I was looking inside the entry hallway through the door, then someone came out, so I sneaked in for a quick look (it was gorgeous). The guard saw me from his office, quickly ran out and yelled at me.

P.S. jerseysusan, good luck with trip planning; and thanks for reading my TRs (they tend to be really long with too much detail...)

yk - thanks this is the first European trip I am planning on my own. I love to do the research and can't wait to go.

Susan

Day 5 - Green Space Day: Parc de la Ciutadella, Montjuïc (again!), Parc Güell; plus a Rendezvous
Part I

Shortly after I booked my plane tickets and apartment, I found out that a college friend of mine (and her friend) will be in Spain around the same time. They live in Hong Kong; I live in Boston. Needless to say, we don't get to see each other often, so we tried to arrange a rendezvous in Barcelona. It so happened that they are flying home today from Barcelona (BCN/CDG/HKG), so their plan was to arrive late morning via AVE from Madrid, spend a few hours with me, then head to the airport for their evening flight.

Since their train arrives at 11:30am at Barcelona-Sants, I can't schedule any major sightseeing in the AM. So I decided to walk over to Parc de la Ciutadella, just east of El Born.

En route, I stopped in Santa María del Mar. What a beautiful church! http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5013.jpg

Parc de la Ciutadella
It is quite a nice park; I was longing for some green space and fresh air anyway. It is also home to the zoo, and a few buildings that were built for the 1888 World Exhibition, as the exhibition was held in the Arc de Triomf area. Today being Saturday morning, there were locals doing TaiChi in the park.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5017.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5021.jpg

Within the park is also the Castell dels Tres Dragons (Castle of 3 dragons). It was designed by Domènech i Montaner as a cafe-restaurant for the World Exhibition. Today, it is home to the zoological museum. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5027.jpg

Towards the northern end of the park is the rather gaudy Cascada fountain. Constructed in the 1870s, the main designer was assisted by a very young Gaudi.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5028.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5029.jpg

From the park, I made my way to the Arc de Triomf, which was the main entrance for the 1888 exhibition.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5037.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5044.jpg

Montjuïc
I met up my friends at Sants station without a hitch. Since we had a few hours to kill, I decided to take them up to Montjuïc via Plaça Espanya. It was a beautiful day and it would be nice to head there for the view. [They were in Barcelona for 2 days earlier in their trip but they didn't go to Montjuïc.]

We sat around for a while, then ate a really nice lunch at Oleum, the restaurant inside MNAC. http://www.mnac.es/visitamuseu/vis_serveis.jsp?lan=003

This is absolutely the best meal I've had on this trip (and most expensive, of course), and I highly recommend this place. First of all is the view! It's on the 2nd floor of the restaurant with huge windows overlooking Barcelona/Plaça Espanya. Second of all is the food.

For lunch, it offers a €26 3-course lunch (inclu a drink). One can pretty much choose most of the items from the regular menu with few exceptions.

I chose a pumpkin & mushroom risotto for first course. When it arrived, there were 6 small cubes of food on top of the risotto which resembled foie gras. And yes, it was foie gras. Just lovely.

For entree, I had the swordfish carpaccio + scallops tartare. Again, a wonderful dish with fresh seafood. One friend had guinea fowl stuffed with mushrooms; the other had grilled hake. I tried both and they were excellent too.

I chose a very adventurous dessert: chopped papaya topped with parmesan icecream, then drizzled with melted hot chocolate! What a strange combo I thought, but it worked. Never had parmesan ice cream but it was really good.

Day 5 to be continued...

Day 5 - Green Space Day: Parc de la Ciutadella, Montjuïc (again!), Parc Güell; plus a Rendezvous
Part II

Casa Vicens & Parc Güell
After seeing my friends off at Sants station, I took Bus 32 which goes from Sants to very close to Parc Güell. However, I got off a few stops early in order to stop by Casa Vicens.

Casa Vicens is one of the first commission Gaudi received. The owner was a tile manufacturer, so the house facades are covered by lots of different patterned tiles. It's still a private residence, but I saw footage of the amazing interior in a documentary. The wrought iron gate has the Catalan palm tree motif.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5068.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5063.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5072.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5067.jpg

I arrived at Parc Güell a little after 4pm on this Saturday afternoon. I'd say about 1 million people were there (okay, maybe a bit of an exaggeration), but it was very crowded. Last time I went early on a Sunday morning and that was much nicer. Today was so crowded with tourists that I couldn't even get close to the Gaudi lizard/dragon sculpture.

When I was here last time, I spent 2-3 hours here, climbed up the hill almost all the way to the top and explored many parts of the park. Today, I was tired and wanted to just sit and relax. As a result, I spent most of my time hanging out on the Serpentine bench people-watching, breathing in fresh air, and listening to the free music.

A couple shots I took: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5075.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5080.jpg

Serpentine bench and view:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5091.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5083.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5081.jpg

I decided to stick around until dusk and see if I could catch a nice sunset. Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5101.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5097.jpg

Since I had such a big lunch today, I finished up the leftover food for dinner back at the apartment.

Concert at Palau de la Musica Catalana
N & I got tickets for a classical music concert tonight at the Palau de la Musica Catalana, which starts at 9pm! The cheapest tickets are €22 but have no view of the stage, so we got the next price up for €27.

Our main goal was to see the auditorium and enjoy the ambiance; more so than for the music. The orchestra was from Ukraine, and the programme consists of mostly early 20th Russian composer (Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov).

This is my 3rd time inside the music hall, and I'm still wow'ed by this place. There is just so much ornamentation: sculptures, stained glass, ceramics, mosaics covering every inch of this hall.

The music, OTOH, was just mediocre. I know I'm going to sound like a snob, but since I live in Boston, I go to the BSO fairly often. Listening to this concert by the Ukraine orchestra makes me realize how *great* the BSO is. I have gotten spoiled by the BSO and take them for granted. Basically, the 2 longer pieces in the first half of the concert (Scheherazade and Capriccio Espagnol) were at the edge of falling apart; the conductor could barely keep it together. The horns had frequent slip-ups. I used to play French Horn in high school so I know it's a difficult instrument to play, but they simply made way too many entry mistakes.

hi yk!

welcome back! i'm loving your report...more please!

I'm having some intermittent internet connection problems today... I hope to finish the TR before Thanksgiving.

[Hi lilaki!]

I forgot to mention, on Day 5 when I met up with my friends, N went to Colonia Guell in the outskirts of the city. She said it was beautiful there, esp the Crypt (which offers guided tours), and quite peaceful with few tourists. It's on my list for my next visit to Barcelona!

Day 6 - Pavellons Güell, Parc de Palau Reial, Museu Picasso, and a happy accident
Part I

N & I headed to the Pedralbes neighborhood in the morning to visit Pavellons Güell - where the famous Dragon gate by Gaudi is.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5103.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5104.jpg

The Pavellons offers English guided tours at 10:15 & 12:15 Fri through Monday. We were there just after 10:15am, waited around for over 15 minutes and saw no one. Finally, a guard came out and said the guide didn't show up.

However, the guard told me that I could enter to see the interior for half price (€2,50 instead of €5). But since my RdM has a 50% off voucher, she said I could just pay €1,25 instead.

N wanted to see the Monastery of Pedralbes, so we split up here.

The Pavellons Güell complex is fairly small - the entrance gate flanked by 2 buildings (gatekeepers house and stable/carriage house), and a small garden. But... the cupolas of both buildings are decorated with trencadís; these are the first buildings by Gaudi that have this decorative element.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5108.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5118.jpg

The buildings also have a mudejar flair to them: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5110.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5112.jpg

The Dragon gate and the pillar that supports it are quite fascinating in the concept. Gaudi got his inspiration from the poem L'Atlantida by poet Verdaguer. In a part of the poem, it tells the story of Hercules trying to steal the golden oranges in the Garden of Hesperides. A dragon stands watch by the orange tree but Hercules slays the dragon after the stole the fruit.
You can see the orange tree and its fruit on the top of the gate pillar: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5132.jpg

Stable supported by parabolic arches: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5115.jpg

The garden is small, but filled with this flowering plant (can someone tell me what this is)?
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5120.jpg

Parc de Palau Reial is right next to Pavellons Güell. Having visited multiple parks on this trip, this one is absolutely my *favorite* park. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5156.jpg

Inside the park, is a small Hercules fountain designed by Gaudi: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5146.jpg

At the northern end of the park sits the Palau Reial de Pedralbes. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5150.jpg It is now home to 3 museums (all in the same building): Museum of Ceramics; Museum of Decorative Arts; and Museum of Textile. http://www.dhub-bcn.cat/en/museus Admission is €4,20; good for all 3 museums.

They are a bit disappointing to me. I was hoping for a heavy focus on Modernisme but that is few and far between. Rather, the ceramics & decorative arts museums are heavy on Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque periods. I'd say this museum is not a must-see, unless you are very into these particular objects.

When I emerged from the museums, I was tired even though it was only around lunchtime. I wanted to go back to the apt to rest; OTOH, it's such a beautiful day (the best weather we've had so far - see my picture links) that it seems a real shame to head home. I thought about going back to l'Eixample to stroll among the beautiful houses.

In the end, my tiredness won. I took the metro to Liceu, partly thinking of stopping at Boqueria to pick up some food to eat back at the apartment. What I didn't realize is that Boqueria is closed on Sunday (today)!

Quite disappointed, I wandered among the small side streets of Barri Gotic. This turned out to be very enjoyable because the shops along the side streets are closed as well, so I got to wander in empty streets and absorb the ambiance.

I suddenly decided that I wanted to head towards the Cathedral Sq. Not sure what prompted me to do that as I didn't plan to visit the Cathedral - certainly not on a Sunday. When I arrived, what a happy accident & pleasant surprise! As I said, today is Sunday, and the locals were doing their Sardana dance in Plaça de la Seu in front of the Cathedral! I arrived just in time to catch the last 5 minutes of it (ended around 1:30pm). Here's a short clip of video that I took: http://s406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/?action=view&current=MVI_5160.flv

On the way back to the apartment, I stopped at a ready-to-eat store called Nostrum (Via Laietana 39) to get some to-go food. It's a bit like Pret a Manger; but complete with apps to entrees to desserts. Every dish comes in a microwavable container, and there are seating in the store with microwaves, so one can eat there. I prefer to go back to the apartment so that I can take advantage of our balcony! I also picked up a dessert pastry from a bakery shop nearby.

My lunch was: cream of mushroom soup, spinach omelette, and a puff pastry filled with cream (approx €8 total):
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5162.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Barcelona%20Nov%202009/IMG_5164.jpg

To be continued...

Day 6 - Pavellons Güell, Parc de Palau Reial, Museu Picasso, and a happy accident
Part II

As mentioned above, today is Sunday, which means the Picasso Museum is free after 3pm. It is open until 8pm; so N & I decided to head over around 5:30pm, to avoid the crowds at 3pm.

I took a nap after my lovely lunch, so I felt re-energized for the museum. On the way over, we passed by Santa Maria del Mar again - and we heard organ music - so we went in and enjoyed the music for several minutes.

Picasso Museum
http://w3.bcn.es/V66/Home/V66XMLHomeLinkPl/0,4589,417470534_417617303_3,00.html

I'm not too fond of Picasso; hard to say why but mostly because his massive oeuvre overwhelms me. Everytime I attend a Picasso exhibition with 200 or 300 of his paintings on view, I get exhausted after looking at 50.

Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this Picasso Museum. It focuses on his early career; which is much more manageable. It allows me to understand him better, since this museum starts from the very beginning.

I also enjoyed the Las Meninas series; esp having seen the "real thing" at the Prado last year.

The crowd at the museum was tolerable at this hour. We were there from around 6pm-7:30pm. If you want to go during this free admission period, I recommend going late.

For dinner, N & I returned to El Tropezón, where we had dinner on Day 3. We've learned from our experience (ordering too much), so we only got 4 tapas dishes this time: La Bomba, spinach empanada, cod fritters, and a salad. N had a sangria (which is enormous - it came in a beer stein). Dinner was €22 total.

Really enjoying this, yk! The video is great- stumbling on stuff like that is so much fun. I can't tell you how much I love these photos- I'm just amazed at the colours of the Modernist buildings, so soft and pastel. I love the dragon gate.

I've been wanting to go to Madrid for so long, to see the museums- now I see I can't possibly do that without going Barcelona as well. Argh! But this is a pretty good substitute in the meantime

yk- this is an amazing trip report! I've never thought of going to Spain but with your wonderful photos and descriptions (there is NO SUCH THING as too much detail!) I'm wondering if in a few years this will be on my travel radar.

Thanks for sharing.

Apres - so true! I'm so used to over-planning my every move on trips (due to OCD) that I never allow myself for any serendipity. It was so lovely to stumble upon the Sardana.

Rosa, thanks for reading!

Final Day - Day 7
Day Trip to Montserrat

How to get there?
The R5 train departs from Plaça Espanya (the commuter station section, not metro section) once an hour. The journey takes 1hr 4 minutes. *Make sure you double-check the train schedule before your trip.*

There are two stops that serve Montserrat:
a) Montserrat-Aeri stop if you're taking the Cable Car up
b) Monistrol de Montserrat stop if you're taking the rack railway up

It's crucial you get off at the correct stop, or you'll be in quite a bit of trouble.

Anyway, you get off at one of the 2 stops in Montserrat, then you take either the cable car OR rack railway up to the monastery. Once up in the monastery, there are 2 funiculars you can take to get to other parts of the mountain.

Ticket Options
For the casual tourists, it's best to purchase either the TransMontserrat ticket or the Tot Montserrat ticket. They are on sale at all the Barcelona Visitors Centers. They can also be purchased at Plaça Espanya, but you "lose out" on the free metro ride (see below) http://www.montserratvisita.com/archivos/4070-242-MenFitxaFitxer5/tottransr.pdf

TransMonterrat ticket (€22) includes:
• r/t metro ride between any metro station & Plaça Espanya
• r/t train between Plaça Espanya & Montserrat
• Cable car OR rack railway up to Monastery (you have to choose one or the other when you purchase the ticket)
• Sant Joan & Santa Cova funicular (unlimited rides)
• 20-min "virtual tour" in the AV room

Tot Montserrat ticket (€36,95) includes all the above plus
• lunch (3-course + bread + drink)
• Museum of Montserrat

We bought the Tot Montserrat ticket with Cable Car. In retrospect, we probably could have just gotten the TransMontserrat ticket and pay for our lunch and skip the museum.

I recommend the Tot Montserrat ticket if:
1) You plan to spend the ENTIRE day there, and
2) You have a healthy appetite

To be continued...

Final Day - Day 7
Day Trip to Montserrat

Useful Websites for Montserrat
Official Montserrat website: http://www.montserratvisita.com/
Rack Railway (Cremallera) http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/eng/index.asp
Cable Car http://www.aeridemontserrat.com/home.htm
Santa Cova funicular http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/eng/funicular_santacova.asp
Sant Joan funicular http://www.cremallerademontserrat.cat/website_cremallera/eng/funicular_santjoan.asp
Escolania de Montserrat (the music school & boys choir that performs daily in the Basilica) http://www.escolania.cat/index.php?lg=3

Helpful Tips
• Montserrat is worth an entire day
• Try to go on a nice day (the totmontserrat and transmontserrat tickets are good for ANY day)
• As mentioned above, buy your ticket ahead of time from a tourist visitors center so that you can take advantage of the free r/t metro rides.
• Get to Plaça Espanya early - the train has lots of standing room but not many seats. You don't want to stand the entire trip
• Check the last run times for funiculars, rack railway, and cable car. You do NOT want to be stranded!
• The boys choir sings in the Basilica at 1pm; *do not miss this*. Get to the Basilica early if you want a seat. They sing for 10-15 minutes
• If you choose the Cable Car option, beware that on your return train trip back to Barcelona, you may not get a seat, because the train stops at Monistrol de Montserrat station first (where the rack railway folks get on)
• Museum of Montserrat is not a must-see; but it has some nice paintings including a Caravaggio of St Jerome
• The lunch included with Tot Montserrat ticket is served at "the cafeteria". The food is really mediocre. You may do better if you try a different restaurant (which also has a self-service section).
• Wear sensible shoes if you plan on doing some hiking. There are several hiking trails from the top of Sant Joan funicular, and the trails are not paved - gravel paths.
• Bring a hat, sunscreen, and dress in layers; esp if you plan to hike. Also bring water & power bar for the hikes.

To be continued...

Bookmarking for a leisurely read. DH and I enjoyed Barcelona very much. It's always fun to return vicariously. Thanks, yk!

Final Day - Day 7
Day Trip to Montserrat

We went on a Monday - took the 9:36am train out of Plaça Espanya. As mentioned above, we picked the Cable Car option, so we got off at the Montserrat-Aeri station (the first of the 2 stations serving Montserrat.

[Cable car takes 5 minutes; Rack Railway takes 20 minutes.]

It was a BEAUTIFUL day - deep blue sky with not a cloud in sight. From the cable car base station, we get to appreciate the location of the monastery. You can barely identify the monastery among the rocks in the mountain.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5176.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5174.jpg

The Cable Car was a lot of fun: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5179.jpg
See this short video clip: http://s406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/?action=view&current=Movie2.flv

Building complex of the monastery once we're up there:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5188.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5190.jpg

The rock formations on the mountain is very unique - unlike anything I've ever seen before:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5189.jpg

Since the weather is so beautiful, we decided to take the Sant Joan funicular up to the top right away and do some hiking first. http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5193.jpg

This is the steeper funicular of the 2, with a gradient of 65.2%. The ride takes 7 minutes and ascends 248m.

At the top of the Sant Joan funicular, there are several hiking options. We chose to first go towards the Chapel of Sant Joan. You can see the dirt track leading to the chapel - you can vaguely see the chapel in the distance: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5194.jpg

Zoomed: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5200.jpg

Arrived at the chapel: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5208.jpg

[It took about 40 minutes to walk there and back; including many stops for photos.]

Back at the funicular station, we took a different (paved) path for some great views. We could see the snow-capped Pyrenees in the far distance: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5226.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5219.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5221.jpg

Did I say how much I love the rock formations? http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5228.jpg

We caught the 12:40pm funicular back down to the Monastery in order to catch the 1pm boys choir. All seats were taken by then so we had to stand. The singing was beautiful.

Facade of the Basilica:
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5232.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5241.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5242.jpg

Interior: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5236.jpg

After the singing was over, we got in line to see the Black Madonna: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5246.jpg

By now it's almost 2pm; armed with our TotsMontserrat ticket, we went to the Cafeteria for lunch. As mentioned before, the lunch includes:
First Course (soup or salad)
Second Course
Dessert
Drink
Bread

This is A LOT of food, but really mediocre. I had the chicken quarter with fries; N had fried calamari. Both tasted like they were cooked 5 hours earlier and sat underneath the warming lamp for the last 4 hours (which probably was true). Dessert was pretty good though.

After lunch, we took the Santa Cova funicular DOWN to see the cave where the Black Madonna was discovered. The funicular ride is only 3 minutes. Once we arrive, it turns out to be quite a long walk to get to the cave (a chapel has been built there). Along the (paved) path, there are sculptures placed within the face of the mountain every 50 yards or so. The sculptures tell the Mysteries of the Rosary.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5254.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5257.jpg

Several of the sculptures were designed by Puig i Cadafalch; the most famous one has Gaudi's involvement: http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5258.jpg

At the end of the path is the chapel, which incorporates the cave inside.
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5262.jpg
http://i406.photobucket.com/albums/pp146/y2000k/Montserrat/IMG_5260.jpg

This excursion on the Santa Cova funicular took about an hour.

By now it's already 4pm, and we still haven't visited the museum or the "virtual tour" in the AV room. We opted for the museum. It's nice but not a must-see. We wanted to stop at the gift shop as well, so in the end, we skipped the virtual tour.

Our return trip was uneventful: cable car ride back to Montserrat-Aeri station, then R5 train to Plaça Espanya. Fortunately, the train wasn't full so we got seats.

Last minute shopping
Since this is our last day in Barcelona, we went to El Corte Inglés (opens until 10pm) in Plaça de Catalunya to do some shopping.

The basement has a HUGE supermarket - we wish we had known about this on Day 1 instead of Day 7!!! In addition, there is a "gourmet store" in the basement as well which sells some nice food products - good for souvenirs for foodie friends.

We bought some ready-to-eat frozen food from the supermarket and ate dinner back at the apartment.

A Word about Montserrat
Before the trip, I had a hard time deciding which place to go for a day trip: Montserrat vs Stiges vs others...

All I can say is, I'm *so glad* I picked Montserrat, even though I'm not religious. It is so unique, and so beautiful. After a week of cityscapes, I was really happy to be out in nature, breathing in clean fresh air, and doing some hiking.

I've read on other forums where people wrote that one can "do" Montserrat in half a day. IMO, that's really short-changing it. It's well-worth a full day.

Next: going home

Day 8 - Going Home the cheap way
[Metro -> Train -> Shuttle Bus -> Plane -> Plane -> Subway -> Bus]

You may recall that N & I flew on different airlines. Her flight to AMS departs at 10:10am, my flight to JFK departs at 11am. Since the 2 flights are close enough, we set off for the airport together.

Check-out of the apt was simple: leave the keys on the table and close the door behind you.

Instead of hiking up to Plaça Catalunya to take the (more) expensive Aerobus, we decided to try the Metro + Renfe train option for only €0,77!

*If you want to do this, use your T10 ticket, as the entire trip is valid with just one ride (€0,77). If you buy a single ride ticket for this journey, it costs over €2.*

The Renfe train picks up at both Placa Espanya as well as Passeig de Gracia. Since the L4 (yellow) line goes directly from Jaume I to Passeig de Gracia, we chose this station.

*Do not attempt this if you have lots of luggage!*

The L4 Passeig de Gracia station is located FAR FAR FAR away from the Renfe Passeig de Gracia station. It was a 5+ minute walk plus multiple flights of stairs both up AND down. If you're coming on the L3 line, it's a much shorter walk.

The ride on the Renfe C2 train (runs twice/hr) takes 25 minutes to the Airport. But then, it's another 15-min ride on a shuttle bus from the Airport station to Terminal 1.

We left super early so we got to the airport terminal with lots of extra time. Check-in and security lines were short, so we did some shopping at the airport mall, which is quite nice. We both ended up buying a scarf!

Since N is flying within Schengen and I am not, we parted ways and I went through immigration. There is a pretty decent Lounge (Sala Miro) after immigration. Breakfast option wasn't the best, but it has a nice ambiance.

My flight BCN/JFK arrived right on time. On this Tuesday afternoon, JFK (T8) was super quiet. There was no line at immigration. Since I checked the "food" box on the customs form, I was sent for inspection, which again had no line.

I had no checked luggage, so after the inspection, I exited the secured area, went upstairs, went through security to re-enter the airside of T8. From the time my plane touched down (not arrival at the gate, but actual touchdown), to the time I got through security, was a mere 40 minutes. Remember, this included being sent for luggage check at customs!

This gave me enough time to stop by the AA Admirals Club, before taking the short hop back to BOS.

From Logan, I got home via subway then express bus. I live about 15 miles west of the airport.

Great TR -- thanks for taking the time to provide all the details u did. Filing this away 4 our trip to Barcelona this Spring.
About how long total time did it take u to get from Jaume metro stop to check in at the Airport? thanks!

Thoughts about Barcelona


Love the sights and architecture
Great public transport system
Love the proximity to water


Pollution - tons of motorcycles spewing out toxic fumes, and lots of 2nd hand cigarette smoke
Dirty streets in Barri Gotic - I have to watch my every step in order not to step on either dog poo or phlegm (yuk!)
Not enough green space
Parakeets have taken over every park I visited, and they are NOISY!

Best Deals
1) T10 ticket for €7,70.
2) Ruta de Modernisme guidebook w/voucher for €12. Since N & I visited different sites, we made good use of the voucher booklet. Between the 2 of us, we used vouchers for:
• Hospital de Sant Pau (50% off)
• Modernisme Walk (20% off)
• MNAC (30% off)
• Casa Battlo (20% off)
• Casa Mila (20% off)
• Sagrada Familia (1 euro off)
• Pavellons Guell (50% off)
• Colonia Guell (1,20 euro off)
(There are still many vouchers I didn't use at all.)

So, altogether, we saved over €16, while the guidebook is only €12. If there's 2 of you traveling together and want the guidebook & voucher, the first voucher booklet is free with the book; and you can buy a second voucher booklet for €5.

Based on the above (RdM voucher book + T10 ticket), I honestly cannot recommend anyone to buy the Barcelona Card. It's pricey and doesn't give you much!

yestravel on Nov 24, 09 at 4:16pm Delete
Great TR -- thanks for taking the time to provide all the details u did. Filing this away 4 our trip to Barcelona this Spring.
About how long total time did it take u to get from Jaume metro stop to check in at the Airport? thanks!

yestravel - I honestly CANNOT recommend anyone to take this same route as we did, unless you are very fit AND pack very light. As I said, the transfer between the L4 Passeig de Gracia stop and the Renfe Passeig de Gracia stop is a nightmare (or death march).

But to answer your Q:
Metro from Jaume I to Passeig de Gracia ~ 3 minutes (+ 2 minute max wait time)
Walk within Passeig de Gracia station ~ 5 minutes
Renfe train from Passeig de Gracia to Airport ~ 25 minutes
Shuttle bus from Airport station to Terminal 1 15 minutes

Therefore, total travel time would be about 50 minutes - NOT counting the wait time for metro & train. As I said before, the Renfe train only runs 2x/hour. We checked the train schedule on the web the night before so we knew what time it departs from Passeig de Gracia.

P.S.

While I don't recommend the Barcelona Card, the ArticketBCN is worth considering: €22 for admission to 7 museums. http://www.articketbcn.org/en/infogral
If you go to 3 or more of the museums, you are ahead. However, remember that you can get in Picasso Museum for free on Sundays after 3pm.

What's the Damage?

Here comes my favorite part of trip report; calculating how much money I wasted. Based on my experience in Barcelona last year, this can be a very expensive city: hotel rates, admission fees, meals at restaurants etc.

Therefore, it was crucial that we stay in an apartment so we can save on lodging (and get more space) and eat in when we want.

Transport
Barcelona €14
TotMontserrat ticket (incl lunch) €36,95
Subtotal €51

Food
Eating out €85 (3 lunches & 4 dinners)
Eating in €38,50 (all breakfasts, 2 lunches, 3 dinners)
Subtotal €123.50

Attractions/Sightseeing admissions
€61 (including the €12 guidebook/voucher)

Entertainment
€27 concert ticket

Lodging for 7 nights
€267

Shopping
€32 (postcards, stamps, chocolates, scarf)

Using €1 = $1.5

Grand Total
$842 + Airfare $588 =
$1430 for 7 full days

Subtracting the airfare, and dividing the total by 7 (days),
my daily expense = $120.3

As a comparison with other trips I've taken:
Berlin/Dresden Fall 2009 trip w/DH: $132.7/day
Vienna/Budapest Spring 2009 trip w/relatives: $87.4/day
UK Nov 2009 solo trip: $174/day
France/Belgium Fall 2008 trip w/DH: $145/day
UK May 2008 solo trip: $233/day
Spain Feb 2008 solo trip: $215/day
London Sept 2007 solo trip: $250/day
Germany April 2007 solo trip: $143/day

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That's about it, folks! Thank you again for reading and for all your comments. Hope this is entertaining to some and helpful to others. Feel free to ask any questions!

Happy Thanksgiving!

yk- What an amazing trip report. Fantastic detail. Dh is especially impressed with the costing and comparison at the end. Way to go!
I'm glad you like Montserrat. We were there for a very short time May 2009. It was an add on post cruise that we could not pass up because it included getting from port to hotel. We really only got to seethe main buildings. I agree, it's such a wonderful natural and green respite after being in the city. I only wish we could have hiked and stayed longer. It was packed when we visited, though we did get to see Catalan dancers in costume performing in the plaza.
Thank you for your wonderful report. Glad you had a good time.
I look forward to reading your next vacation.

Montserrat looks beautiful (and did you ever have nice weather!) but the cable car and funicular look kind of scary to me- I even held my breath watching the video (I'm such a baby when it comes to heights)

You did a great job with the budget, in fact I'd say $120/day is pretty amazing- good airfare too!

Another fantastic report all round, yk

In spite of my persistent, irrational aversion to Spain, I really enjoyed your report. So organized and fantastic photos.

Love your cost comparisons. Can I send you my taxes?

cristeen, we must have been quite lucky with crowds. I guess Nov is low season for Barcelona.

Apres, you can always take the rack railway up instead of the cable car if you are afraid of heights. I'm more cost-conscious than the average traveler here... that way I can afford more trips.

Leely, you should give Spain a chance! I don't love it like some people do, but it's a beautiful country. I wish I were as good with my taxes. DH & I are major procrastinators and always filing for extensions!

Thanks for another great report. We are planing a trip to
Spain next year ( forth year in a row).. looking forward to visiting several Casas I have not yet seen, Montserrat as well.

"Leely, you should give Spain a chance!"

I agree.. the variety of scenery, languages, cultures,
architecture, e.t.c is remakable. Not to mention food and wine ( cerveca tambien).

danon- you do like Spain a lot, don't you? Which cities are you visiting next year? Did you end up going to Valencia?

thanks for asking yk,
I first visited Spain in the 80s (in AUGUST!): Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Cadiz, the Coast, Granada and Seville.
I was intrigued right away , knew I'd be coming back - but NOT in the summer. Because of my job, it took a long time before I was able to visit at different time of the year . Three years ago we saw Barcelona for the first time , I fell in love with the city right away.
I did not make it to Valencia yet... for the next year:
Barcelona, Madrid, Segovia, Salamanca, Seville ...not sure. We liked Santander , Bilbao and Santiana Del Mar
in the North. I would love to get to San Sebastian and Galicia...
Like you, I am lucky enough to be able to travel a few times a year - more rewarding than buying a new TV!

yk -- thanks for your answer to my question. Loved your cost comparision.

If you plan to visit Galicia, danon, I suggest the following route:

- Galicia (Santiago, Rias Baixas, Ribeira Sacra), León, Burgos, Logroño (wine), Vitoria (wine), San Sebastian. Much off the beaten track but full of history, magnificent cathedrals and excellent food. San Sebastian may be the most beautiful city in Europe (of course, I´m a bit biased...)

thanks mikelg... for now, is all on my wish list for next year or the year after.....

danon - have fun planning for your trip next year!

yk, we're just a couple of hours away from leaving for Paris, but I wanted to put a little marker here so I can read this at leisure.

(Now back to the pre-departure checklist ... Let's see ... Vacuuming. Oh joy.)

Anselm

Anselm, have a nice trip! I look forward to your report when you return. Yours are always such a pleasure to read.

I just re-reviewed this post in preparation for my trip to Barcelona starting tomorrow. What a wonderful report. so much great information. Thank you.

Enjoy your trip, Julie.

Great report, thanks for taking the trouble to post so much detail. It brought back some memories from my last trip to Barcelona four years ago, and is going to be very helpful in deciding what to do on my upcoming trip which is next week. I especially liked the way you integrated your photos into your description. That must have taken a lot of work.

One question, not that it matters, but is the cathedral (the old one in the Barri Gotic) still covered in scaffolding?

isabel, yes, it was still in scaffolding in Nov.

Julie, enjoy Barcelona!! I expect a good foodie report that I can use in May when I go with my sisters and niece.

Hi, Abby, right? Major problem hopefully averted. After poring over trip reports and posts on this and lots of other sites, I finally decided on our restaurants. Sent one, two and then a third e-mail to our hotel without response. Finally called them this morning. For some inexplicable reason my e-mails requesting them to make reservations for me went into their spam "carpet" They were able to make three this morning after my call and will call tomorrow on two more that were closed today, but what a mess considering the premium we place on eating well.

Very excited about our picks and will certainly report back. Hope you get better weather than what's reported for us--rain all 6 days we will be there. Ugh.

Hi Julie, I hope your hotel has good relations with the restaurants you are interested in. Too bad about the weather report but consider how often the predictions are totally wrong. Have faith. At the very least it is your vacation and that trumps most bad weather.
Have fun,
Abby

bring up this excellent report

yk, thank you for your very detailed trip report. I know you have been to Barcelona before but your trip report is so valuable for those of us making our first visit there. I feel like I've already seen the best in the Ruta del Modernisme book just by reading your report Thanks again, Deborah