Barcelona, Spain - Part 1

This is our second day in the lovely port city of Barcelona. As I sat in our casual dining area on Deck 11 having my breakfast early this morning, watching the the sea birds drifting around in the warm gentle breeze and the sun slowly rising up on the horizon of the Mediterranean Sea and casting an ever-brightening golden glow on the clouds above and on the ripples on the water below, I started to think about how I would showcase my city of Melbourne and its environs to any overseas or interstate guests who have never been there before. 

After thinking long and hard about it, I decided I would give them tour that was a balance between special things to see - beautiful, significant buildings, our wonderful Botanical Gardens and Fitzroy Gardens, the ferny hills behind Melbourne (the Dandenongs) with their picturesque little villages, the lush green vineyards of the Yarra Valley, our promenade by the Yarra River, our lovely beaches - and unforgettable experiences - going to our theatres and concert halls for at least one top performance, having an afternoon tea in Lygon Street and a High Tea at The Windsor, going to one of our countless good restaurants at night, riding on a tram and on our dear little steam train ‘Puffing Billy’ . . . And if they have time, I would take them to the ferny Hepburn Springs for a beautiful spa and massage, along the Great Ocean Road to see our magnificent surf beaches and the Twelve Apostles, to the great forests in Toolangi and the Otway Ranges where you can walk along the treetops, to Phillip Island to see our penguins, and to our magnificent alpine areas. (I hope I am enticing my overseas friends already - it is worth the distance, believe me!) 

The trouble with touring by cruising is that you usually only have one whole day in each place. I have had reports from people who came to Melbourne on a cruise ship and went to see it in a single day like that. There was so much they did not see or experience I wondered who designed their tours. Certainly not someone who is passionate about our city! 

I am so glad that we are in Barcelona for two days, not one, because if I had to tell you what Barcelona was like from just the first of the three shore excursions I booked, my description would be quite limited. From that tour I had no idea that the city has beautiful gardens, or that it has the most amazing, most unusual, tall basilica you ever saw, which in some respects is almost like a Disney fairytale castle. Nor would I have experienced a truly magical Flamenco performance or learned as much as I have now about the people of the city and their history.

I will tell you one of the stories now. It is interesting how much the story of St George slaying the dragon is widespread across Europe. In this city the story goes that the dragon was about to kill a beautiful young maiden when St George came to her rescue and killed the dragon. When some drips of its blood soaked into the ground, a beautiful red rose appeared. As a result, the tradition here is that men give the ladies they love a red rose on 23 February each year in memory of this event. Sounds a great idea for everywhere to me! Anyhow, below you will see a photo of the palace where there is a sculpture of the story of St George and the dragon above the entrance. 

For this first post, I am attaching what you might call a smorgasbord of visions of Barcelona. In the next posts I will tell you some of the stories I have heard. 

Om the way to the lookout on a hill behind Barcelona, from where the next two photos were taken. Barcelona has many fine wide streets, most of which are tree-lined. 

This is a view from the coach looking up to the 'Spanish building' that was built for the big 1929 Barcelona Exhibition. The building is quite spectacular up close. There is a photo further down this page of the fountain in the foreground playing and others showing the view from the top. 

It cannot be seen here, but this building is very tall and is in the shape of a bullet. 

Near the entrance of the 'bullet building'. 

This was the site of some of the water events such as yachting for the Barcelona Olympics. 

This giant gold metal fish sculpture sitting atop the casino is directly opposite the marina in the previous photo. 

Just two of the many building styles seen next to one another in Barcelona. 

One of many unusual buildings in Barcelona.

This is part of an old cathedral. The bottom stones are larger; they are part of of an ancient Roman wall. The middle layer of stones is from medieval times. 

This is the cathedral next to the previous building. However the facade is a 'fake'.  A wealthy man payed a great deal of money to have it placed there to beautify the building, so that it was more in keeping with the rest of Barcelona.

This is the palace for the Catalan region. As you can see below, above the door is a sculpture of St George slaying the dragon.  

A view of the centrepiece of one of the city squares from the coach. 

This is the fountain I spoke of seen through the tinted window of our coach At certain times on some evenings it is lit up and 'dances' to music.  

The view from above the fountain is shown in this and the next photo. People were gathering already for the show, and many were singing. There was a great air of excitement. 

A close-up of the front of the Spanish building, which was immediately behind where I stood for the previous photo.   

Along the side of the Spanish building.

These are escalators going down into the gardens to get closer to the fountain.  What a view from an escalator! 

The view from just near the escalators.

The communications tower built for the Barcelona Olympics.

The view of the port area from the coach as we returned to the ship last evening. The very tall building on the right is a new hotel.