Fish, Galleys and a Harbor Cruise

After a great night’s sleep we awoke to another warm and sunny day.  They are having Indian Summer  in Barcelona.  We’ve seen many of the obligatory sights here so we decided to try something different.  We walked down La Rambla to the port and found the Barcelona Aquarium.  Opened in 1995 it is the largest in the world concerning Mediterranean  sea life.  With 35 tanks,  11,000 animals and 450 different species there is a lot to see.  One of the most interesting parts of the aquarium is an 80 meter long tunnel through a 1.6 million gallon Oceanarium.  As we walked through it with schools of fish cruising above and beside us I was struck by how much they reminded me of the people strolling along La Rambla.  All just going with the flow.

We were glad he was on his side of the glass!

We stopped for a drink at a café before crossing a little bridge to the circle commemorating Christopher Columbus.  Along the bridge walkway a lot of vendors had set up their wares on large clothes.  Most of them looked like they were from Senegal and their merchandise was pretty much all priced at 1 euro.  They’re illegal vendors and it was something to watch what happened if a policeman approached.  The signal was passed from one to the next and they gathered the corners of the cloth, bundled their wares and took off quickly.  After the police passed, they materialized again and set up shop.  We didn’t see any buying going on, but it was interesting to watch.

Our next stop was across the Columbus circle on Avenida de les Drassanes.  We decided to visit the Maritime Museum.  The place is undergoing renovations but there is still a small exhibit.  The museum is housed in what was a former royal shipyard and arsenal.  The building itself was worth seeing.  The premier exhibit is a full size replica of the royal galley Real from the 16^th century.  It was part of the Christian fleet that defeated the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto and the flagship of the commander Don Juan of Austria.   The ship was powered by sail when possible but otherwise by 59 oarsmen (galley slaves).  The bow and stern were incredibly ornate. They are covered in gilt with fanciful carvings and paintings.  I doubt the life of  oarsmen or other crew was very good though.  Aside from the replica only a few other artifacts are available as the renovations proceed.  When they are complete I think we would go back.

The very ornate stern of the galley Real

The bow and a view of the immense arches in the shipyard building

It was still fairly early so we decided to take a port and coastal cruise.  It was a lovely calm day as we exited out of the harbor and ran up the coast a little way.  There were quite a few people on the beaches given that it’s late October.  We were far enough offshore that we couldn’t tell if there were people swimming in the Mediterranean but they were surely enjoying the sunshine.  The boat went north past the Olympic yacht basin to a large solar array built on the shoreline.  Then we headed back to the harbor.  We spent a pleasant several hours enjoying Barcelona’s maritime connections before walking back up La Rambla to our home away from home.

The Barcelona shore

We had a very different dining experience for dinner from anything we’d done on previous visits.  We went to a restaurant called Con Gracia which we read about in a travel magazine and on Trip Advisor.  I had asked the concierge at our hotel if  we needed to take a taxi there.  She indicated it was too far to walk but we could also opt to take the Metro.  Thank goodness we didn’t!  This place was on a street that was little more than an alley and had we ridden the Metro we would probably still be wandering around trying to find it.  Anyway, the restaurant only seats 24 people and there are two choices for dinner – a tasting menu listed on a sheet you get or a surprise tasting menu.  We decided to be surprised.  What followed was a unique experience with some traditional ingredients like tuna and beef but with herbs and spices which made the tastes truly unlike anything we'd tasted before. If I had to describe it I would call it an Asian-Catalan fusion.  We enjoyed it, but I think we actually prefer a more typical Catalan experience at a tapas place. 

After a full day it was off to bed.  We have an early wake-up call since we have a full day tour planned.  More later.