Our flight to Barcelona was uneventful. British Airways does a nice job I
think. Despite the fact that our
flight was only an hour and forty-five minutes long, they served us
brunch. Our bags came quickly and
Raul, our driver was waiting. Traffic was good so we were at our hotel , the
Hotel 1898, in no time and found our room ready for us. Our room is spacious with a bath and a
half. Here’s a view from the
living room area.
The Hotel 1898 is directly on La Rambla about one block from
the Boqueria Market, one of our favorite places. A little bit about La Rambla is in order. La Rambla is a tree-lined pedestrian
street which runs from the Placa Catalunya (one of the principal plazas in the city)
down to the Port Vell, the main port of Barcelona. Traffic runs on both sides of the center walkway. The street was originally a sewage
filled river running down from the medieval walled city. In the late 14th century the
walls were extended and the river was diverted. The old riverbed gradually became the busy street it is
now. Along its one mile length are
various vendors selling flowers, gelato, and souvenirs. There are also many cafes along the
way. There used to be many street
performers, a lot of them mimes,
but they have been moved out.
The place had a reputation for being a pickpocket’s heaven. We’ve never
had a problem but apparently the city authorities decided to remove the
performers in order to lessen the chance of crime. La Rambla is a great place
to sit, have a drink and people watch.
We headed out to the market to see the sights. The produce,
meats, seafood, spices and lots of other foods available are incredible. It’s mushroom
season now and the variey and size were
amazing. It’s definitely a
place worth visiting!
We finished the day at the rooftop terrace of our
hotel with a drink or two. The view
from the terrace is spectacular and at sunset the colors of the city are
constantly changing. For dinner we
went to a favorite tapas place in the nearby Gothic Quarter.
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| Cupola of a nearby church from the Hotel 1898 rooftop |
1 comment:
Reading your blog whisked me back to Barcelona. I'm so glad to hear about the lack of street performers and by consequence, pickpocketers. Phil and I were so on guard walking down Las Ramblas that we really didn't relax enough to enjoy it. But I am enjoying your blog!!
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