29 Barcelona - Day 2 - The Sagrada Familia revisited.

It was in 2011 that we last visited the Sagrada Familia. From the outside
you could see the significant changes. Like offerings to the gods, colourful
fruits and vegetables now adorn the many steeples that decorate the exterior
of the church.
We booked our tickets online the minute they were available a few months
ago, just as well, if you turned up today, you would have been disappointed.
Our tickets included a visit to the top of the Passion Tower. To control
the masses, you choose an available time and you have around a 15 min grace
to arrive.
The interior was all but complete when we visited last time, really all that
were missing were some of the stain glass windows. When we walked in we were
not expecting that same wow factor. But, little did we know what effect
those stain glass windows would have. As the sun shone through their colour
was captured by the towering columns giving you the impression that you are
lost in an enchanted forest. Imagination or foresight, I am not sure what
you would call it, but this Gaudi was an amazing man. I should have a t
Shirt that reads .. "I love anything Gaudi" what a shame that this genius's
life was cut short.
I would have to admit though, that the visit to the passion tower was a
little underwhelming. Not sure what I was expecting. At our assign time we
gathered at the lifts. We were elevated up 65m. Then there is a small
heavily caged area that you can see the city. The only possibility of a
clear photo is if your lens could fit through a gap. Basically, that was
it, you then start to descend the tight spiral stair case. Occasionally
there is a small opening, where once again if you can slip your camera out
there you could get a shot of those coloured fruits I talked about earlier.
For some reason I really thought that we would get some magnificent internal
aerial views of the church. oh well. at this stage my thoughts are, save
your money and just buy tickets for the church entry!
All on board was 1.30pm so we still had some time up our sleeve. One of
the things I love about Barcelona is the architecture, so we decided to take
the long walk back to Ramblas and catch the shuttle back to the ship. As
luck would have it we ran into Ros and Arnold so we enjoyed a Sangria on the
Ramblas as any serious tourist should.
A Barcelona tip, don't do the ships shuttle. The port authority does put on
a bus for cruise ships, 3Euros Single, 4Euros Return. Depending on how many
ships there are, it will call into each of the terminals to pick up and drop
off on its circle run. It is a great service.
It drops you off just near the Christopher Columbus's column and that is
also where it picks up. all well sign posted.
As we needed to be at the Sagrada very early this morning, eight of us
jumped into 2 taxi's. That cost was around 20 Euros for each taxi.
Step count : 619,066 love these port days. sea days maybe struggling.

29 Barcelona - Day 2 - A few more sagrada pictures

28 Barcelona - First day

"Tie a yellow ribbon round the old oak tree..." this is the song that I
just couldn't get out of my head all day today.
There is a little political unrest in Barcelona, bit like the old
Yugoslavia, Spain is made up of regions who like to think of themselves as
nations in their own right. Barcelona is in Catalonia, who have been quite
vocal about breaking away. So much so that there are quite a few of their
believers that have been imprisoned. As a silent protest it is not uncommon
to see yellow ribbons tied on lamp posts, balconies and statues, anywhere
where they can be seen to make a statement.
The sky took on a beautiful hue as the sun rose for our early arrival into
the port of Barcelona. This is our fourth sail in but we still love this
port of call as much as we did the first time. Bonus, it was an
overnighter.
Booked today's tour with Barcelona Day Tours, so easy to deal with last year
that I thought I would do it again. Of course, being the fourth time, we
would looking at a different option to fill our day. Girona and Costa Brava
were where we were off to today.

28a Barcelona - First day - Girona

I have decided that when I get back home I am going to have sit and watch
Game of Thrones from start to finish. It seems that nearly every country
that we have visited in Europe has at some point been a location where a
scene from GOT has been shot. Todays village was Girona otherwise known as
Braavos, Oldtown and Kings Landing.
Here is a guide to a GOT Tour of Girona
http://sedimentality.com/girona-for-the-game-of-thrones-lover-the-ultimate-s
elf-guided-tour-of-got-filming-locations/
And sure enough we did visit several of these places. Girona sits on the
Onyar river and at that time of the day the reflections from the colourful
houses of the old city were just spectacular.
Once crossing the bridge and entering the town you will see a Lioness up a
pole. There are a few steps just below to help you reach her. Why you ask?
.. well to "Kiss her Arse" yes, a peck on her butt will ensure that you will
return. a bit of a twist to the old "throw a coin in the fountain".
Churches, cathedrals, laneways and steps that seem to go on forever, all
have that familiar GOT theme to them.

28b Barcelona - First day - Girona

We celebrated our visit to Girona with a local delicacy, best described as a
sausage-shaped fried donut filled with a delicious custard, dusted with
sugar and cinnamon.
Maybe not commanding the same sort of fame that a Game of Thrones location
does, but there is a very distinctive red iron bridge that takes you back
out of the small town. Its claim to fame is that it was designed by Gustave
Eiffel.
Unfortunately, we were ushered out of Girona a little early in our opinion.
We would have loved to have been able to just sit and enjoy the ambience of
its mini version of Las Ramblas. But we were whisked off to our next stop
on the Costa Brava.

28c Barcelona - First day - Tossa De Mar

Tossa De Mar is your quintessential, tourist beach resort village. Shops of
every type line the streets as you make your way down to the water front.
Restaurants line up one after another all overlooking the beautiful and yet
crowded beach. If we only we brought our swimmers with us.
Most impressive of all is the Castillo de Tossa de Mar. Sitting high on the
hill overlooking the sea below, it is certainly well worth the climb for a
visit.
Within the walls you will not only find ancient buildings beautifully
restored and used as accommodation, restaurants, bars and of course, more
shops.

28 d Barcelona - First day - Dinner

On our return to Barcelona we decided that evening that we would venture
back out to make the most of being able to spend an evening on land.
Eventually we found a restaurant that seemed to please everyone's tastes.
Mariscco in the Placa Reial was chosen for it's position, paella and the
fact that it could sit all seven of us at once. A traditional seafood
paella was the meal of choice of most of us. but alas for all it's
deliciousness, it also came with a price tag. Would I choose it again .?
Absolutely.. hey, it still came in cheaper than our Salerno culinary
experience.