Wandering Barcelona 1
The blogger formerly known as Alex (and newly christened Alfacharly) retraces the steps of the walking tour he and Mestre gave a friend and me during my trip to Barcelona in a post on his site.
He's generously given me the OK to publish his photos and words here, translated and liberally paraphrased by yours truly. If that pesky language barrier normally impides your enjoyment of Alex's blog, here's your chance: join me on a virtual walk through Barcelona with Alex and Mestre - in English:
As we started out from Porta Ferrisa, one of the puertas of the old city of Barcelona, we stopped a minute to enjoy a gigantic Picasso, completely free: the decoration on the facade of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Barcelona building. That's a design by the famed painter from Málaga you see on the building's concrete face.
The ruins of the 2 aqueducts that carried water to the Roman colony of Barcino (now known as Barcelona) are directly across from the Picasso design. The aqueduct in the photo above carried water from the river Besós. Very little remains of the other aqueduct, which carried water from the Llobregat.
Before moving on, we looked West for a moment to admire the colorful awning atop the Mercado de Santa Catalina.
We continued into Ciutat Vella and next visited the Plaza de San Felipe Neri, a small plaza cooled by the the fountain in its center. Facing the facade of the church that bears the name of the plaza (or vice versa), you can see the destruction caused by battles during the Spanish Civil War. (Note from Erin: Click on this fabulous photo and take a good look at the wall behind the cyclists: it's pockmarked.)
Next we stepped into the apartment building that conserves the ruins of the columns of Barcino's Roman temple on its ground floor. Although it's hard to appreciate in the photo, many tenants of this building are lucky enough to enjoy a view of Barcelona's history with a mere peek out the living room window.
Next we walked through the Plaza de Antonio López, where Erin learned a Spanish word she doesn't like at all: negrero, or slave trader, a very lucrative activity we can't forget was legal until the beginning of the 19th century.
Finally we washed down delicious bocadillos (sandwiches, jamón serrano for some, chorizo for others) with cold cava, and left Erin and her friend to enjoy a Maria del Mar Bonet concert in the Plaza del Rey.
He's generously given me the OK to publish his photos and words here, translated and liberally paraphrased by yours truly. If that pesky language barrier normally impides your enjoyment of Alex's blog, here's your chance: join me on a virtual walk through Barcelona with Alex and Mestre - in English:
As we started out from Porta Ferrisa, one of the puertas of the old city of Barcelona, we stopped a minute to enjoy a gigantic Picasso, completely free: the decoration on the facade of the Colegio de Arquitectos de Barcelona building. That's a design by the famed painter from Málaga you see on the building's concrete face.
The ruins of the 2 aqueducts that carried water to the Roman colony of Barcino (now known as Barcelona) are directly across from the Picasso design. The aqueduct in the photo above carried water from the river Besós. Very little remains of the other aqueduct, which carried water from the Llobregat.
Before moving on, we looked West for a moment to admire the colorful awning atop the Mercado de Santa Catalina.
We continued into Ciutat Vella and next visited the Plaza de San Felipe Neri, a small plaza cooled by the the fountain in its center. Facing the facade of the church that bears the name of the plaza (or vice versa), you can see the destruction caused by battles during the Spanish Civil War. (Note from Erin: Click on this fabulous photo and take a good look at the wall behind the cyclists: it's pockmarked.)
Next we stepped into the apartment building that conserves the ruins of the columns of Barcino's Roman temple on its ground floor. Although it's hard to appreciate in the photo, many tenants of this building are lucky enough to enjoy a view of Barcelona's history with a mere peek out the living room window.
Next we walked through the Plaza de Antonio López, where Erin learned a Spanish word she doesn't like at all: negrero, or slave trader, a very lucrative activity we can't forget was legal until the beginning of the 19th century.
Finally we washed down delicious bocadillos (sandwiches, jamón serrano for some, chorizo for others) with cold cava, and left Erin and her friend to enjoy a Maria del Mar Bonet concert in the Plaza del Rey.
Labels: wanders and travels
posted by Erin at
7:38 PM
2 Comments:
Ja! You've made a very good job, I like your translation.
I had to change from Alex to Alfacharly because Alex was taken on blogger... What a pity :-(
By
Alex Castellá, at 10:17 PM
I'm (nicely) envious of your wandering and delighted by the write up ... thanks for sharing it, it was delicious :)
By
Di Mackey, at 12:40 PM
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