April 12th, 2023 - May 8th, 2023
Part 1 - BARCELONA
April 12th:
Arrival. The plane arrived in the evening, it was quite uneventful, just ... landing, collecting the luggage, getting to the hotel. It was a challenge to get the physical public transport tickets (which I had ordered online earlier).
April 13th:
Not far from the hotel is the terminus for a metro line straight to the Plaça de Catalunya. On https://www.freetour.com/ you can find all kinds of free tours (the tour is free, but it is recommended to pay an amount to the guide at the end of the tour, to thank him or her for their service). The tour that we had booked today was "Barcelona's Old City".
The tour started on La Rambla, which is probably the most famous street in Barcelona, if not in the entirety of Spain. On August 17th, 2017 a terrorist attack on La Rambla claimed the lives of 13 innocent people (with the youngest victim being a seven year old boy from Australia) and further injuring over 100 others (one of which later died). It's a shame that the tour guide didn't mention any of this. There's an interesting documentary about it, called 800 Metros.
The tour did take us to the Gothic Quarter along ancient Roman graves. These graves were placed along the road leaving the city called the Via Sepulcral Romana, as it was the custom in those days. In Roman times, the city was named Barcino (pronounced Barkino).
At the Plaça de Sant Felip Neri you can see (and feel) the effects of two bombs dropped by Franco's troops during the Spanish Civil War. These bombs killed 42 people, most of which were children.
At the Plaça d'Isidre Nonell you can see the Kiss of Freedom, an artwork by renowned and local photographer Joan Fontcuberta and is comprised of thousands of tiles. It's a place where many people snap a shot of their own, either as a selfie or through the helping hand of someones else.
Then we came to the Cathedral of Barcelona which was being renovated at the time and sported a huge and hideous ad for a Samsung smartphone, and next to the cathedral is a fake piece of a Roman aquaduct and two Roman towers.
The Plaça de Sant Jaume has two important buildings on opposite sides of one another. On the one side is the Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, where the Presidency of Calatunya has their offices. And on the other side is the Ajuntament de Barcelona, the city hall. With these two important governmental buildings, you can expect the presence of police.
When visiting Barcelona, it is important to know that it is the capital of Catalunya. The official languages are Catalan and Spanish. The announcers in public transport, for example, first use Catalan, then Spanish and then English.
El Call is the Jewish quarter. During Barcelona's history many Jewish people found their way here, and as in so many other instances in history, these narrow streets are riddled with tales of persecution from the 13th century up until Franco's regime.
At the Plaça del Rei (which still bears the coat of arms of the Inquisition, by the way) is the entrance to the MUBHA's museum of the history of Barcelona, but more on that tomorrow!
We stop for a bite at The Vegan Corner. They have good vegan quiches!
The Museo Egipci has a beautiful collection on Ancient Egypt and is definitely worth the visit. A lot of information about the exhibited pieces is also available in English, plus they have an app with an audio guide (also highly recommended).
Next to human mummies, they also have a cat mummy and an ibis mummy, but also plenty of other artefacts like pieces of walls with hieroglyphs, jewelry, and small ceremonial statues.
For dinner we went to Veggie Garden. They have two locations in Barcelona and it sounded promising, offering both Nepalise and Indian dishes but also Western dishes, but ... meh.
April 14th:
We get up early to visit Parc Güell, the famous park designed by Antoni Gaudí and other Catalan architects, like Josep Maria Jujol. While the park does have a certain charm to is, and the many plants, beautiful flowers and plethora of birds liven up the place, I personally didn't the appeal to it. Mainly because it's so busy (makes sense, it is famous, like when people visit the Louvre just to look at the Mona Lisa and the Venus and that's it), but also because of the price. The park is privately owned, which assures that there's an admission to be paid. And for the price, I think I expected more.
But, that being said, if you like the works of Gaudí, then this definitely should be on your list of places to visit, it is synonymous with Barcelona, just like the Sagrada Família and Gaudí himself.
After a quick lunch in the hotel and a siësta, we're off to the MUBHA! This museum has two distinct parts. One part is about the history of Barcelona, from before the Roman times up until now. And another part is about Barcino, the Roman city. It's later than expected, so we only have time to do the Roman part. The part about Barcelona's history will have to wait.
(Also, if you have the time, the MUBHA has several museums spread out over Barcelona, we only managed to do the Plaça de Rei museum. If the other MUBHA museums are as good and interesting as this one, definitely check them out)
The Roman part of the museum is underground, which makes a lot of sense when you realize that (a small fraction) of the original Roman city of Barcino is there. There are walkways in between the ruined houses, shops, workshops and factories. Apart from these ruins, you can also see busts, jewelry, pottery, pedestals, ornamental wall pieces, plenty of models of the ancient city, and lots of information about life in Roman times.
Definitely worth the visit!
El Vato Loco is a pizza place with amazing and delicious vegan pizzas. You can see the pizzas being made, the owner (?) being busy at work with the pizza oven. There's an option to eat inside (though it's not the most comfortable), but there's a park nearby, not even a five-minute walk. The park has a beautiful fountain.
From the park you can walk towards the Arc de Triomf. It might not be as well-known, impressive or big as the one in Paris, but it's a pretty sight nonetheless.
April 15th:
We have another free tour scheduled today, this time at 11 o'clock, and it's called Alternative Barcelona, organized by GuruWalks. The alternative tour takes us through El Raval, across from the Gothic quarter, with La Rambla dividing the two. The guide tells us that El Raval was and still is the poorest neighborhood in Barcelona. The area used to be known for its prostitution, crime and illegal activities. These days, there's one street where prostitution is still legal. Nearby is the cafe where the greats like Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso drank the green fairy, to this day you can enjoy some absinthe there.
Street art is prevalent in El Raval, large graffiti paintings color many walls and facades. One of the more known street artworks is the one created by Keith Haring, called Together We Can Stop Aids.
Alongside one of the many streets is a hole in the wall. This was a baby hatch where unwanted pregnancies could have a happy ending in the sense that the baby could be delivered there and the Church would then provide a new family for the child.
The anarchists from the early 20th century had their union headquarters there, and the area played a big role for the anarchist movement.
Not far from there is the Àgora Juan Andrés Benítez, the open space is an homage to the man who died while being detained by the Mossos d'Esquadra, one of the several police forces.
We then cross La Rambla at the Raval Cat statue, which symbolizes the neighborhood and leave El Raval behind us.
Lunch time is upon us and we decide to return to El Vato Loco, just because it's so good!
And now it's time for the second part of the MUBHA at the Plaça de Rei, the part about the history of Barcelona!
The ages progress as you go up in the building.
There are parts about Barcino, the Roman city, but also about the expansion of the city in the Middle Ages, about the Spanish Inquisition and the industrial revolution, and life under Franco.
When you access the roof, you get a nice view over a part of the city.
April 16th:
Today is a day where we do virtually nothing, just relax, regain some energy.
By evening we did go out for food and after weighing lots of options, we settled for Teresa Carles Cocina Vegetariana. Never again.
April 17th:
Today is the day we visit the Sagrada Família. There's a huge crowd and airport-type security. Buy your tickets up front. This doesn't necessarily mean that you get in faster, this just means that you can get in. We arrived on time and had to wait over half an hour before we were allowed in.
They have an app where you can download an audio guide, which is very much worth it.
When looking at the exterior from a distance, I wasn't really getting any wow-feeling.
And they're still working on it, by the way.
As you get closer, however, you see all the different sculptures that adorn the facades and doorways, all the details.
And then you go in.
This is when the wow-factor set in, at least for me.
The stained-glass windows are phenomenal. All the different colors! The way the light falls into the cathedral. And as you listen to the audio guide, you understand why things are built a certain way and why other things look the way they do. Gaudí really gave this building a lot of thought and it shows.
This is something that you have to see for yourself, pictures and words don't do it justice.
After yesterday's disastrous dinner, we decided to not eat out anymore, so we ate at the hotel.
April 18th:
The final day of the Barcelona-leg of the vacation is here. After checking out from the hotel, we drop out bags of at StowYourBags.
We had planned a free guided tour of the Montjuïc hill, but they cancelled last minute, so we decided to visit the hill ourselves. The bus took us right to the top, where the fort is. The fortress itself seemed expensive for what it would offer, so we quickly left again, walking down this time. While walking down, you're treated to a view from the city.
And then ... then you see it. Something that looks weird. An old abandoned factory? No idea. Until you get closer.
It's a cemetery, one that holds over a million bodies and ashes. The Montjuïc cemetery is as old as the Sagrada Família (1883) and both are not finished. Here, new segments are currently being built.
I have never seen a graveyard where the graves are built on top of each other. Don't get me wrong, I get it. If you need to have space next to each other for so many people ... there's just no way. But there is something fascinatingly weird about it.
From the cemetery you can look onto the harbor and the airport.
The graveyard is huge, but definitely something you have to check out. In between all the "regular" plots and plots in bad shape, there are beautiful statues and mausoleums too.
We fly off to Alicante and drive to the place that we're staying at in Murcia province. From April 19th to April 27th, we do some local walks and a bike ride to the coast, next to online school classes.
Part 2 - ALICANTE
April 28th:
Citytrip to Alicante. The archaeologic museum (MARQ) housed a temporary exposition on the Chinese terracotta army of Qin Shi Huang. You know they exist, but it's hard to fathom what they actually look like it real life. They are taller than the average person, and that is something that I didn't know. Even though there were only a handful of statues present, it's impressive to see. All the other artefacts on display are also very interesting. Asian history or culture (or even any non-western history or culture) is not something I regularly come into contact with and it's hardly taught in schools.
The museum also has rooms on prehistory, the Roman empire, medieval Alicante and more modern times. There were less interesting due to the fact that there were a lot of similarities with the MUBHA in Barcelona, and it's hard to impress after the terracotta army.
A free walking tour of the Castell de Santa Bàrbara was cut short due to the fact that there was an event going to take place. But it was interesting nonetheless. After the short burst of information from the guide inside one room of the castle, we were free to discover the rest of the castle on our own.
From the top you have a wonderful view over the harbor and the sea, of the city and of the surrounding landscape with its many hills and mountains.
For dinner we went to Mileljos. A great place for comfort food, but you have to be patient.
The trip to Alicante is just a one-day thing. From April 29th to May 2nd, we didn't do much in the Murcia Province (except online school).
Part 3 - MURCIA PROVINCE
May 3rd:
The only day worth talking about from the rest of the trip happened on May 3rd, when we took a hike through a dried-up river. There was a butterfly with broken wings sitting on the ground, frantically walking about. Since it was a warm day we assumed it was either dehydrated or couldn't fly anymore due to the damage to his or her wings.
The butterfly crawled on a small rock, which I then carried with me. After walking a bit in the shade, the butterfly flew off, so it was probably the heat that plagued the insect.
There were lots of other animals too. Large grasshoppers, salamanders, a snake and a whole plethora of birds.
One of them entertained us with a beautiful song.
