Ah, Barcelona. The city so nice I have to divide my trip there into two chapters. Well I don't really, but how else am I going to fit all these pretty pictures here? My visit to Barcelona began with a view of the city from Montjuic, a mountain overlooking the city and the sea. Around some of the buildings that housed the 1992 Olympic games, I could see all of Spain's cultural capital. The old neighborhoods, new shopping districts, and the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. Barcelona continues to be Spain's most sophisticated city with a lot of concerts and exhibits rolling through as well as an active nightlife scene.
From there, we wandered through the Barrio Gótico - the "Gothic Quarter" and older political center of the city - seeing yet another cathedral and the current Ayuntamiento City Hall. Heading back towards our hotel, we strolled through La Rambla, a road filled with shops and markets. Later that evening, I walked around the newer part of the city, passing by expensive clothing stores, bars, tapas restaurants, clubs, and Gaudi's Casa Batlló which was lit up beautifully at night.
The rest of the weekend was spent seeing the artistic highlights of Barcelona as well as visiting the "Barrio Viejo," the historic market center of the city and home to more quickly-built cathedrals that the rich merchants could finance. Really three days was not enough to appreciate all of Barcelona, but it was an interesting city that I would love to spend more time visiting. My experience with the art of Barcelona will be recounted in a subsequent chapter entitled "The Minds of Gaudí, Picasso, and Mariscal."
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