Barcelona - Part 1 of 2 - Nov 2019

My first Home Exchange in Barcelona (or as Catalunyans call it 'Barthalona').  It started on October 31st through November 5th.

When I arrived at the airport, I tried to find the bus that takes you directly to central Barcelona, but no luck.  I decided to take the subway, which I had never done before in BCN.

Normally, a subway at an airport is nearby.  Not this one.  I had to do a lonnnnnnnng walk across the terminal, basically one end to the other, then outside and across a lonnnnnnnnng pedestrian bridge (with no moving sidewalks) to seemingly the middle of nowhere.  Then down to ground level and more walking to a bland building sitting all alone, with next to no signage.  I went in and asked a dude where the train was and he pointed to an elevator to take me below ground.  Finally!!!

The subway from the airport takes you on an odd route to get to the center....not direct like you would think.  It ended up taking me twice as long to GET to the metro station and then travel to the apartment than it would've if I took the bus.

The Home Exchange apartment was in a perfect location, just 2 blocks to Plaza Universidad and the metro station and right in the heart of the most popular neighborhood.  The building had an elevator, which is rare, and his bathroom had a jetted tub!  Woohoo!!!

I purchased a 5-day transit pass which I could use on any mode of transportation, as many times as I wanted, for $33.  I was always able to get to my destination by using the nearby metro station.  Unfortunately, a lot of the stations lacked escalators, which was a bummer for my bad knee, and there was lots of graffiti (I haven't found common in other EU cities).

During my 5-night, 6-day stay, I took over 100 photos and 16 videos (that I need to merge and reduced down to 3 or 4).   Due to sheer volume, this trip is being posted in 2 segments.

On my first day, I headed down to the waterfront to take the gondola over to Montjuic (Jewish Mountain), a wooded hill about 600 ft tall in the heart of Barcelona.  On the hill is a castle, museums, a 100 year old open-air amphitheater, swim pools, a mock Spanish village, a 'magic' fountain that puts on night shows to music, and former 1992 Olympic venues.  The sites on Montjuic were initially built for the 1929 International Expo.  

It was a long walk to the tower where the gondola launches.  Once there, it was an hour and a half wait, standing in a snake line (no place to sit) before being able to take the elevator up to the top of the tower where there was another wait to get ON a cable car!!!  And, this was NOVEMBER!!  Imagine during the summertime!!  The reason?  There's only 2 cars on the entire line and each car carries only 18 people.

Gondola leaving the launch tower

The 'W' Hotel

Lotsa Yacht'sas

MareMagnum is a shopping mall

Looking back to the launch tower

The rings are symbolic of the 1992 Olympics

You can see Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in the distance (with cranes atop)

The modern inverted green blimp building (off to the right) which you'll see up close in the video

Columbus Column (in center of tallest ring) which I'll go up inside in a bit

Having passed through the center tower

Coming in for a landing on Montjuic next to this cafe with great views

Here's a short video of the crossing.

The next day, I took a HoHo (Hop On Hop Off) double-decker bus tour.  There are TWO of them, one for each end of the city.

The following is from Route 1.

The 1992 Olympics pool with diving platforms on the left

The 1992 Olympics telecommunications tower.

Some say it represents an athlete bending forward to receive their medal.

But, the internet says it represents the bow and arrow used to shoot the flame into the Olympic flame cauldron.

View across Barcelona to Mount Tibidabo and its Amusement Park

Funicular runs between Plaza Espana to the top of Montjuic

At the base of Montjuic, in front of Plaza Espana, is the Palau National

In front of the Palau National is the 'Magic Fountain'.  During high season, there's a nightly show to music.  I didn't see it this time around (it being November) but I did years ago when I was on a performance tour and it's amazing!!

The Palau and Fountain were built in 1929 for the International Expo.

Here's a video from Route 1.

Then I hopped on Route 2 of the HoHo double-decker bus tour which took us along the waterfront and the more modern area of Barcelona.

Arc de Triomf
 It was built as the main access gate for the 1888 Barcelona World Fair

Zoom in on this photo

It's an apartment building nearly covered in vegetation

Top of a department store building on Plaza Catalunya

Opened in 2005, this 38-story building (Torre Glories), located in the new town area, looks (to me) like an inverted Hindenburg blimp!  Normally, it appears green, but due to 4,500 LED lights and automaticlly adjusting the shades, it can change the way it looks.

See example below.

Image borrowed from the webnets

Of course the HoHo tour bus goes by the Sagrada Familia!!

Spotted this when we were near Gaudi's Park Guell

Here's a video from Route 2.

By the way, if you're interested in viewing any of my past entries about travelling around Europe and where I live in Mallorca, simply scroll down past my signature to the end.  There, you'll see 'Blog History'.  You can click on any Month/Year to see the titles I published at that time.  Simply click on the title you're interested in and it will take you to that page.

Next up... 
Part II of my Barcelona trip!

Dano