Barcelona Day Four was another walk in another park

On my fourth and final day in Barcelona I again headed for a different part of the city. This was a large parkland area just to the south-west of the city centre where, according to the tourist map, there were several notable buildings to find. So I went off to find them.

My first stop was the underground station at Plaça d'Espanya, which seemed to be the closest. This was a new part of the city and a brash wide boulevard of business buildings led towards the park. There I found a little cabin selling coffees and I took advantage of that while trying to come up with some sort of plan for the day. The first part was to head almost all the way back to the metro to find a bank, small cabins do not accept credit cards.

Fuelled and moneyed I started the proper exploration.

I knew about Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion but I did not know that it still existed. Actually "still" is not correct, it was demolished after the expo in 1930 and then rebuilt in 1986 because of its significance - it is one of, if not the, most important buildings of the twentieth century. Its simplicity, clear lines, open spaces and generous glass changed everything. Modern houses still look like this.

It was also where the Barcelona chair originated and that is another design that has endured. I see it all the time in posh rooms on TV shows and I have a Barcelona sofa in my living room.

It is not a big building, it was only a concept built for the 1929 expo, but I still managed to spend a long time there taking lots and lots of photos from different perspectives and at different angles. It was almost heartbreaking to select just one but it had to be done so I chose this one of the pool off the living area.

Heading west from there and starting the climb up the hill (Barcelona was a lot hillier than London) I next went to Poble Espanyol. This was a small development of buildings (shops and restaurants) in different Spanish styles, a sort of architectural theme park. I like architecture and this was an opportunity to see lots of it in a relatively small space.

There was much more uphill walking to do and plenty of places to rest along the way. I had another drink at some point.

The development was very commercial and clearly relied heavily on tourists shipped there by coach so it was good to go there in late October when it was still warm and busy but not boiling and packed.

It was quite a long walk along the road after that with not much to see. Luckily the destination was worth it as the road let to the Olympic Stadium.

That was at the top of the hill and the walking from there would be all downhill.

Unexpectedly it was a walk through lush gardens, a marked contrast to the harsh walk along the road up the hill. The park was divided in to several gardens and the one that I walked through was Jardins de Laribal.

It was subtly constructed with paths, steps, waterfalls and a few ornamental treats. Plenty to keep the eye busy and the walk interesting but not too much to intrude on the natural mood of the garden.

There were several ways down and I preferred to zig-zag my way, taking horizontal paths like this one, rather than taking the quick way down using the steps.

About halfway down was a cafe, La Font Del Gat, almost hidden among the trees. It looked as if they were thinking of closing, it was fairly late in the afternoon by then and I was glad to get a drink before they did. It was a lovely shady spot and the service was the sort that comes with smarty dressed waiters. I was on holiday and I deserved a little luxury.

Emerging from the gardens I was hit by views of the city. I have taken hundreds (possibly thousands) of photo of rooftops while on holiday and this was my chance to substantially add to them. I love the shapes and colours of roofs, plus what they tell you about the city beneath them.

This view had the added attraction of Gaudi's La Sagrada Familia dominating the distant skyline.

Then things got even better and the (accidental) plan to walk around the park anti-clockwise proved to be the right one. The walk down from the Museu D'Art was a delight every step of the way and I took every step slowly and carefully to savour the moment and to make sure that I did not miss anything.

The cabin where I had my first coffee of the day was just off to the right of the circular fountain at the bottom of the hill and the metro station was by the two brick pillars beyond it.

The museum was something of a spectacle itself. I had thought of going there but on the day I preferred to walk outside and I ran out of days to go another time. If I ever get back to Barcelona (unlikely as there are so many other places to see) then I'll consider going there, especially if it rains. Holidays are all about making decisions like that one and I am happy with the decision I made.

Water fell down the hill like lively children showing off to their parents. It tumbled and paused and made a lot of noise as it did so.

Steps followed the water down on both sides so it was a constant and welcome companion as I walked down. At intervals the water disappeared under the path allowing people to cross the watery thoroughfare and look back at its playful tumbling.

Half way down or so the view back was as good as the view forward and the large fountain at the very bottom made different patterns with the water as a final hurrah to the water's exploits.

It was hard to say goodbye to the water but the sun was almost done for the day and my legs knew that they had walked a long way and still had a bit to do to get to the metro and then the hotel.

I had gone to the park with not much of a plan and was immensely pleased that I had managed to find such a wonderful mix of architecture and gardens.

Barcelona rooftops seen from the Museum Of National Art De Catalunya

Terrace seating as a work of art

Barcelona Day Three was mostly spent at Gaudi's Park Güell

Having discovered Gaudi on my first day on Barcelona it became a simple decision to go to Park Güell for a day.

The hotel's wifi was just about up to the task of telling me where it was, when it opened and how to get there.

The advised route was to take the underground to Vallcarca and walk from there. Finding the route was easy as a lot of people were going the same way but I was not prepared for how steep the climb up was.

It is never a good sign when the pavement has escalators and this one had several.

The Park had two sections, a public part that anybody could go to and a private part that you had to pay to go to. This was on a timed ticket and I had a couple of hours to wait before going in. That was fine with me as that gave me plenty of time to walk around the public part and to get something to eat and drink. The drink was more important as this was quite a hot day.

The public park was very structural with several criss-crossing paths spread over a steep hill and with a few strange structures along the way. It reminded me to much of Port Portmeirion and did so for the rest of the day.

Walking through the public park gave enticing views back down in to the private section and I would have been tempted then to go, if I had not already got my ticket. The people who were in before me certainly seemed to be enjoying the view from one of the main vantage points.

There were vantage points in the public park too though I had no idea how precarious this one was when I walked along it.

This was a fantastical place and I was being wrapped up in its spell. It was also large enough that it could entrance many other people too and not seem that busy. Or perhaps it is because I am used to London that it seemed hassle-free.

Then the time came for me to go in to the central part of the Park and that part of my journey started with the curved terrace that I had looked down on earlier. There were several bays in the elongated bench and I was able to find one that was empty for a moment.

The sun was too hot to allow me to stay there for too long, which is just as well as I could have spent a long time there otherwise and I had other things to see.

The erratic mosaic construction meant that each section of the bench was different and that, in turn, meant that each section was worth looking at closely. The design looked haphazard but the effect was dazzling.

Walking down the hill, through a half tunnel cut in to the rock, revealed that the terrace was suspended on pillars which, like the pillars above, stood at unusual angles.

The pillars also created an interesting indoors space that had both shade (welcome on that day) and artistic reward (also welcome) with a decorated roof.

At the bottom of the hill, by one of the other entrances, were a couple of villas. They were probably intended to be gate houses for a development that never really got started, the gardens are there but not the villas, but they have become tourist attractions and shops. Somehow I did not buy anything but it was very close.

The main (lower) entrance shows the sheer exuberance and folly of the design. This was not Port Meirrion Portmeirion any more, this was Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and I had a golden ticket.

I also had a little thirst and a little tiredness so the cafe just to the left of the picture was the perfect place to sit for twenty minutes or so before rejoining the bustle and reclimbing the hill to see some more of the park.

As elsewhere, the structures warranted a closer look. This time the mosaics were more ordered but no less colourful.

This salamander basking towards the top of the grand steps was the icon of the park and featured on a lot of t-shirts and mugs. It was not my favourite thing there but most of the most spectacular things were of too large a scale to use on mugs so it is no surprise that the one small thing there became the icon of the park.

It was a long and rewarding day in Park Güell and there was more effort to come as I took a different way back to the hotel that still took quite a bit of walking, all be it mostly downhill.

And that was enough for me for the day. I ventured only a short way from the hotel to eat that evening before settling in for an easy slumber. Barcelona was proving to be just my sort of city.

Barcelona Day Two was spent in and around the Old Town

On my first day in Barcelona I had walked around the edges of the Old Town a little and had only walked through it at the end of the day to get back to my hotel. I was saving the Old Town for my second day.

I started off by walking back down Les Rambles again. This time at a more gentle pace and with more intent on exploration than on walking, a change in priorities from the previous day.

About half-way down I went in to the market, Mercado de La Boqueria, lurking to the west of the boulevard. I like markets and have been in to many in many places. There is something special about the combination of their shape, colour and activity that I find so compelling.

There were other cute buildings along the way and I rather liked this one.

Also nearby was the opera house which had a lovely upmarket cafe on a lower level. The ideal spot for a touch of elevenses.

Where the road met the sea was the magnificent neo-classical Port of Barcelona building. It was not quite as statuesque as its cousin the Liver Building but it made up for this in ornamentation.

Also there was the monument to Columbus. This looked like Nelson's Column but a shade taller. Column's do not photograph well (even diagonally) so I've not included a picture of it. Besides, you know what a column looks like.

Following the harbour north-east again, as I had the day before, I came across Barcelona-Estacio de França. I like stations even more than I like markets and this one was somewhat special thanks to its curved and double-arched roof.

The modern trains were a marked contrast to the period charm of the waiting area where I had a light lunch, with beer, in a large hall with a tall roof. The last time I ate somewhere like that was in Prague in the much-loved Deminka.

From there I headed into the Old Town where I found something new and also very old. Mercat del Born had been the site of a market that fell in to disrepair and had then been restored together with the old street patterns in the area which put the market back at the heart the area.

The new market house looked just like a market house should.

The very old stuff was inside.

In rebuilding the area they had discovered the remains of old buildings and these were now preserved inside the new market house. Around the sides were boards explaining the site and the history of the area. Several incarnations of Barcelona ago this had been a very important part of the town where battles had been fought.

From there I wandered through the heart of the Old Town which, being old, had many small windy lanes to follow, which I did just to see where they led. This is how I like to explore, treating each junction as a new opportunity and only deciding once i get there which route to take.

There was a grand heart to the Old Town that I had not been expecting, mostly because I had been ignoring the map. Here some of the streets were wide enough to swing lamps between and these led to grand squares surrounded by grand buildings such as government offices.

Wandering to the edges of the Old Town again (it is not that big so I kept bumping in to the edges) I chanced upon the extraordinary and elegant Palau de la Música Catalana. This is exactly what I wander around cities looking for.

And just around the corner there was another one. This looks as though it ought to be a school or something (there was a school in there somewhere) but the street views suggests that it was, at that time, a series of small shops. The purpose aside, the building's appeal is obvious with the sweeping roof line, strong arches and the falling decorations.

There were several other interesting buildings in that area too, including a modern one that looked as if it was covered in eye-balls.

You can tell by the low light that this was towards the end of the day and it had been another good one with lots more walking and plenty of unexpected discoveries.

The reason I go on holiday is to find railway stations as lovely as this

Barcelona Day One was all about walking and exploring

Sadly, I can remember the time many years ago that Shula Archer went on holiday to Venice with her future husband Mark Hebden (now long dead) and a couple of friends and Mark had done a colour-coded map showing where they would go each day. My holidays are not like that.

I arrived in Barcelona with little idea of what to do but with the conviction that there were things to do. It took most of a day to get there by train; one train to Paris then one to Barcelona, an easy journey though the final leg in Barcelona was a tad confusing and I was forced to ask a member of staff which platform I needed.

I did little on the first evening other than go to the restaurant/bar across the road from the hotel. I was staying at the BCN Urban Gran Ducat chosen because of its good central location just on the north edge of the Old Town and very close to Plaça de Catalunya.

The hotel had a standard tourist map with all the main sights shown and that was all that I needed. I was there for a few days and there was no sign of rain so on the first day I decided to take in the tourist spots further north of the Old Town. The first place I went was the Apple Shop, but that probably does not count.

The first place that I cam across was Gaudi's Casa Batlló which if I had know beforehand was there would have been the first thing that I went to. Often not planning works just as well as planning and it requires less work, so why bother?

After another couple of grand buildings, including another Gaudi, I arrived at Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece La Sagrada Familia.

I found a cafe just across the road from it and had a leisurely lunch there before exploring it in detail. It was a lot stranger than I expected, and than the previous Gaudi buildings had suggested. The towers were familiar but the detail was something of a shock. The church is a deliberate wish-mash of styles and decorations. Even in this one section there are the curvaceous towers, Gothic windows and square modern blocks.

Wandering almost randomly back to the hotel I passed though an Art Nouveau area with its pretty decorations and exuberant balconies.

I only paused in the hotel for a while as there was so much more that I wanted to see and the walking was going well. Another look at the map suggested a walk down Les Rambles that leads down from Plaça de Catalunya to the sea.

The walk was more exciting than most of the scenery though I did have this nice dragon for company.  I also saw lots of Ajax fans there for their game against Barcelona.

Les Rambles was well designed for rambling with a broad walkway sloping gently between terraces of proud buildings. I found the stalls a little tacky but they were kept well to the sides so did not impede my progress to much. More of a worry was the wavy paving that created a disturbing optical illusion when walking at pace.

This is one of the grander buildings that I paused to photograph on my walk. I just liked the sheer number of things going on in the design from the small window panes, the decorations in the railings and the bulb lights. And the shutters.

Hitting the seafront I explored the area a little before walking on. I grew up in Weymouth and I have always like the freshness and saltiness of the sea air and the gentle business of harbours.

The walk north-east along the harbour-side was largely uneventful largely because the wide pavement, which attracted many people on skates and other fun wheeled devices, was a reasonable distance from both the sea and the first row of buildings on the shore.

At the far end was a delightful covered walkway that the sun was having fun with.

I walked back to the hotel via the Old Town and that took me, accidentally, past the Cathedral. I was sure that I would be seeing it a few more times over the next few days but that did not stop me from taking a few photos of it then. There is something irresistible about intricate shapes against an almost clear blue sky.

Barcelona Day One more that lived up to expectations with a lot of good walking and plenty to see along the way. It also held good promise for the days to come.

If you're going to do bonkers then you might as well do it properly