Christmas and New Years: Barcelona and Sevilla: Part One

Let me begin by saying I'm sorry this posting is so much after the fact, but there it is.
Our decision to go to Spain for the Christmas/New Years holiday had more to do with getting out of a country deprived of cultural highlights than it had to do with going to one that had them in abundance. Lucky us, then, for choosing Spain, a country we've wanted to visit for some time, more for hearing about the good weather and cheap good wine than anything else. While these two qualities are accurate reflections of the reality, there is so much more that makes a visit to Barcelona and Sevilla very rewarding: the history as reflected in the architecture, art galleries, traditions such as "the stroll", and the good weather and cheap wine. Not to mention the food. My goodness, the food.

Rose likes the name of the shop, particularly
with me in front of it. Very funny, Rose.

And the people were very friendly and eager to help, if the young staff at our hotel, the waiters who served us our meals, local merchants, and the taxi drivers are anything to go by (Well, except for the first taxi driver who couldn't find our hotel and unceremoniously dumped us three blocks from our hotel with no directions to go by in the dark on a busy holiday night. Other than him, jerk, we never encountered any problems at all.) I'm particularly fond of the woman who served me coffee to take away at a nearby coffee shop/bakery just when I finished a run and, seeing my running gear, commented that I must be doing this for the benefit of my girlfriend. I told her there was no fooling her alright. The waitress, that is, not the girlfriend.

One of many curious shops in
Barcelona.

Wandering through the narrow lanes, cobbled alleys, and varied 'placas' of Barcelona's old Jewish ghetto, Le Barri Gotic, where our hotel was situated, provides many surprises and delights from this watering hole with its whistling faces (they probably squirted water in a previous life) to the four or five scenes pictured below.

Having paella in a Barcelona restaurant is enough to make me want to move to the place. A culinary experience not to be missed. And the tile work decorating the Palau de la Musica Catalana is an equally delightful feast for the eyes. Rose and I did a tour but they wouldn't allow any pictures inside. Check it out online: spectacular. The remaining pictures are just a few of the many we took and are not entirely in order but I hope you can enjoy them and that they convince you that Christmas in Barcelona can be a wonderful holiday. The Picasso Museum, Olympic Mountain, great out of the way bookshops, markets, placas, walks, phenomenal wine, great tapas.

Gorgeous columns at the Palau de la Musica Catalana
in Barcelona. The tour inside is a marvel.

The Gaudi cathedral, Sagrada Familia, which
is amazing to see but somehow verging on the
ridiculous, it seems to me.

More Gaudi.

Some of the gargoyles on the
14th C Barcelona Cathedral.

This fellow sat outside our hotel window
every day we were there.

One of many doors Rose fell
in love with.  

One of a variety of medieval squares.

On Christmas Day we found an Irish pub open serving all
day full English breakfast and Guinness. What more would
a couple want early in the morning in Barcelona, all other
shops being closed?

Our Christmas Day host.

Board games in the sun by the Arc de
Trionf on the gorgeous boulevard of
Passeig de Lluis Companys.

In the beautiful Parc de la Ciutadella people gather to dance
for an hour; others gather to watch.

As we flew over Venice on our way to
Barcelona.

A typical evening in the square from
our hotel balcony. Music, food, and wine.

Golden mushrooms at the nearby Mercat de la Bouqueria,
a giant food market. It's all there.

More of the Mercat de la Bouqueria

And more.

Christmas poinsettia on La Rambla.

La Rambla, one of the great pedestrian streets in the world.
A bit tourist-trappy, but worth the crowds anyway.

After our tour of the Torres Winery in VillaFranca, an hour's
train ride from Barcelona. Well worth the travel.

One of many well lighted trees around
Le Barri Gotic no one of our many night strolls.