Today was my walking tour of the city's Gothic quarter! I woke up late again, and this time I really rushed to the station to get to the meeting place, but I took a wrong turn when walking to Saint Jaume square and I got slightly lost. I ended up at the meeting point five minutes past the hour and my group had already left for the tour, there was no one there. So I thought, "F that", and went on a tour of my own after looking at the tour website and figuring out the itinerary.
First I went to the Catedral de Santa Creu, with its Gothic arches and lush, green central garden. It's probably the only church I've seen with a garden right in the middle and I loved the symbolism of it.
Then I went to the Catedral Santa Maria del Mar again and finally got to have a look inside. In the 30s a group of anarchists set fire to the inside of the cathedral, burning everything wooden down to ashes. The good news is that without all the wooden clutter, the bare stone of the walls is beautiful and simple, and you can really see the scale of the structure without being distracted by too much decoration. I also had a look around the back of the cathedral and it was just as beautiful and elegant, and medieval, as the front.
After that, I ended up at a cute little stationery shop called Papirvm, which specialises in making antique-style notebooks and paper. I didn't buy anything but now I wish I had!
Then I went to the Basilica Sants Just I Pastor S.XIV, which is an imposing, flat-faced Gothic structure. It was closed so I couldn't go in, which is a shame because I'm super interested to see what the interior is like.
The laneways of the Gothic quarter in Barcelona are so winding and skinny, with buildings that seem to lean in to one another with age. It's fairly easy to get lost or miss the street you're looking for. One passer-by commented, "It looks like New York", and not having visited New York I can't comment on whether they are right or wrong. But the whole area has a distinct "old" feeling that separates it from the department stores and the modernism of the other side of Placa Catalunya. This is another great thing about Barcelona, the feeling of visiting smaller cities within a larger city. Every district has something different to see and a totally different atmosphere!
Hidden down a dead end under a church and behind a mountaineering shop, I found the Temple Roma D'Augusti, which is where four ancient Roman columns are located. The temple was a political and religious centre during Roman times, dedicated to Emperor Augustus, until the uprising of Christianity in Spain around 5AD. After it became irrelevant, it was demolished over time until only the four columns remained of the huge building, and the marble was recycled for other buildings such as the Bishop's palace. You would think after Italy, Greece and Turkey that I would be sick of seeing columns everywhere but I'm really not.
After the Temple D'Augusti I found I was really hungry so I strayed from my mini-tour and found a nice cafe (not Starbucks) and had a coffee and a sandwich. I really wish my Spanish wasn't so rusty because I ended up just falling back on English when the waiter asked me a question that was beyond my understanding.
After lunch I went back to have a look in Happy Books! I think it's the best name for a bookshop. But I couldn't find anything I was super interested in to read in Spanish. Afterwards, I made a quick stop at H&M which turned into a long stop. I may have spent an amount of money there.
Then I went to El Corte Ingles, a huge department store, determined to find a hairdryer. The giant megalith that looms over Placa Catalunya is a funny mix of high-end clothes, hardware items and kitschy landfill-destined homewares. But I ended up finding a perfect little travel-sized hairdryer so I was happy. It's decorated in a totally naff traditional Swiss-style design, so I am absolutely keeping it for myself. I just have to figure out a way to fit it in my suitcase.
I decided to go home to the hostel to drop off my shopping before visiting Parc Guell again. I felt my first time visiting it with a tour guide was a bit rushed, so I wanted to see it again. I've discovered that the only problem I have with Barcelona metro is that as you descend to your train stop, because everything is underground it gets hotter and more humid every level you descend to. My line is always two levels down and is always like a sauna by the time I get there. However, the trains are perfectly air conditioned! And they're always on time (at least for me they were) so I could stand the heat for a couple of minutes.
I walked back to Parc Guell, and conveniently found the escalators that take you up the steep hill instead of walking up. This time around at the park I got to relax and look closely at everything in my own time. I got a cold drink and an ice cream and just sat and enjoyed being by myself without a tour group filled with old people who might not have even liked Gaudi at all.
After I'd looked at everything, it was definitely bed time because I was so tired. Contiki cough has definitely stayed past its welcome and is making me exhausted coughing all night. Not cool.
Tomorrow is my last full day in beautiful Barcelona and the day I've been looking forward to. I'm visiting the Teatre-Museu Dalí!!
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