California coast

Went on a road trip from San Diego to San Jose last month. We had a good time overall. The weather was good and the scenery gorgeous. The highlight was probably the elephant seals on Hwy 1 lounging in the sun, hundreds and thousands of them lying as if dead, waiting for their skin to molt and doing little else. What a sight!

And if you're ever in the Morro Bay area and looking for a place to stay - I'd really recommend the Back Bay Inn - a comfortable place located right on the bay at a very reasonable price. Oh, good breakfast too!

The last day

My last day in Barcelona. I wanted to leave early but as usual it was around 11am by the time I had breakfast and left the hotel. I went straight to Las Ramblas since I'd not yet seen it during daytime. At Columbus Square there were barely any people but as I moved further along, the crowds increased to become the 'flow of humanity' that guidebooks described. There were plenty of street performers and in the beginning I gave them all a few cents. At some point I ran out of change and the street performers were cooperative no more, hiding their faces if photographed.

The flower market portion of it was nice and colorful but the bird market with its caged birds was sad and I had to look away when passing through. The roadside cafes were open and packed with tourists from all over the world (Judging by all the different languages one heard in passing). I saw the signs for a Museum of Erotica on one side of the street. Wondering if it was really a museum or a glorified sex shop, I enquired within to find out that it really was a bonafide museum and that a ticket would cost 7 Euros. Unfortunately though it seemed interesting, I really had no time to spare...
I went in search of the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) designed by Richard Meier. After some wrong turns and wondering if Meier had changed his style, I accidentally turned onto the right street, and saw a building that screamed Meier's name. The classic off white, monumental scale that I had seen and loved at Getty centre, was here too and at first it seemed a bit out of place among the ornate apartment buildings of the old city. The longer I saw it though, the more I started liking it. I saw in it an attempt to create contrasts in different ways, in form, in scale, in material, in color and in reflectance. And everywhere there was space - space to walk around, sit and admire the surrounding buildings beautifully framed by this building. Unfortunately though, the same vast space also invited several homeless and poor people to call the square their home. I went in to ask about tickets, but realized that I didn't have the time to do justice to 8 euros or whatever high amount they were charging. So I contented myself to clicking some more photos of the building from outside before moving on.

My intention was to rejoin Las Ramblas but I realized that I hadn't seen Palau Guell yet. I heard that it was being renovated but figured I could get some photos of the exterior at least.
So I went back in the direction I came, taking smaller side roads in Raval instead of Las Ramblas. I discovered that some areas of Raval, particularly near the big hospital were teeming with Indians, Bangladeshis and Pakistanis. I saw quite a few Indian grocery stores, saree shops, cafes, shops selling cheap plastic goods and such. I even saw a Gurudwara. Some of these areas were dirty, full of garbage and generally seemed like really poor living conditions. Many people smiled as I passed by, acknowledging another person of their race. I had to wonder though - Did they really have a better quality of life here, than they would have had in India?

It was quite a long walk back to the area with Palau Guell and it was in vain, since the entire exterior was covered up for renovations. Following the lead of a couple of other tourists, I peeked in through the window grills and caught a couple of glimpses of a beautiful interior. Couldn't take any photos though.

At that point I figured I still had about 2 hours more of sightseeing time left and I was torn for a while trying to decide between going back to Montjuic to see the Mies Van Der Rohe pavilion or going to the beach and maybe the Forum buildings. The sea won over and I took the metro going to Barceloneta, after a brief stop midway where I wanted another look at the Palau Musica Catalana. Again, there was no time to go inside, but I did get to see the outside in a more relaxed way and admire the building. From there I went to Barceloneta. It was a long walk since I'd gotten down a stop or two earlier than I needed to and I was thirsty and hungry at the end of it. I saw the sign 'Forn La Pa' which I had come to recognize as little pastry shops. I liked these because they didn't seem overpriced, had good baked goods and generally didn't seem to have a glut of tourists inside. A croissant and some sitting on a roadside bench later, I walked in search of the beach, somewhat more refreshed. It was on this walk that I saw some of the more contemporary buildings in Barcelona.

Finally I reached the sea shore and sat down for a while, looking at the sea, enjoying the weather and pleasant scenery. There was some kind of air show put on by planes flying in formation. The beach looked nice, clean, tempting, but I didn't go into the water. I also saw the Frank Gery fish sculture nearby.
Soon it was time to go back to the hotel and pack since we had an early flight the next day.
After packing, my husband and I went on a nighttime bus tour of the city where we saw some of the prominent buildings illuminated beautifully. It was a good way of bidding farewell to a city that I'd fallen in love with.

Day 4 - Paella

My day started late and my plan for the day was to see the old town - which included Barri Gotico and a lot of other areas nearby.

I had resolved to stick to the recommendations in my guidebook with minimal deviations, after my adventure the previous day. My first stop was the lovely Santa Caterina market. While the Boqueria is the more famous market, the Santa Caterina is architecturally more interesting, while being just as lively and colorful. Fruits, vegetables, meats, eggs and all kinds of other things were on sale. There was even a stall dedicated entirely to different types of olive oils and vinegars.
My husband joined me later in the afternoon for a walk around Barri Gotico. This of course meant we visited the famous Catedral Le Seu - an imposing Gothic cathedral that had been built originally in the 13th century and received several additions in the sixteenth. After being in fake Gothic style churches in N.America, it was amazing to visit an actual one. We sat inside for a while and then went to the roof where in the distance we could see the forms of the Sagrada Familia echoing these ancient towers. Outside the church, two women played exceptionally good instrumental music in the hope of getting some coins from appreciative tourists.


We had an eclectic lunch of pizza rolls, yogurt and fruit juice and wandered some more. We even saw some ancient Roman ruins. My husband left in a while to go back to his conference and I made my way to Cathedral St. Maria Del Mar. The Cathedral was closed but I took some photos of the cathedral and other buildings nearby. There were plenty of shops around carrying really fashionable jewelry, watches and clothes.
After a lot more walking around which included stopping at a multistoreyed lighting store, I made my way to Museu Picasso which housed an impressive collection of the artist's work especially those done in Barcelona. There was also a Museum of Textiles nearby but by the time I was done at the Picasso Museum, it had already closed for the evening. The giftshop was still open and had some gorgeous textiles in the form of bags, scarves and such. I could only admire them and wish that I'd be able to afford them someday.

I also made a quick stop to see the Palau De La Musica Catalana a magnificent concert hall built around 1900. It was a beautiful building alright, but the sun was setting and I was running late for the evening. I was also refused admission inside. Resolving to return the next day, I went back to Las Ramblas where once again my husband joined me for the evening.

We were going to meet some friends of my husband near the Christopher Columbus statue and enroute we saw several more street performers. We also stopped briefly to see the Boqueria market. My husband's friends turned out to be really warm and welcoming and the evening was one of the best in Barcelona. They treated us to dinner at a fantastic restaurant overlooking the sea. The food, the wine and the company were all very good and the evening flew by. They told us more about life in Barcelona and patiently answered all kinds of inane questions from me. After dinner, they took us for a mini tour around the area. We even went to a local carnival where the highlight of the event seemed to be a couple of drag queens. It was well after midnight when they dropped us back at the hotel and they had a full working day the next day.

In all it was an unforgettable evening in an unforgettable trip (Why else would I write of it 5 months after the trip?) that was coming to end.

There was just one more day left.

Day 3 - Montjuic

My plan for this third day was to go to Montjuic - a mountain overlooking the sea that housed many different gardens and other places to see. In fact there were too many places to see listed there and I clearly had to prioritize. My plan was simple - I would see the Joan Miro Museum, the German Pavilion by Mies Van Der Rohe, the tower by Calatrava and the typical Spanish village if possible. There was some sort of Castle listed as one of the attractions but I definitely wasn't interested in going there.

I reached Montjuic through the funicular, which looks like a train but is drawn by tough cables up the slope. Within moments of walking from the station I found the Joan Miro museum - my first intended destination. However curiosity took me up a monumental set of steps right opposite the museum. The top of these steps took me to another series of smaller steps. Feeling somewhat like Alice, I continued up the steps which in turn led me to small pathways and more steps. I realized by now that I had climbed quite a distance, but the promise of some spectacular view beyond kept me going further...up more steps and more pathways. When I finally reached somewhere, I realized I was at the very castle that I hadn't wanted to see.

I spent some time wandering outside the castle enjoying the spectacular views onto the harbour and the sea. The castle itself was massive but had little else in its favor. There was a military museum inside which one could see for two euros, but I didn't want to. By this time, my unintended diversion had eaten up two and a half hours of my time at Montjuic - precious time that could have been spent elsewhere. About half my time at Montjuic was over and I'd seen none of the things I had come to see. For the first time I realized the importance of sticking with an agenda.

I found my way back to the museum and spent all my remaining time there, since I wanted to see it in detail. The museum housed the art of Joan Miro and had been built by architect Josep Luis Sert. The entry was somewhat pricey and had I planned my visit better I would have purchased an Articket which allowed people to see 5 museums for 20 euros. The audioguide cost extra and I purchased one thinking that it would be helpful. Needless to say the audioguide didn't really add much to the experience. Art is a very personal thing to begin with and no audioguide could have done justice to the experience anyway. Although I was not familiar with Miro or his work before stepping into the museum, I fell in love with his work anyway. I wished I could do with words what this man had done with art - but its not easy. This had taken him years of mastery over conventional art and experimenting with the new. Also this was more in the realm of poetry than fiction...a world somewhat strange to me.

There was also a temporary exhibition by Carlos Santos comprising of disturbing images that I cannot claim to have understood. It was interesting though. One of the highlights of my visit there was seeing the 'Mercury Fountain' sculpture by the American artist Alexander Calder.

Soon it was time to leave and I took the funicular back down. My husband joined me for our next desitination that evening - Parc Guell - a huge park designed by Antonio Gaudi. The park took a while to reach and was a long climb from the Metro station. We saw many apartment buildings enroute and were struck by the similarity to India. The open balconies with clothes hung out to dry, the plants and the brick construction all made us feel that we were back in India - a cleaner version nevertheless.

The park itself was spectacular as was to be expected. By the time we reached it, the sun had begun to set and there were a lot of parts we couldn't see. However we did manage to see the famous mosaic frog. It was a very pleasant evening and we had a wonderful time.

Heading back, we had some misadventures trying to take a bus instead of the Metro and ending up in the wrong place. After more walking (my feet were killing me), we took a Metro back to Las Ramblas and had dinner at Moti Mahal, an Indian restaurant nearby. The food was excellent though expensive and was a good change from all the salads and sandwiches we'd been eating thus far.

We took the last metro back to the hotel and thus ended our third day in Barcelona

Day 2 - Casas galore

After another great breakfast, I ventured forth resolving to continue my Gaudi pilgrimage. Getting down at Passeig De Gracia station, I walked around for a bit on the parallel street Rambla De Catalunya before heading to my next destination. It was another gorgeous day and this street had tons of cafeterias with seating on the streets and a nice promanade in the middle.
My first destination of the day was Casa Batllo (pronounced Batyo) was actually almost next door to the metro station.

After walking around a little bit and taking some pictures I got distracted by the building next door - Casa Amatller - a building that looked good but very different from its neighbor.
I wandered indoors knowing next to nothing about the building. After taking some photos of its very ornate entrance hallways, stairways, stained glass skylights and mosaics, I went to the giftshop hoping to find more information.
Here I learnt that the building was designed by a modernistic architect called Josep Puig i Cadafalch for a wealthy chocolatier - Antonio Amatller. While there didn't seem to be any kind of tour to the rest of the house, there was a temporary exhibition of the photos Antonio Amatller took on his travels to Turkey (good photos!).

I went back next door to Casa Batllo and discovered that it would cost me 16 Euros to get in and get the audiotour. I almost refused and I am so glad now that I did go! The price is worth every bit of it and the audiotour was one of the best I'd ever heard explaining in great detail its many features - things one might not notice otherwise. If you are into architecture and are interested in Gaudi, I would most definitely recommend this tour.

The entry way led to an organic hallway which almost felt like being in the belly of some animal because of the curved forms and exotic patterns on the ceilings and walls. A curved wooden stairway with railing suggestive of teeth took people up to an apartment on the main level. The most impressive room was the main living room with the curvaceous windows and stained glass that modulated the sunlight while offering a great view of the street below. The wooden door and window frames undulated in three dimensions. There were also skylights wherever possible. Clearly the man was a fan of daylight and wherever possible, rooms either had windows opening to the street or to one of the two courtyards.

The courtyards themselves were a fine piece of work with blue tiles lining the walls. The blueness increased with height to compensate for varying light levels with height and to give an impression of more light on the lower floors. The windows onto the courtyard on the lower floors were also bigger for this very reason. Also really cool were the balustrade glass panels with varying glass thickness giving the impression of being underwater.

There was a terrace on the lower level with some interesting mosaic work. However the real action was in the roof - 5 storeys above, accessed from an arched loft that supported it.
The loft was built as a place for washing and drying clothes for all the tenants in the apartments. The giant louvers permitted plenty of light and breeze but no rain. A spiral stairway led to the beautifully wild terrace. The wild forms of the chimneys grouped together, the colorful mosaics and the garlic shaped dome all combine to create an unforgettable visual experience.

The stairway down led to a room that was sort of a memorial to Gaudi. I closed my eyes for a minute in gratitude for this marvelous and courageous architect before moving on to the gift shop where I bought a couple of souvenirs in memory of my incredible visit here. Casa Batllo had replaced Casa Mila as my favorite Gaudi building and it would stay there..

After a fantastic lunch of salad and fresh yogurt with fruit for a very reasonable price, I walked further along Paseig De Gracia seeing the shops and coming across two more impressive facades - Gran Via and Casa Mestres. I couldn't go in and photograph the interiors but the exteriors did look impressive. It was somewhere in this vicinity that I also spoke with an Indian - the first I saw of many during the trip. He seemed friendly and offered his phone number and and offer of unstinting help should I ever need it. Luckily for me, I didn't.

My next pilgrimage spot was Casa Vicens - also an apartment building by Gaudi, located in the beautiful neighborhood of Gracia. Unlike the previous buildings, this one was still inhabited by people residing there. So looking inside was out of the question. I walked around taking some photos and feeling jealous of the people who lived there.

After I was done, I walked around some more in Gracia enjoying the ancient streets and squares. Posh shops coexisted side by side with everyday pharmacies, tobacconists (where I sucessfully bought a stamp) and pastry shops. The pastry shops were small and had a selection of goodies which included incredibly soft fresh croissants. There were also coffee shops selling rich dark espressos and cappuchinos.

The guidebook I got from the hotel recommended visiting a square called Pl.Del Diamant which was famous because of a novel about it. I went there and found pigeons, old people seated on benches and children playing with abandon. Such a heartwarming scene after the emptiness of the suburban streets I was used to in North America! There was a shop here with some really interesting lanterns.

After walking some more, I stumbled on Catedral St. Joan- beautiful, run down and locked. I took some photos of the exterior and some of the houses surrounding it before realizing that I was running out of time. I was also very very very tired after all the walking - a constant fact of my next few days since I walked all the time everywhere and wanted to see everything.

After a short nap in the hotel room where my husband met me after his day at the conference, the two of us headed to Las Ramblas for dinner around nine. Although there were many people walking around, most of the street shops were closed and most of the street performers we'd heard of were gone as well. We saw one painted pair who posed willingly for us for a fee of 10 cents.

We roamed around happily for some more time before buying . falafels, salad and fries at a streetside cafe. Finding no place there to sit and eat, we ate at the metro station amidst a not very romantic setting of dirt, grime and mice, before catching the metro back to the hotel.

And so ended the second day.

Day 1 - Gaudi and Gaudier

One more warning that I forgot to include in my previous post: Clicking on links will take you to my photos of these different places. Looking for something else? Google it for yourself!
Day 1
There were 2 really nice things about the hotel we stayed.
1.) Their Location: They were located right above one of the main stations - Sants Estacio and were well connected to the rest of the city and even to other cities.
2.) Their Breakfast: What a spread! Varieties of fresh fruit, vegetables, dried fruit, jams, spreads, cheese, breads, pastries, croissants, eggs cooked in varied ways, yogurts and I don't even remember what else. And all of it was of such good quality! I have never ever eaten such breakfast in my life before. There, now I don't have to drool afresh in each new post!

There were some not-so-nice things about the hotel we stayed as well - such being charged 4 Euros for a 500ml bottle of drinking water - but why think of the negatives?

Having read that the Metro was the best way to travel in Barcelona, we were determined to give it a try. Besides, we simply couldn't afford to take cabs everywhere. So armed with a Metro map and directions from the hotel, we walked downstairs to Estacio Sants, where we almost boarded a train to some different city (Mistaking platform 5 for Line 5). After some adventure trying to communicate in gestures with different kind hearted but non-English speaking people, we discovered the right place to board the Metro.

Our first destination was the top-must-see attraction of Barcelona - Temple De Sagrada Familia - Antonio Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece - a cathedral still in construction. From outside the building looked impressive and was even better inside (though unfinished). The entrance fee was 8 Euros and well worth the cost. The interior had these columns with supports branching out and looking up I felt as I were looking at a forest canopy supported on the branches of really tall trees with light filtering in through imposing stained glass windows. Opting not to climb the hundreds of steps to the see the towers, we shelled out 2 Euros more per person and took the elevator instead. We waited in line for almost an hour to get into the elevator. Again, this was made worthwhile by the view from the top - a view of the city as well as a closer look at the towers with all their wild decorative forms. We took the stairs walking down, pausing to look through every little window and click yet another image.

My husband went back to the hotel after that, since he had better things to do like attend his conference on Computing. I headed meanwhile in search of my next destination: Casa Mila, also known as La Pedrera, designed by Antonio Gaudi. Upon getting down from the Metro at Diagonal Station, I promptly headed in the completely wrong direction. I wasn't in a hurry to find the place though and I wandered around happily in the sunshine, feasting my eyes on the surroundings and the wonderful facades around. People were eating outside, lingering in public squares and enjoying the company of family and friends. The buildings were wonderful - 3 or 4 storeyed apartment buildings easily a hundred years old if not older. They all looked similar with their balconies and wooden shutters. Yet they each looked different with different colors, decorative motifs and styles to tell them apart. I completely fell in love with this place - which I later learnt was part of Gracia, and spent hours wandering around taking photos of facades.

After some time I finally realized that something was wrong and that Casa Mila had still not shown up in spite of my walking for quite a while. Looking at my map and at the streets around, I realized I was headed the wrong way and turned around to start my long walk back.
I knew I had reached the right place, upon seeing the curvaceous building that stood out from rectilinear ones that surrounded it. Of course I instantly fell in love with this place just looking at it from outside - The cast iron of the balconies and the doorframes, the organic forms of the building itself and the sheer exuberence of it all...

The inside was beautiful as well, especially the arched loft with 240 brick arches, acting as a structural support for the undulating roof. There was a 'Making of La Pedrera' museum there. arches. Nothing prepared me for the experience of stepping out on the roof though. The only word to describe it is 'Wild!'. I had to wonder what he smoked to come up with those chimney stacks! The entire roof surface varied in height and walking around the roof once every day would have kept the occupants fit and healthy.

There was also a temporary exhibition on the paintings by Spanish Artist Ramon Gaya. I hung around for a while admiring the art and trying to make sense of the captions and other info written in Spanish, before I gave up and decided to get something to eat.

Felling rejunvinated with some icecream, I resumed walking, this time on Passeig de Gracia. I wandered around led by my whims which I figured was a pretty good way to explore Barcelona. I had 4 days more... enough time to see all else that Barcelona had to offer. I also had to meet my husband in about 1/2 an hour for a fancy dinner organized by his conference.

The dinner was served at Montjuic el Xalet, a fancy restaurant at Montjuic - a hill with several places of interest. The restaurant occupied multiple levels and offered spectacular views of Barcelona and the sea. The level we were on was a revolving area, where every group at every table got a chance to look out onto the city below. Food was good or so I was told. There were limited options for vegetarians - namely a huge leafy salad, some Paella that didn't smell quite right and really good dessert. We watched in some frustration at all the others tucking into their multiple courses of seafood and carnage. The wine was good and abundant and the ambience was great.

The evening ended with the spectacular fireworks from the conclusion of La Merce, the local festival of Barcelona. The fireworks went on for almost an hour and we had a grand view from where we were perched. A great end to a wonderful day!

My trip to Barcelona

I recently visited Barcelona, Spain for 5.5 days. This was my first trip to Europe and I had 5.5 absolutely wonderful days there. What follows is an account of my trip day by day. Its more of a subjective experience and not an objective how-to-see Barcelona thing. There are plenty of those already online. Come to think of it, there are plenty of subjective narratives as well...at least the subject differs though.

Judging by my rate of posting, I am probably going to get a day of my trip posted per week.

Warning 1: Most of my trip is like a pilgrimage filled with architecture- after all Barcelona is the city of Gaudi and my photos reflect my obsession.

Warning 2: The following words have been grossly overused: Nice, Good, Beautiful, Wonderful, Amazing, Gorgeous, Spectacular, Splendid. Yes, my trip was really that good.

Day 0.5 (The first evening in Barcelona)


We reached Barcelona only at 6pm, thanks to a missed flight enroute. Our trip was unremarkable and filled with sleep and bad food.

Our evening started with dinner at a charming little Lebanese restaurant(the name of which we've both forgotten). There we dined on falafels, pita bread and cardomom tea. Food was good and the ambience was different. The cafe seemed to be filled with locals, who would probably head for the movie theatre next door later. We even saw a Bangaldeshi cook who offered to cook us anything our hearts desired. Unfortunately by that time, we had already eaten dinner and couldn't take him up on his offer.

After dinner we took a long walk passing by a sculpturesqe Placa Espanya and entered a lighted avenue with several small luminous founains leading to a bigger, dynamic, beautifully lit magic fountain - Font Montjuic . We sat there, enjoying the changing shapes and colours of the fountain and the incredibly pleasant weather. After a while we walked partway up the stairs leading to the Museu Nacional D'art De Catalunya. From there, we got a nice view of the entire lighted approach and the city beyond. The whole atmosphere was festive. There were several coffee shops and a lot of people were walking around even at half past midnght. There was even a concert on a roadside with a crowd gathered around. After clicking a ton of photographs we walked back to our hotel room at Barcelo Sants.