Dinner and Flamenco Show

Days 10 & 11 of my Globus tour. This morning we drove from Zaragoza to Barcelona. Barcelona is the Catalonia area of Spain and is Catalonia’s capital and largest city. Almost the entire population of Barcelona speak Castilian Spanish and about 50–60% speak Catalan. However, we mostly heard Catalan and little Spanish. This afternoon, I went on a Globus optional Barcelona tour. My photos taken on it all came out off–color due to the light–filtering windows on the bus, so I haven’t used any but one of them. This evening I went on an optional dinner and flamenco show held at the Tabla Cordobes on La Rambla.

I was in Barcelona before, in October 2006, outside of tourist season. Barcelona was jammed with tourists this time. There are albums and slideshows on this website with photos of my last trip, under Albums, Western Europe, Spain and under Slide Shows, Western Europe, Spain–1.

Dinner & Flamenco Show

Another view of the Tabla Cordobes’ Arabic–style dining rooms.

Dinner

We had a buffet of 44 tastes of Spain. One of the dishes.

Dinner

More of the 44 tastes of Spain.

Dinner

More of the 44 tastes of Spain.

Dinner

And more of the 44 tastes of Spain. However, all the dishes were so mild in flavor that even though they all were presented beautifully they all tasted much the same.

Desserts

We had a choice of many desserts including chocolate–covered marshmallows.

Tabla Cordobes

A display in the restaurant.

Tabla Cordobes

The door to the restrooms.

Tabla Cordobes

More of Tabla Cordobes, a very pretty venue.

Flamenco Show

My tour director said that the flamenco show we were to see was a gypsy flamenco show. Photo of the musicans and singers.

Flamenco Dancers-1–MOVIE

A flamenco dance.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/MCNXc_AdXwU

Flamenco Dancers-2–MOVIE

Another flamenco dance.

Youtube: https://youtu.be/L509UXtA5QU

El Galli Nero

Day 11 of my Globus tour. Originally there was an optional tour to Montserrat in the morning and a tour of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in the afternoon. However, Globus wasn’t able to get tickets to see Sagrada Familia so gave everyone a free tour to Montserrat instead. I didn’t go to Montserrat as I had already been there before and also because my daughter, Britt, would be arriving this morning to spend a week with me in Barcelona. I was now off the Globus tour. It was raining today, so a very good day for both of us to catch up on sleep. We ate dinner at El Galli Nero (translated, “The Chicken Coop” in Spanish or “The Black Cock” in Catalan), our hotel’s restaurant.

El Galli Nero

A poster at El Galli Nero. There is a theater as part of our hotel––the Tryp Apolo.

El Galli Nero

Close–up of one of the items in the poster.

El Galli Nero

Close–up of another part of the poster.

Dinner

My dinner at El Galli Nero. They were prawns and very tasty.

Columbus Monument

Britt and I took one of the Barcelona hop–on hop–off buses for two days. They will take you to most places that you want to visit but they can be very slow. It was tourist season in Barcelona and crowded, so for some sites, you needed tickets in advance for them. To go from one site to another and to be on time for admission to a site, we opted for taxis some of the time rather than to either backtrack or be late by taking the hop–on hop–off bus. We caught the bus near the Columbus Monument which was constructed for the Exposicion Universal de Barcelona in 1888 at the location where Colombus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas. La Ramba, the famous Barcelona street, begins behind the monument. Photos follow of sights we saw on our bus rides.

Port Cable Car

The Port Cable Car will take you up to the Montijuic hill above the city. Britt and I went up in the cable car a few days later.

“La Gamba”

Barcelona boasts many sculptures. “La Gamba” by Javier Mariscal was one of them. It is either of a lobster or a crayfish.

Gothic Quarter & “El Cap de Barcelona”

Looking toward the Gothic quarter and at Roy Lichtenstein’s sculpture in front, “El Cap de Barcelona” (“The Head of Barcelona”––a woman with her hair in the wind).

Catedral de Barcelona

The Catedral de Barcelona seen from the hop–on hop–off bus. We were to visit it several days later.

Placa de Catalunya

Place de Catalunya is the main square in Barcelona and also where you catch the airport bus.

Beautiful Building

One of many beautiful buildings along our route.

Casa Batllo and Casa Amatiler

Gaudi’s Casa Batllo is on the right; Casa Amatiler is on the left. We would visit both.

Casa Mila

Casa Mila (La Pedrera), designed by Gaudi. We would visit it later.

Sagrada Familia

Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia. Its construction started in 1882. It is slated to be finished in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death.

Hospital de Sant Pau

The Hospital de Sant Pau was built between 1901 and 1930. It is no longer a hospital and you can visit its beautiful Art Deco buildings, which we did later.

Las Aren Bull Ring

Las Aren bull ring, now converted into a shopping center. There are many interesting sights along the hop–on hop–off bus routes. I put our hop–on hop–off rides on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/hop–on–hop–off–bus/ (Slide Shows, Western Europe, Spain–1, Barcelona 2019, “Barcelona Hop–on Hop–off Bus.”

Casa Batllo

Britt and I visited both Gaudi’s Casa Batllo and Casa Mila on Day 16. We also visited Gaudi’s Parc Guell on Day 17 and have included it in a slideshow of all three. Casa Batllo, on the right in the photo, is a total restoration by Gaudi in 1904 of a conventional house built in 1877. It is an example of Catalan Art Nouveau, which used ceramics, stone, and forged iron.

Casa Batllo

Inside Casa Batllo.

Casa Batllo

Inside Casa Batllo.

Casa Batllo

A mosaic sculpture on a terrace of Casa Batllo.

Casa Batllo

Sculptures on the roof of Casa Batllo. The sculptures are covering skylights, staircase exits, chimneys, and vents.

Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

Britt and I next visited Casa Mila (La Pedrera). It was built between 1906 and 1912 and is another Gaudi–designed building. Its architectural style is Modernisme.

Casa Mila (La Pedrera)

The rooftop of Casa Mila.

Parc Guell

Britt and I visited the Parc Guell the next day but I have included photos of it with those of Casa Batllo and Casa Mila. The Gaudi–designed Parc Guell was originally part of an unsuccessful housing site whose idea was of Count Eusebi Guell, whom the park is named after. The hop–on hop–off bus let us off quite a distance from the park’s entrance. We could walk one of two uphill ways to the park: one was almost two miles (3,000 m) or a shorter one less than one–half mile (700 m). We chose the shorter uphill path, but at the end of it was a very steep and long staircase which led to the upper level of the park. The park was very crowded and you needed advance tickets to see most of it, which we didn’t have as I didn’t think we would need them. The smart way to reach Parc Guell is really by taxi, which will let you off right at the front entrance. (Britt’s photo of the park’s entrance.)

Parc Guell

We were able to walk around the outside of the park. These are sculptures to look like a forest.

Parc Guell

Some of the mosaic benches at Parc Guell.

I have put my photos of Parc Guell, Casa Batllo, and Casa Mila on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/gaudis–barcelona–casa–batllo–casa–mila–park–guell/ (Slideshows, Western Europe, Spain–1, Barcelona 2019, “Gaudi’s Barcelona: Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Park Guell”).

Tapas Evening Walking Tour

Early evening, Britt and I went on a Tapas Evening Walking Tour of Barcelona. We went to various eating places in a group of about 12 and viewed many sights in the Gothic Quarter. Our first stop was at La Boqueria market. We had samples of cheese and cured meat here.

Vicens’ Nougat

Our second stop was at Vicens for nougat. They have been making nougat from a traditional recipe since 1775.

Gothic Quarter

We saw quite a number of yellow ribbons on buildings in the Gothic Quarter. The ribbons are in support of the politicans of Catalonia who are now in prison or exile after organizing and supporting the referendum in 2017 to make Catalonia a separate state.

La Virateria del Call Barcelona

Our next stop was at La Virateria del Call Barcelona where we had various tapas.

Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya

The Palau de la Generalitat de Catalunya, built in the Middle Ages, is the seat of the Catalonia government. It is flying the Catalania flag and is hanging a banner in support of the political prisoners and exiles.

La Colmena Pasteleria

Our next stop was at the La Colmena pasteleria, one of the oldest cake and confectionery shops in Barcelona (since 1849), where we had very good pastries.

Santa Maria del Mar

Our last stop was at the Santa Maria del Mar where we could choose two tapas.

I have put my photos of our Tapas Evening Tour of Barcelona on a slideshow. Go to http://www.peggysphotos.com/tapas–walking–tour/ (Slide Shows, Western Europe, Spain–1, Barcelona 2019, “Tapas Walking Tour”).