Today we went to the beach, and I took a lot of really bad pictures. We also ended up full circle to where we began last Sunday, right down at Port Vell. It rained hard last night (most laundry from our ‘weather gauge’ of the neighbor’s balconies was in, but not all!), but stopped as we headed out. We’ve been lucky, as that has tended to be our pattern this trip. Rain when we’ve been indoors, at museums and the like, and clear when we’ve been outside.
We took the metro to the Port Olympic. This particular port was developed for the 1992 Olympics, and was the venue for the sailing. At the time, the whole area was renovated, and a two mile stretch of beach was redeveloped. With the Olympic Athletes Village built over old factories and abandoned warehouses, then sold as apartments, the area is now trendy, and easily accessible. And the beaches, developed at the same time, are now a big draw. However, early morning in November, there really aren’t many crowds for a change.
We did see one area on Barceloneta Beach where erosion is taking it’s toll. The bank has obviously retreated quite a ways, and huge open sandbags are tied together where the worst of the damage has taken place. It’s pretty close to a restaurant terrace, and from what I could see, it wasn’t helping a lot. Nature does what it wants, and we just have to adapt.
There were also the beginnings of several large sandcastles and creatures built up near the boardwalk. One was the beginning of a hippo. It was amazing to see what can be built from a mound of sand!
We were out at about 10 am, and ended up wandering the beach up towards Port Vell. From Port Olympic we ambled along Somorrostro Beach, Barcoloneta Beach, and finally up to the end of Sant Miguel Beach. It was fun to be out in a sandy beach again, and watching the waves break. I love the beach, and it soothed my soul to be out there.
From the end of Sant Miguel Beach, we headed down the other side of the point on Passeig de Joan de Barbo, looking at the big yachts, to Port Vell. This was the main port where Las Rambles meets the beaches. More large yachts than I’ve ever seen were moored in one location at the port. Ever since we saw the Lionheart in Italy, Sharon’s been reading up on large yachts. One, here in Barcelona, called the Barbara, is one of the most expensive yachts in the world, at $204 million, and is #75 on the list of largest yachts. It has 8 staterooms, and crew of 32. The yachts we saw today were bigger than most homes! Another yacht we saw, the Perle Noir (Black Perle), ranks #38, and the Lady Mora #40. Barcelona is a very popular yachting port!
At Port Vell, we went through the aquarium. This was an amazing place, and is ranked #20 in the world. It’s laid out by habitat are geographical location. There was also several school groups going through, and they were probably about 1-2 Grade. They were having so much fun looking at all the fish, and it was a hoot just to watch them!
The main tank holds 1.3 million gallons, and has 80 meters of underwater walkways to view the inhabitants. You stand on a slow moving walkway, and it carries you along, This way, everybody gets a good look. There were several kinds of fish, including sharks and Rays. A diver was in the tank. We weren’t sure what he was doing, but the fish were certainly aware of him.
Another tank held penguins. The were fun to watch, especially swimming. The pictures are the best, but hopefully you can see. They were very curious about their viewing audience.
fter the aquarium, we rambled up Las Rambles for the last time, feeling a little like we were swimming upstream, as everybody was headin for the harbor!
Midway, we went into one of the several covered markets located all over the city. These markets are so that fresh food can be available to everybody in Barcelona. The one on the Rambles began as an open air market, but now is a tourist attraction, housing over 39 vendors inside.
We kept wandering up towards Catalunya Square. We’d actually planned to take the metro back from the beach, because it is quite a hike. However, 6 miles later, we reached the hotel.
We’ve packed, and are ready to go. We’re going to a Flamenco performance tonight at the Palau de la Musica Catalana at 9pm. This is an incredible Moderist building, which I have posted pictures of earlier in the week. I can’t wait to see the inside. Should be amazing, and I’m looking forward to both the music and the dancing.
We have 2 sudden power outages as I write this. Not quite sure what that is all about. We have a wake up call at 3am for our first of three flights home tomorrow. At least maybe I’ll be able to sleep on the plane for a change!
I’ll try to write a final post about the concert tonight, but that may be after we get home.
As always, more pictures.
Suzanne’s Travels 