Buenos Dias Esta Nueva Dia:
Bad Spanish, but good day it is a new day, in this case it is Friday morning and the clan is fast asleep as the clock approaches 11:00 am. We’re getting into the Spanish mode of staying up late and sleeping in.
We’re still impressed by Barcelona. They have done a lot with some great assets. Transportation is magnificent (it’s Europe). Folks live in apartments and it extremely rare to see a single family residence (it’s Europe). Except in the well kept Cuitat Vella (old city) or El Born where the streets are narrow and mostly closed to vehicles, the Barcelona roads are wide and well-planned. Lots of people don’t have cars, so the traffic seems very reasonable. And, the ocean may be the greatest asset. Miles of beaches at the fingertips of everyone and it always is just nice to have water to look at. There’s something about a waterfront.
Keaka and I took the subway to Badalona yesterday. The subway was top notch. Badalona is a community on the eastside along the ocean. We got off to find ourselves in a more middle class area, finding the first debris on the sidewalks and streets (we thought we were in France). Storefronts with 3-4 floors of housing above. Schools that looked like prisons (even more so than France), and lots of narrow, narrow streets. We walked down to the water from the subway station (about six long blocks) and found an old red brick train station. Trains were running regularly in both directions along the beach. There were 3-4 story buildings (some dating back to the 1800s) along the waterfront with a palm tree lined boardwalk, then the railroad tracks, then a concrete boardwalk and then the beach. It reminds one of Huntington Beach in California. So, we walked and explored. One can imagine the large crowds during the hot summers, with no parking, so beach goers all arrive on the train, the subway or buses. It’s a different world. Looking down the beach to the east we saw a few white high rise buildings against a hill leaning out into the ocean, with more beaches and buildings. They looked like they were about three miles away. Keaka said it reminded him of Hawaii.
Wednesday we took our second double-decker tour bus ride. It was as great as the first ride the day before. The trips begin at Plaza Catalunya, where you see a photo of Ken and Keaka. They have a relatively new train station, seen in another photo. It doesn’t look much like a train station, but it is. The old train station, closer to the center of the city, is still operational and has the old train station look (see the old station in St. Louis). By the way, coming in from the French border, we saw much of a new Spanish high speed train route. Where do they get the money? Anyway, the Spanish high speed train connects with the French TGV and the Barcelona-to-Paris route is totally high-speed. I understand the idea is to have the same type connection between Barcelona and Marseille/Nice, which currently is a grueling train trip. Monuments in roundabouts (of which there are not that many) are typical and the one in the photo was especially large and ornate. It should also be noted that the streets in Barcelona have lots of trees and greenery around them, which clearly adds to the beauty. The old Barcelona bull fighting arena is located on the same roundabout. The arena outlasted it’s useful lifetime, so the Spanish found another use. They turned the arena/stadium into offices and shopping and put a roof on it. Again, the Europeans do not tear things down, they keep renovating and finding new uses. Too bad we can’t figure out how to finance such projects – you really reduce your bulldozing costs. At the base of Montjuic (big hill with a large park) is the National Art Museum, which is quite a building from the outside. Most of the 1992 Olympics were conducted atop the hill, which provides a fabulous view of the city, which you can see in another photo. The Olympic Stadium, still operating, was originally constructed in 1929 and renovated for the 1992 Olympics. There’s a 17,000 seat arena, great swimming facilities and it’s just a really great location. Oh, there’s a baseball stadium, which doesn’t look like it gets much use these days. There’s a photo of an old building, which is one of many, and you get a look at the Columbus Statue located on the waterfront at the end of a main street. The statue/monument is 197 feet tall and was constructed for the 1888 Universal Exposition.
These folks have done things going way back and they continue to make things happen. So, they’ve got the mountains and the ocean and they’ve made their city beautiful and functional, with lots of attractions. It really makes Americans look foolish. Our great cities have some terrific features, but they don’t match what’s been done in Barcelona. And, as always in Europe, hard to see the very rich and hard to find the very poor. Folks get along with far less than most Americans, but it is easy to argue they have a far better life. There really isn’t anything wrong with not having a car and using public transportation – at least in Europe.
As the Friday grows older, we’ll be heading back to the Sagrada Familia which we saw on our first bus trip. It’s the remarkable cathedral designed by Anton Gaudi (have you looked him up yet?) We may try to get in the Montjuic Cable Car ride today. We’re working on coming up with a dinner option and then it is on to the Flamenco dancing show. Oh Baby!
The Wilsons
