The Barri Gótic

Today we decided it was a good day to “rest” and just see our own neighborhood, the Barri Gótic!  However, we needed to do some laundry first so we didn’t get an early start.  I have never used a European washing machine and even though Dany gave me some brief instructions I was not sure I was actually doing it just right. Thankfully the succession of little lights kept lighting up in order and when the “stop” light came on the clothing smelled clean and fresh!  It is hanging on a little rack to dry so we will repeat this process on Wednesday as well so we can start the cruise with all clean clothing. 

As we headed out today the streets were more crowded than ever. Clearly the weekends are the most crowded even in this off season.  Having a sunny, beautiful day surely brought out the people to enjoy the various plazas around the city.  We headed toward the Cathedral where the Sardana was lively and entertaining.  This time I was brave this time, knowing it was probably my last opportunity, and entered into the festivities.  I told a couple of the older women who looked nice that I was Catalan, that my Great Grandparents were Catalan.  One asked if I could speak the language but since I could not she lost interest in helping me learn the steps, that or it was my two left feet!  Anyway, I participated!  Of course what I did was not the Sardana but I had a good time and felt I gave an effort!

From there we went back to Bilbao Berria for our lunch.  Today they had some of the same things but also different things. They had a lot of grilled veggies on skewers and a delicious crab mixture on top of the sliced baguette as well.  We shared a cozy table outside with another couple and after they left three more joined our little table.  Since we were now revived from the dance we continued on with our plan to do the Barri Gótic walk from the Rick Steves book. 

A few of the places listed in the walk were closed.  However, we enjoyed the walk and the beautiful Barri Gótic area.  There are two stone walls near the Cathedral, these are old Roman walls, the big stones at the bottom are actually Roman stones.  These walls protected the smaller city of Barcino (which Barcelona was called at that time). The Palau de la Generalitat is worth a stop just because it is lovely, we didn’t take the tour but just looked around the entrance a bit.  This has been the home of the Catalan Government for more than 600 years.  

On to Plaça de Sant Jaume (jow-mah).  We were actually here the other night, but we were not exactly sure of the name of the plaza at that time.  We saw business men coming out then and assumed it was the place.  The plaza was once the Roman Forum and has been the seat of the city government for 2000 years. It is only open to the public today (Sunday) from 10:00 to 13:30, so we could not go in. Keep in mind the nations leaders AND soccer heroes greet the public from these balconies on significant days.  By now we are tired, still close to home, and we went back to relax for awhile and ended up not going out again today.  We are fine, just tired and it IS the day of rest!  For dinner we had some white wine and we cooked a premade pizza we bought at the market. John went down stairs to Buenas Migas and bought a green salad from Phillipe. Ensalada Verde while I cooked the pizza and set our table.  We don’t really have a dining area as such but a desk and coffee table, which works fine for us.  John pressed the wrong thing at some point on the remote and we no longer have a TV, just snow…but we never did find an English station anyway.  We rely on our friends to send any significant news by email and of course browse the Internet a bit. 

About the Barri Gótic, we think it is a good area to stay (like Rick Steves suggested) for a trip to Barcelona.  We are glad we are in this area as it is vibrant and interesting with so much to do and we feel very safe.  We love the Cathedral, the Catalan history, the various plazas, quaint shops, restaurants, etc.  We really enjoy hearing the Cathedral bells as well. Sometimes we don’t even hear it anymore and that is disappointing.  One quickly becomes part of the surroundings.  Oh yes, being four flights up is interesting!  I am glad Dany was here to help us UP with the luggage, it will be very interesting going down.  It is not just the stairs but it is winding and very narrow.  A suitcase will need to be either in front or behind us.  We will have to think about that before departure on Thursday.