Barcelona Day 14:19th June 2010

we took up this trail tour with explore catalunya again.this time, our guide is different.. Super humourous and the whole group enjoyed his company.he said to us many singaporeans are coming to bcn. Well, perhaps is the sun and the party life which has attracted them to bcn!

we stopped by a town named Vic.has a very nostalagic feel.there's this local market which sells all sorts of items the locals will need. We found our fav strawberries of coz and decide to bring it up to pyrennees to eat!

we walked around and saw this bakery shop.the pasteries and coffee was so nice..a good start for the day as we did pple watching and see what the locals do on a sunday morning.

Model-to-be

Children!

our next stop was up up the mountains to pyrenees.we start to see ice capped mountains along the way n were excited.apparently,there was snowing few days ago though it was summer time. We stopped by a train stop n will be takin the mountain train up nearer to the peak.weather was very cold but with great scenery.our guide mentioned this was a famous place for skiing, trekking all year round!i didnt expect this haha

scenic from the mountain

Wedding

happily married!

beautiful rose outside the church

the mountain train came every half an hr.pyrenees is located at the borders between france n spain.very strategic location.we saw deep valleys,huge mountains,rapids and waterfalls.the sight of pple trekking in the mountains exemplified how small humans are to mother nature.

we took advices from the guide to go for the chairlift first before exploring further into e mountains.washed the strawberries whic we earlier bought with the mountain water and savoured the beautiful sight of the nature with the tasty strawberries..heaven!!

strawberries!

then,we climbed up high the mountains and encounter many cows grazing the field.they were very busy and docile, except for one.

water streams, rapids

as we went all the way up, trying to catch sight of mountain goat,the steepness kinda trembled me as i turned back to see how high up we were.den..the challenge begins.this cow blocks our way en route down the mountains.i was frantic and screamed.it got frightened by my scream but surged forward to us.it was den we realise how dangerous we were..practically fled off from the stares of that cow.

the view at pyrenees was fantastic and i still rmbed clearly even till now. Highly recommend this day tour out of bcn!

breathtaking!

the remaining time left in bcn was spent exploring little shops of las ramblas,the forever crowded place be it day or night,before putting a fullstop to our adventure in spain.

spain...vibrant,party,sun,passion..that's e sensation i bring it back home ;)

Barcelona Day 13: 18th June 2010

The following days were arranged for daytours out of Barcelona to the outskirts where we get in touch of nature and away from citylife. Chanced upon Explore Catalunya company and decided to give it a try after seeing the tremendous good reviews on them.

We booked a tour with Explore Catalunya long time ago. Seeing that it brings us to the mountains and wineries..we reckon it will be a great trip out of the city. True enough..the mountains, brought about by erosion by strong winds over the years form the spectacular façade, overwhelmed us.it was a very sunny day.

Montserrat formations

Though the beginning had some glitches, we had fun along the way. An American family was with us as well during the tour, very helpful in taking photos for us and had a good time meeting them too.

Our guide was from Catalunya, one of the autonomous communities of Spain,whose capital city is Barcelona. It’s kinda complicated as we thought there’s just a single flag in the country, when it turns out to be that Catalunya has their own flag and people usually speak Catalonia, their official language.

We get to understand the Catalans, the history of achieving autonomy, how different it is from the rest of Spain. Apparently, we heard from Kris earlier on that it’s seldom to see the Catalans hanging Spain flag, except for that day when we saw they did so as Spain was playing a match in the World Cup!

After an hr road trip, we arrived at the Monastery of our lady of Montserrat. A beautiful monastery built, while surrounded by the majestic mountains that kept us awed. The scenery was spectacular, just that the scorching sun made us scrutinize our eyes often.

the steep path

formations look like human sculpture

We entered the church and heard the choir sing. A peaceful moment spent and an enlightening one with what we saw in the church. We bought sandwiches and went off trekking along a trail up to a monument. The route was quite steep and I almost have to crawl with my hands for one section up the mountain. Standing at the peak of the mountain, we were greeted with the most spectacular view of Montserrat..splendid! Many people were trekking as well, carrying picnic mats etc to enjoy the summer season.

the choir

montserrat

By the time we finished the sightseeing, it was near to 2pm..we set off for the wineries at Cordoniu, where cava was produced since 1551. Never tasted cava before, never knew how it was made. These kept us excited, especially when we get to sit on a vehicle and journeyed through the underground where all the big barrels of cava were kept…whee….

I find Cordoniu tasty in fact, and refreshing too! I wasn't drunk..haha…it was a great time..went back to Bcn after a long day…and guess what..the day hasn't end..we’re looking forward to this night tour around the main spotlights of Bcn architecture,.it’s still some time before the night tour began..so we went exploring in las ramblas, to those shops which Kris previously mentioned, like Escriba.

well,the night tour mainly showcases those works of Gaudi, which will light up at night, giving us a different view as in the day. It works the same as the open rooftop bus just that u gotta book in advance to get a seat at the rooftop.

Sagrada familia story…this building is still not done yet after hundred years construction!

It also brought us to the Parc de Montjuic, where a magical water fountain light display show is held every Thurs till Sunday I think, from 9pm onwards. The show was really good, so much better than Sentosa’s water fountain show and this is free!haha…

It repeats itself every half an hour, so everyone just sit by the steps and enjoy the show repeatedly to their heart’s content.

Everything ended like till 12am. Taking the metro at midnight is quite scary, especially to us foreigners I think. But police were out there patrolling at the stations where we were, so we felt much safer...a wonderful day we had! Looking forward to Pyrenees Trail the next day!

Barcelona Day 12: 17th June 2010

There we set off to hop onto the HOHO Bus.. and turned out we have to go to the main office before we can board..we thought the system will work the same just like in other countries..just hop on to any HOHO Stop will do..but it isn’t in this case.

So we took the metro to Placa Catalunya..actuallie..for those who wanna travel around via metro..I think is feasible..get a carnet of T10 tickets…(one ticket, one ride), as a set of 10..is cheaper..just be careful of your belongings on the metro..it’s much cheaper and fast to reach your destinations..the metro network is quite well done..as for the HOHO Bus…since it’s the monopoly in the city, everyone takes this bus..so you got a long queue almost everytime…fortunately, we didn’t have to wait very long each time to board the bus

We set off in the bus and alighted at La Pedrera stop, which features one of the works of Antoni Gaudi’s. refer to the pic for more info..

sculpture

it’s inspiring to know that his designs have no straight lines..and are mainly about curves..symmetry..and his ideas are derived from nature..a very interesting man with very interesting designs..you’ll figure out what I mean from the pics..

abstract

interior design

At the rooftop

from the top

from the bottom

We were fascinated by the designs..and so much so that Dear went walking around Barcelona..whenever he sees similarities with Gaudi’s designs…he will think that is Gaudi-inspired architecture!...moving on…we went to Parc Guell…

The park

the dragon

it’s a huge park…containing Gaudi’s designs..who blend architecture with nature….the seats are made of marble we thought…very cooling to seat in a hot sunny day..the entire park was artistic…intricate designs make it more unique..not just a park..but a master piece of Gaudi…

Music in the Park

the curves

the tiles

A video to show you the magical sensation that Parc Guell gives us

After Parc Guell…we took HOHO Bus and moved on to FC Barcelona Stadium…magnificient indeed..snapped a few shots in front of the stadium.

The Bus Stop

FCB Stadium

The Goal

Moved off to Casa Batllo…yet another gaudi’s famous work and a UNESCO Heritage site…I think both this and La Pedrera has really enlightened me lots on architecture designs after visiting these places!design and creativity with interesting shapes…some ideas for future house design..

the stairways

mushroom corner?

doorways

the walls

even the doorknob can look interesting!

windows curve

we went up the rooftop and the structure was like in form of a dragon again

kinda tired after this stop..so we took the HOHO Bus and travelled through all the routes which the bus can take us to..like the beach..which was so filled with pple to the brims..scenery was great…barcelona is not a bad city to live in after all with the beach ambience..sun…sand..

us on the bus

1.To know more about Gaudi, check out this...Gaudi Designer

2.Good Barcelona Tour Guide reference

Sagrada familia in the evening

the famous monument in the night