Parc de la Ciutadella (Citadel Park), Barcelona

In all the years I have been visiting Barcelona, and more specifically the Zoo, which is housed in the park, I have never explored the park itself.

This year I did, and I have been missing so much.

The Citadel itself was built and then destroyed, restored and destroyed again on several occasions for various reasons, not least because it was seen as a much hated symbol of central Spanish government by the Catalan people. Only the Chapel (now the Military Parish Church of Barcelona), the Governor's palace (now a Secondary School), and the Arsenal (now home to the Catalan Parliament) remain with the rest of the site now forming the park.

On the day I visited, three of the Gigantes i Capgrossos (I have blogged about these before here) were being received into the Parliament buildings, along with their associated bands and groups.

After the puppets entered the building I wandered off down a different path.  

And got lost.  

As the park is 70 acres, this is not hard to do!

I continued wandering round knowing that, assuming I could find one of the exits, I could find my way back to the nearest metro or train station.

The park has a bandstand, I have always seen these as a peculiarly British thing, but evidently they are not.

It has a boating lake, something else I had seen as essentially British, it was a minimum of two people in a boat so I couldn't show off my (lack of) rowing skills.

There are plenty of play areas for children and plenty of little outside cafes where you can get a cold drink.

And then there is this....

It is the Cascada, it looks huge and it is fantastic.  It was first inaugurated in 1881 without sculpture or detail and was thoroughly criticised.  The addition of the modifications, including the fountain, continued until 1888, the building has remained the same since.

It was erected by Josep Fontsére and to a small extent by Antoni Gaudí, who at that time was still an unknown student of architecture. The aim was to loosely make it bear resemblance to the Trevi Fountain of Rome.

Quite randomly, down one of the paths leading from the Cascada, there is a model of a mammoth.

The park as a whole is well worth a visit, there are free wi-fi areas available too now.

I will definitely be spending more time there from now on.

Barcelona Zoo - An Update

It has been two years since I last visited Barcelona Zoo and a lot of changes have taken place.  As I mentioned before, there is an ongoing programme of refurbishment and renovation, and having left a two year gap between visits (instead of annually) I can see a big difference.

The whole place feels lighter as soon as you enter, even though you can't really see much difference from the turnstiles you can feel it.

The rather small pen where the camels were housed is now home to mongoose, which are much more suited to the size of the pen.

The Montserrat display, with mostly goats, sheep and vultures, has had a facelift, this is still ongoing with areas being closed off, but it is still a vast improvement, the smell has certainly gone!

One of the dolphin pools is now inhabited by seals.  There is a large display detailing the dolphins and whales that can be seen in the Mediterranean, I knew there were dolphins as I have seen them, but I had no idea that there were Sperm and Fin whales too.

The 'Savannah' area is being renovated too, most of it was still closed off, but you can see that the elephants, rhinos, hippos and giraffes are going to be much happier when it is all finished.

Part of the monkey/ape area is closed off, but there was one Chimpanzee that really did scare me.  He looked straight at me and grinned a really weird grin.  I moved,  Quickly.

Apart from the lions and tiger, the big cats have been moved out to allow refurbishment of their areas.

After many years of visiting, I finally saw the Red Panda.

You still exit via the gift shop, that hasn't changed.

I will give it another two years before I visit again, the changes are more dramatic.

St George's Day - 23rd April

Although it is frowned upon to celebrate our Saint's day in England other countries actively promote it.

In Catalonia, it is known as La Diada de Sant Jordi (Saint George's Day), El dia de la Rosa (The Day of the Rose) or El dia del Llibre (The Day of the Book).

Rather like St Valentine's Day (which we in England are allowed to celebrate), men give red roses to their sweethearts, women given books to theirs, although in more modern times, books are given by either sex.  Roses are now given in different colours which all have different meanings.

As well, as the better know red rose, the blue rose has also become popular, and it is usually given to friends since they symbolise trust. Pink roses are given to thank someone for an important favour.  Purple roses symbolise nobility, femininity and seduction, whilst white roses symbolise purity and innocence.  Yellow roses are a little less common, they symbolise joy and happiness, and so are usually given to teenagers.

All around Barcelona, book and flower stalls pop up overnight and by the end of the day, over 4 millions roses and almost 1 million books will have been sold and gifted onwards.

The national dance of Catalonia, the Sardana, is performed throughout the day in the Plaça Sant Jaume and book stores and cafes host readings by authors.

The atmosphere in Barcelona is always great, on this day it is fantastic.

Holiday for Yoda it is - A Guest Post

Recently I was invited on holiday, it was my first trip to Spain.

It was still dark when we arrived at the coach station.  Yes, I know I am a Jedi Master, but I am on holiday.

Check in went smoothly, no excess baggage charges to pay.

Apparently it is a tradition that you have to have a pint at the airport, regardless of the time of departure, so full English with a Bulmers all round.

I bumped into some old friends (and enemies) whilst we were waiting to be called to the gate.

Eventually we made it on to the plane.

We caught the train from the airport to resort, I hope the view improves.

We finally arrived at the apartment.

Then it was time to hit the bars.

We had a few drinks

Met some friendly ladies.

And gentlemen.

Got a bit lost on the way to the toilet.

Played Bingo.  Didn't win.

Sang karaoke.

Off to Barcelona

Hard Rock Cafe!  Expensive.

 Time for the beach.

 Don't want to get burnt.

 Getting a bit hot now so off to the beach bar.  Mojito!  It's green, like me!

 It's very strong.

 Some people just want to sleep.

 A final look at the beach.

 And then time to go home.

Park Guell, Barcelona

Park Guell is a fantastic place to visit, I have been several times now and I am sure that I have not yet seen everything there is to see!

The best way to get here is to catch the Metro to Lesseps station and follow the signs, it is quite a trek and there are buses which run past the park entrance.  Some of the tourist buses have a stop near the park, but you still have to get up the hill.  And it is a hill.  There are even escalators in the pavements

 

This route will take you to the main entrance at Carrer d'Olot, you pass through some amazing buildings and it is the first hint of what is to come.

There are a couple of free downloadable apps for iPhone and iPad that will give you a guided tour around the park, there is free wifi too if you want to interact.

Up until October 2013 the park was free to enter, however a charge has now been introduced for the 'Monumental Zone', in other words, where most, if not all, of the buildings are.  The cost is €8 per ticket (€7 if bought in advance from the website) and 400 people per half hour are allowed entrance.  I think it is a shame, but I can understand why it has been done, 1000s of people walking, running and climbing over the buildings is going to have an effect and maintenance cannot be cheap

More details of the park can be found here.

Barcelona, Part 2

If you turn off the main tourist areas of Barcelona, you can find some amazing architecture.  Squares with little cafes, huge buildings and churches.

I admit I did get lost and felt like I was walking in circles, and I probably will never be able to find some of these places again, but I am glad that I have at least seen them.

There are so many gorgeous buildings in Barcelona that so many visitors never get to see and it is such a shame.

Get yourself a good map and explore.

You will be glad that you did.