Barcelona during a pandemic - part 2
Friday we awoke and found out via the news online that some attractions were going to close, all the Gaudi houses and the Sagrada Familia, for which we had tickets the next day. However, we’d booked a tour of the Palau de la Música Catalana for that morning, which still appeared to be going ahead, so we had breakfast in the cafe downstairs and strolled to the Gothic quarter in time for our tour.
There were about 20 people on our tour, which apparently was far less than usual, so this was working out for us quite well considering the dire circumstances! There was a rehearsal taking place on stage, so we were asked to be quiet in the auditorium, but this just added to the experience getting to see a performance in such a stunning location.
And yes, it was stunning, absolutely. This was somewhere I had longed to visit and was so happy to do so. Another modernista building, this time by Lluís Domènech i Montaner, designed to bring in as much natural light as possible in a crowded, built up part of the city. The highlight is the stunning stained-glass ceiling light but the whole place was covered in decoration, made from ceramic, tile , glazed brickwork and glass.
I loved all the detail like this example of the bannister columns
as seen in so many instagram pics - the famous, stunning tiled balcony
me trying to look all continental in a jacket and casually draped scarf :-) instead of enjoying the sun in a t-shirt like Rob was
I took so many more photos, which are in the gallery link below.
It was a beautiful sunny day, so we sat outside for a short while after our tour to enjoy it whilst planning our itinerary for the day. I did originally want to go to Tibidado, a victorian theme park and church on a mountain just outside the city, but the “Tibi-bus” wasn’t running that day and we feared there may be closure issues given the situation, so instead we spent the day going around the gothic quarter and beach.
First stop was for churros and Spanish hot chocolate! Made our way to Carrer de Petritxol, an alleyway otherwise known as Chocolate Street, and went to the cafe Granja Dulcinea - which I understood usually has a queue to get into it but for us it was half-empty. I had a thick, gloopy, delicious hot chocolate with freshly cooked churros whilst Rob had a milkshake and doughnut (because he doesn’t like churros, go figure!).
(Rob is actually happier than he looks in this pic, or he might have been jealous of my hot chocolate!)
After we finally got the bill to pay, we headed out to the nearby pretty square Placa del Pi.
In front of us was the domineering and slightly austere looking Basilica de Santa Maria del Pi (we later learned that this was due to it getting ransacked and set on fire during the Spanish Civil War in 1936). We decided to go in to visit, as entrance was only 4Euro. It was a peaceful space with some beautiful chapels at the side, I wonder what it would have looked like when the massive rosary window was still in place.
The City Giants
There was a little exhibition to the side and a church garden, where we sat to enjoy the peace and sunshine. Within a few minutes we heard a loud miaow, and before Rob could stop it, a massive tabby cat jumped up on him and nuzzled under his neck, making itself comfortable for the long haul. Even coming from me as a dog person, this cat was adorable, so friendly!
Rob finally managed to extract himself from under the cat and we continued our exploration of the city, heading over the La Boqueria market. I hadn’t intended to do the famous Ramblas but as the city was so quiet, it was actually a pleasant place to stroll along.
The market was an impressive sight even if much of it is overpriced tourist stuff these days. I wanted to try something but was still quite full of our chocolatey treats, but did purchase a delicious coconut and blueberry juice, plus some not so delicious croquettes - there is little more disappointing in life than a poor-quality croquette! Most of the food stalls had plenty of room for eating or drinking, except for the famous El Quim, which we couldn’t get anywhere near, despite the general lack of crowds elsewhere. so instead we ate our disappointing croquettes on a bench outside surrounded by pigeons.
Continued our wandering, via Palau Guell (sadly closed due to coronavirus)
the elegant Placa Reial,
through the narrow streets of the Gothic quarter
to the harbour at Port Vell
and then on through Barcelonetta to the beach.
The beach did make me feel like Brighton but with sand. I was hoping for a paddle, but it was very steep to get down to the water with the waves slightly choppy, plus nobody else on the crowded beach was going in the water. After avoiding all the touts trying to sell us blankets, towels, selfie-sticks - seriously, standing behind a potential customer whilst they are trying to have their photo taken with the view is not going to encourage them to buy from you! - we headed to find a bar with outdoor seating overlooking the beach.
After a relaxed break with sangria, we decided to take a gradual stroll back to our accommodation to freshen up for the evening (and charge phone again!), stopping off at the fairy themed bar El Bosc de les Fades. Being part of the waxworks’ museum, it was admittedly a little commercial, but it was a beautiful little bar. Dark and atmospheric, sitting amongst the trees. I had a bit of a challenge to get a Spanish gin - the barman proudly showed me their gin menu, consisting entirely of British gins, then reluctantly dug out a Spanish one for me, apologetically! I was quite happy with my Porte des Indes gin, even if it was the strawberry flavoured one.
crazy souvenirs in shops in the gothic quarter - wish I'd bought that crocodile!
the beautiful cathedral - had we known the news we were about to get, we would have visited then whilst we had the chance ...
Back in our hotel, I checked the news online to discover that Spain was going into lockdown from the next day. All bars, restaurants, attractions, shops would be closed, other than those selling essential items. Tried to find out what was happening with our return flight on Sunday, but Norwegian Air were being vague - check-in status went missing on my app and I got an email saying there might be cancellations, giving me the option to reschedule.
We decided reluctantly to bring our flight forward by one night, paying £300 for the privilege (thanks Norwegian, I guess vagueness means you’re not liable to reimburse customers) and losing a night of our accommodation booking. This was the only sour note of our accommodation. I decided to be helpful by letting them know we would be leaving late the next day, thinking we could just drop our keys off on departure but instead got a message saying that we had to check out by noon if leaving early, but could exchange our key for one to access the lounge area to leave our luggage for the day. Slightly miffed by this, surely if we’d paid for that extra night, we should have been entitled to the room for the entire day - but they didn’t back down, even after I emailed to enquire about reimbursement after we returned.
This was now our last night in Barcelona, so we had to make the most of it. One thing I had to have was paella, and I managed to find a restaurant which served it for one (as Rob didn’t fancy it). Not the sort of restaurant I would have picked, Restaurante Santa Anna was a modern looking place just off the Ramblas but it had good reviews and my word was it a good call!
The plan after dinner was to go for cocktails at the historic Boadas bar, but sadly it was closed. I was still a bit wary about wandering around the gothic quarter at night, not sure if the lack of crowds made it particularly eerie but I felt more cautious here than in Lisbon or Seville where I happily explored the narrow streets day and night. However I didn’t want our last night to be spent back in our hotel, so we made our way to another bar I had flagged up called Sub Rosa. This place was delightful, a lot smaller than I was expecting and full of Brits but it was full of quirky photos and paraphenalia and sold very cheap cocktails. I believe it used to be a brothel in its past life, which was reflected in the victorian pornography in the bathrooms.
Just down the road was a rock bar called El Trece which had been recommended to me, so we decided to pop there for our final drink. Another tiny place and very much a local’s bar, nevertheless we were warmly welcomed, and the owner even went out to another bar to get a diet coke for Rob! He served me a fantastic g&t, which was incredibly potent. The atmosphere was strange, locals gathering for a final drink for who knows how long when, and a couple of very drunk guys who nearly turned a bit nasty but controlled so well by the bar lady.
Me slightly more tipsy than I would have liked, we headed back to our hotel to pack up ready for our premature departure the next day. At least we had one good night out in Barcelona and the day had given us a taste of the city.
Our final view of the Gothic Quarter, back where we'd started that morning.
All of Friday's photos can be viewed via this link: https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/Barcelona-2020/Barcelona-Friday-13-03-20