Barcelona

I love the subway in Barcelona, it's huge and clean and not as crowded as in Rome. The subway in Rome is so crowded. Rome has a very small system and every one's there. We arrived in Barcelona from Perpignan, France and was greeted by throngs of people on the streets around Placa Catalunya. What's happening? It was a holiday and all the locals and tourists were out in force. It had this incredible fiesta atmosphere which was so thrilling. A party? Wow! What luck! We arrived at one of the 2 main railway stations of Barcelona, Estacion Sants which was thoroughly impressive. It's huge, clean and efficient. I thought to myself, I love Barcelona already.

The throng of people on La Rambla, a pedestrian friendly street with lots of restaurants, street vendors and street acts. There were people from all over the world, some were so incredibly dressed. It is definitely a place to see and be seen.

Later that evening there was a parade, here the crowd is gathering.

The anticipation...we didn't know what was to happen, we just hung out and then it started... there were marching bands and larger than life size puppets parading down this street. The crowd went wild, there was dancing and a lot of merry making. People carrying babies were shaking their booties, even elderly people were dancing to the beat of the music. It was a lot of fun to participate.

Here they come, the marching bands, it was so crowded, we couldn't get a better view, most of the time we held our cameras up above our heads and just click away, hoping to catch something on it.

The king of the parade, a larger than life size puppet of a 'king' coming down the street, the people inside it would twirl it around and shake it, the crowds loved it. His 'queen' is right behind him.

The 'queen' coming close behind...

There they are, turning for all the crowd to see.

There were a lot of other puppets and marching bands. What luck, we arrived and there was this reception... for us.

The other acts following soon after...

The place we stayed in is so cheap, 50 euros for double occupancy. It is near Placa Catalunya, but slightly away, so it is still close to where all the action is. It is so old and moldy and kind of smelly but we soon got used to the bad smell. It had a common area where we can hang out and watch TV and even order drinks. Three nights there and we soon called it home, the people were really nice, there was a TV there but it only played Spanish programs. As I write this I was watching 'Bones' in Spanish! It's like being in college again and is kind of fun. There's not much in ancient monuments in Barcelona. That was one reason why I resisted visiting Barcelona for so long. There are other things to excite and wow even the most jaded traveler like me. I was wowed by Sagrada Familia. I was wowed by Gaudi. I didn't think I would be but I was. Barcelona has become one of my most favorite cities to visit. I will post on Gaudi next.