7 Dec 2016 Placa Catalunya and La Rambla

At  Placa Catalunya 

The Centre of Barcelona like in any major city is the Main Bus and Train Station. Called the Placa de Catalunya, it is somewhere at the middle of the town, and at the start of La Rambla. To the north, that portion of the city is called Eixample. To the right, Barri Gotic,to the left, El Raval and Montjuic and to the south, the Waterfront.

Where we stayed is right smack at the waterfront and our hotel has  a lovely view of the Marina and the Mediterranean Sea.

 The Waterfront view from the Hotel along Passeig de Colom

The walk along Placa de Catalunya to La Rambla is a truly unforgettable one. The street is lined with pushcarts, there are lots and lots of pickpockets (I was one of the unfortunate ones who had his phone stolen literally right under my nose !). The pushcarts or pop up stalls sell everything from hamburgers, hotdogs, Barcelona FC T shirts (fake ones) and all manner of trinkets.

We stopped and went into the Jamon Museum where we saw how the pigs are reared happily for their meat and for how long are the meat cured before they are sold in the open market. 

The highlights of this first visit must be the La Sagrada Familia and Parc Guell which I will write another couple of posts on. We were getting pretty familiar with the place and I recall putting on my running shoes early one morning and running all the way along the Waterfront road Passeig  de Colom to past the World Trade Centre to some highway and return. Such was my passion those days that I brought my running shoes with me for our holidays and I tried to run everywhere we went. 

Statue of Christopher Colombus pointing to the Western shores. 

Mirador a Colom 

Christopher Columbus was in fact of Italian origin. He was commissioned by Queen Isabella to go West and discover new worlds, in the late 15th century and he is credited in 'discovering' the Americas. Actually, there were already the inhabitants in the Caribbean Islands whom he thought were Indians.

The design should be that he is pointing Westward. The travel guides like to joke that he is pointing to the Red Light District of Barcelona !!   

 

Street Artist along La Rambla 

I was setting goals since 2003 or 21 years ago. Here are 2012 goals

 

A Leather Bound Diary for a Stubborn Bricks and Mortar Man 

Good Goals - are so hard to achieve in one year 

I guess the burning question you who read my posts are these. Did I hit the goals of 2012 ? Well yes and no. I did hit hit most of those goals but nor as quickly as I wanted them (in 2012), but the key this exercise each and every year is this ; Set these goals. Set lofty goals. Keep them always in your mind.

Out of the 5 goals, so far, the Flying License and the 2 marathons per year are not fulfilled.

Am I ashamed I did not achieve them ? Well they are lofty and I am rather thick skinned. 

So only I am accountable to my lofty goals.

Set the goals, Yearly, 3 Yearly, 5 Yearly and break them down to quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily and DO THEM day in day out.

There is no other way.

Else I will have deemed myself as an abject failure with aimless motives in my life. 

5 Dec 2016 Day 2 Barcelona La Sagrada Familia

 

Picture taken from La Pedrera 

Designed and built with a team of top engineers, La Sagrada Familia is the stunning symbol of the city of Barcelona. Anthoni Gaudi was born in 1852 and studied in Barcelona's School of Architecture. His principal patron, industrialist Eusebi Guell commissioned to design the following iconic places and buildings 

a) Palau Guell

b) Parc Guell (we visited it and pix in later posts)

c) La Pedrera

d) La Sagrada Familia

In English the La Sagrada Familia is known as the Expiatory Temple of the Holy Family, which he embarked at the age of 31 or 1883. To date, it is still not finished, and there are vert few sharp or pointed edges of the Temple. The expected date of completion is 2026 

In 2010, the Nave was coveted and consecrated in an elaborate ceremony with Pope Benedict XVI as the chief guest. 

Inside the church you will be awestruck at the opulence and marvel at the engineering feat of creating the huge domes, which used counter weights and reinforced buttresses. A major engineering feat of the late 19th century then.

Inside the church you will see a huge statue of Jesus at the cross, and this is apparently the only one where he has his legs up and knees bent. The significance of this design is lost on me, but I recall with awe how the lowly shepherds and the poor working class in those days would take in the entire interior of the church with absolute gratitude and compliance. 

The fact that it took decades to finish and that the poor architect died a pauper's death (he was knocked down by a tram in 1926), when he was knocked down, no one knew this was THE Gaudi and he was not given any special treatment, as the story goes.  

5 Dec 2016 Day 2 Barcelona La Sagrada Familia

 

The awesome La Familia Sagrada Church 

4 Dec 2016 Day 1 Barcelona La Pedrera and Bodega la Puntal

 

La Pedrera 

The world famous La Pedrera is shown as above in a model, with all of its alien looking chimneys at the top. Originally slated as an apartment complex, it is now a mix of museum, boutique shops and some apartments and people from all nations come here to pay homage to one of the great architects of the 20th century. Mr. Antoni Gaudi.

At the street side below La Pedrera 

He was an eccentric man, from all accounts and died a rather tragic death. Apparently he was knocked down in the street (which was quite a miracle) by a street tram on the road. It was in the late 1920s then and no one recognised the Master when he was brought to the hospital.

He died of his injuries, or what we have been told by the tour guides.

He always kept a steel comb in his pocket and was prone to priming his long beard ever so often. This is another urban legend from the tour guides.

My rather tired half smile atop La Casa Mila.

Bodega la Puntal is a tapas restaurant beside the hotel. It served pretty decent tapas, and as is the custom in Barcelona and in all Spain, people of all walks of life will come and meet friends after work, have some wine, a Sangria or a Vermouth schnapps (I kind of took a liking to this drink) and a couple of small tapas snacks and chit chat about the day or week's happenings. 

The interesting thing about Spanish culture is that between 12 - 2 pm most of the boutique shops are closed, for their siesta, so if you feel the need, do make plans to eat during that period and then shop. All the places of interest, by the way are open during the daylight hours.

A famous tapas place bar none. 

To be honest, this was practically our first time trying Spanish tapas in Spain. I had only been to Spain once before in my undergraduate days, so this was quite the experience for us. The dishes were small, tasty and oily. They were  the croquetts with Jamon ham and potatoes as well as some anchovies and small other forgettable bar bites. 

                                                                          Tapas with a View 

4 Dec 2016 Barcelona Day 1 La Pedrera < Casa Mila >

                                                             La Rambla Vendor 

We arrived by Air France to the first of 3 cities of our annual holiday, Barcelona, which is in the Catalan province of Spain. Rather sleep deprived, I managed to book the hotel below for 5 nights based on a 9 rating out of a possible 10. We were not disappointed ! The hotel is along Passeig Colom or the Colom Passage. There is a rooftop bar as well as a small pool which probably can cater to plenty of parties in the summer. The hotel is also facing the waterfront and the marina, which leads to the Mediterranean Sea. What a gem of a hotel !

                                                    Dequesa de Cardona Hotel

                                                    Paseig Colom, 12 Cuitat Veila

                                                    06002 Barcelona Spain. 

In my notes, I did remind myself that there is an Aerobus which departs from the airport and the stop to exit is Placa de Catalunya. 

                                                                        La  Pedrera

First stop, La Pedrera or Casa Mila (1906-1912), designed by Antoni Gaudi no less, this magnificent building stands out because it has no sharp edges and some people describe it as a 'petrified wave'. There is a magnificent inner courtyard and you walk up the 4 flights of steps. Located in Barcelona's Eixample district, it certainly stands out from all of the other commercial buildings around it. 

Known as La Pedrera for its rough outer appearence, it is reminiscent of an open quarry, with sinuous curves and forms inspired from nature. Gaudi planned the building at the height of his career at 54, and it was his Magnus Opus apart from La Familia Sagrada. UNESCO declared the building a World Heritage in 1984 on account of its extraordinary universal value.  

Designed as an apartment complex for families, it stands out in that there are numerous wavy structures on the outside resembling a wave. There are also lots and lots of windows, so it can easily house 40 apartments.

                                                Inner Courtyard La Pedrera

The inner courtyard looks magnificent with ample lighting to give it an airy feel and you can sense the stylishness just by standing inside it. Its a must visit for any visitor to Barcelona in my opinion.

                                                    Rooftop Chimneys La Pedrera

At the rooftop, instead of the normal pathetic looking chimney funnels, you see all these alien looking structures with holes peeking out, so these are the chimneys as dreamt out by Mr. Gaudi himself.

The Rambla is a wide expansive walking street which is world famous. Be careful of pickpockets !!!! 

Gum disease - floss floss and more floss. There is hope in Dental Implants.

Yesterday I had my right molar taken out. It took the dentist a whole one hour to execute the procedure. So, at a ripe young age of 61 I have lost one of my key teeth. Painful, yes, but not overly so.

The fact of the matter is that I have been suffering from gum disease for some time. Therefore,  when the gum gets infected by years, no decades of poor dental health, the accumulation of food deposits, harden and become plaque. My poor or spotty record of visiting dentists and hoping against hope that somehow I would be able to live to a ripe old age with all my teeth intact is a pipe dream.

Many people are in that denial mode. The faster you can come and realise that regular brushing of teeth is INSUFFICIENT and that the following are necessary 

Daily

Brushing 2 times minimum

Flossing x 2 between teeth. - I use an interdental brush which looks a little like a miniature bottle brush only that it is easy to push it between the teeth. For the premolars and molars, its more difficult. 

Every 6 months

Visit my dentist

I have been recalcitrant here, so I will try not to repeat my mistake again. 

My gum disease was first detected in 2019, preCOVID and now a good 5 years later, I have lost 1 tooth to it. I am determined to keep as many of my teeth till my old age hence I will study and take all the necessary health supplements and do the necessary oral hygiene daily and 6 monthly and hope for a good outcome for the years ahead.

Growing old is inevitable, growing old with the best quality of life is totally up to you.