I hope you like pink? Pink, together with the color purple, are the new hypes in Mediterranean fashion. At least that's what I have noticed when I visited Barcelona for the third time in the year 2000.
Some friends of mine, who arrived one day earlier, have found a nice B&B near Urgell (metro station) in the centre of the city (Gran Via 529 pral.1). That's if you don't mind if the lady of the house, Elisabeth Medina i Romani, Ely for friends, talks and talks the whole time you're in. Apart from that Spanish flood of words it is perfect. It's one the first floor of a huge appartement (so it is silent) and there's a small terrace on the backside so you can eat breakfast in the outside at dawn. (Tel. 93 4546264)
[ B&B at Ely's house ]
[ Gisèle & Erik in the living room ]
[ A cosy mirrored bedroom ]
[ Erik, Ely & Gisèle at breakfast ]
[ Ely just doesn't stop talking ]
[ Speechless ]
Dios, el cual habiendo ya criado el azul viril tachonado de luces, y dividido el cristalino elemento del dilatado pensil de la tierra, fabricó otro Mundo pequeño...
[ Erik on top of Parc Guëll ]
[ Gaudi's fanciful shapes ]
[ Mosaic decorations on the rooftop ]
[ Bert, Gisèle & Erik ]
[ A beautiful detail ]
[ And yet another... ]
A nice young girl whom I met in Parc Guëll told me she came to Barcelona for next to nothing. It's almost unbelievable but she has made online reservation for her plane ticket on www.easyjet.com and payed even less than we did while we thought we have been flying cheap with Virgin Express.
As you know people from Belgium are multilingual, Irene, who's from Switzerland, actually knows several different languages too. They normally speak Swiss German, which is close to a certain Dutch dailect, they write (and speak) German and also learn English and French at school. And because she has been staying in Peru for several months she also has a fair smattering of Spanish. I must admit I was surprised.
[ This huge snail crossed our path ]
[ And so did Irene ]
[ A nice girl from Switzerland ]
[ She's been in Peru for 6 months ]
[ to work with homeless children ]
[ We've had a chat and a drink ]
When we walked from Parc Guëll to the Sagrada Familia we stopped at a local restaurant for the day's menu. We weren't exactly the target audience. A lot of old people came in to order their midday meal while gazing at the television. Today's menu is a cheap way to get good food. Njam njam...
[ Between Parc Guëll & Sagrada Familia ]
[ we entered a local restaurant ]
[ They served excellent menus, but ]
[ we weren't exactly the target audience ]
[ Casa Batlló at night ]
[ Book fair on the Passeig de Gràcia ]
It is always nice to walk through the narrow streets of the Barri Gotic. There's always something new to experience behind every corner. I also enjoy to look for good-looking posters and logos. Near Museu Picasso I bumped into an internet gallery cafe named bcnet (Barra de Ferro 3). There's a beautiful exhibition of black & white photographs shot in far-off countries. If you wanna use their internet service, it costs about 250 Ptas per 15 minutes.
[ Barri Gotic ]
[ Cosy narrow street ]
[ Poster against the military enforcement ]
[ Internet gallery cafe near Picasso ]
[ Always nice designs in the scene ]
[ And beautiful logos ]
One of the cafes I certainly go to when I'm in Barcelona is Mundanzas (Carrer de la Vidriera) in the same street as the Picasso Museum. It is a stylishly decorated and quiet cafe with a good taste of music and magazines. If it's too hot outside this is the perfect spot to cool down. We should meet there once...
[ Across Golfo de Bizkaia ]
[ Mundanzas, one of my favorite places ]
[ Stylishly designed cafe in the Riberia ]
[ I like the color combination ]
[ And the goodlooking woman too! ]
[ Spanish temperament ]
Who doesn't loaf about the Rambla when visiting Barca? Should I mention once more there's always something going on in this popular street? The Liceu Theatre has just been restored and it's always nice to visit the Mercat Boqueria early in the morning or Plaça Reial. And of course, another favorite of mine, a typical cafe named Cafe de l'Opera lies in this street. I never leave Barcelona without a cafe con leche in this place.
[ Whoops!?! Surprise... ]
[ I've just discoverd a new feature ]
[ How do I get motion into my pictures! ]
[ Bert enjoys his vacation ]
[ Cafe de l'Opera (La Rambla) ]
[ Erik seeing he's about to get framed ]
If you're looking for little presents you should go to the T-shirt store called Kukuxumusu near Santa Maria del Mar (Argenteria 69). The have many T-shirts with cool designs. Or if you are looking for cool and colourful sunglasses, you should go to Krisis near Plaça del Pi (Carrer de la Boqueria).
When the weather is fine I can spend hours sitting in the sun on a terrace near the Església del Pi. There always is something to see - don't forget to explore the condoneria ;-) - and musicans come by to get one's head in the clouds even more! Wow, I think I'm dreaming again...
[ Plaça de Santa Maria del Pi ]
[ A special "I feel good" song ]
[ Nice voice, cool songs, good singer ]
[ Bar del Pi ]
[ Alternative music store ]
[ ¿Salma Hayek? ]
Culture. Did I discover something new that striked me? Well, everytime I walk to the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), I must admit it has become an indispensable point of reference for the artistic and cultural life of the city. This marvellous building, by the American architect Richard Meier, stands in the heart of the Raval neighbourhood, and forms part of an ambitious project for the urban renewal of the historic city center, Ciutat Vella district.
We also went to visit the Fundació Antoni Tàpies and I was really impressed by his work. I even felt a little bit ashamed I didn't know this Catalan painter. I admired the diversity in its approach and especially the works that combined sand, glue, ink and paint! Impressive. And so is the pavilion, Bauhaus architect Mies van der Rohe designed for the world exhibition. It's so modern it could have been built now.
[ Pavelló Mies van der Rohe ]
[ "Less is more" ]
[ Work of Antoni Tapiès ]
[ MACBA ]
[ A marvellous building ]
[ It's over again... ]
This is a non-profit web page. All the establishments mentioned in this travelogue are places I've been to and which I would like to recommend to people who like to travel around in Ireland.
Thanks to Gisèle, Erik and Bert. This travelogue is written by / the photographs are taken by Joël Neelen © May 2000. All Rights Reserved.
| Algeria, Tassili n'Ajjer | Greece, the Dodecanese | Greece, the Cyclades | Morocco, the Massif Sirwa | Morocco, the High Atlas |
| Cuba | India | Egypt | Yemen | Jordan | Myanmar | Peru | Turkey | Barcelona |