Barcelona - 19 September 2011 (1)

After a leisurely start, we left the hotel after 0900.  The girl at reception had circled University Square on our map, saying that the information office was there and that we would need to get there by underground.  However, all the books and maps we had said that it was in the Plaça de Catalunya.  Looking out of our window, I could see a sign marked “I”, so I decided to check it out first.  When we got there, we saw some steps leading down and they led to the information office!  My mum hadn’t thought much of the girl in reception anyway as she looked like a neighbour of hers who she doesn’t like.  I know that you shouldn’t judge by appearances, but she did look very sulky.

There was a long queue inside the information office, but a guy was going down the queue and asking what people wanted.  When he found out that we wanted information on how to get to Tarragona, he pulled us out of the queue and showed us the station on the map.  He said that he went there quite often.  Most of the queue was for tickets for the hop on hop off bus, which had been strongly recommended.  But I thought it seemed very expensive at €45 each, so we decided not to get them.

Then we went for a late breakfast in a café in the road just off the top of Las Ramblas.  It was a modern café and obviously a chain, but breakfast was reasonable and only cost €6 for the two of us.

Casa Battlo

Casa Amattler

Then we headed off to check out the train for the next morning.  We walked up beside the square to the Passeig Gracia.  The RENFE station was not where it was shown on the map, but three blocks further on.  It was confusing as the first block did have a metro station which was also called the Passeig Gracia and I guess the two metro stations connected underground.  When we did find the access to the RENFE station, I left my mum at the top to save her having to do the stairs and went down alone.  It was quite a long walk underground, but I eventually found the right place.  The lady at the ticket office gave me a timetable but said that we would have to buy the tickets on the day of travel.

Casa Heo Morero

Casa Heo Morero

I came out of the station on the diagonally opposite side of the junction and walked across to find my mother again.  She had seen people taking photos of the houses across the road, so was doing the same.  By pure chance, we had stumbled across one of Barcelona’s landmarks; the Illa de la Discòrdia, renowned for its buildings in the modernist style. These buildings included the Casa Battló by Antoni Gaudí; the Casa Amattler, designed by Josep Puig I Cadafalch next door; and the Casa Heó Morero, designed by Lluis Domenech i Muntaner further down on the corner.

Ornate Lampost

Gaslight near Square

We arrived at the right time as there were no vehicles to block our view of the buildings.  Soon after, we realised why, when a small demonstration walked up the road, escorted by police and the press.  We couldn't work out what they were protesting about, but at least one of the protesters was very enthusiastic.  We walked back down to the square, stopping to take a photo of one of the ornate lampposts we had seen on the way up.