18th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 2 –The Port and Coastline

Port Olympic – the most dramatic rebuilding for the 1992 Olympics was the demolition of the old industrial waterfront and the laying of a 2 mile promenade and sandy beach. Here there is also twin 44 floor sky scrapers the second and third tallest in all of Spain.

Marenstrum tower – skyscraper made from several sections

Sculpture influenced by Dali –

Hanging ball – atop a florist shop

The fish – huge sculpture over the garden of the Hotel Arts

Late Lunch – Shoko Restaurant

Restaurant Address: Paseo Maritimo de la Barcelona, 36

Web: http://www.shoko.biz/

Decor (6/10) – a huge restaurant/bar and club at night with modern settings based on a Eastern theme. We sat outside right on the beach with view of the coastline.

Atmosphere (6/10) – very relaxed sitting in the sun

Food (2/10) – The three course set menu consisted of Duck start (which turned out to be raw cured slices of duck) a main of spring rolls and finally followed by Ice sorbet. The food was not the best, the portions were small for the price and the meal was not very filling.   

Service (3/10) – mixed service, due to the size the Staff seemed to be rushed around

Value for money (2/10) – a premium price for food to be paid for the location on the sea front, and this was one of the cheaper options along this stretch of restaurants.

Overall score: 19/50 = 38% Best going to eat within the city and then stroll along the beach at your leisure

Barceloneta – this is the old fishermen’s district, with a very popular atmosphere. Its beach, on which stand both permanent and temporary sand art, is one of the busiest in Barcelona. With the sun beating down, it was hard to remember that this is February.

Walk along the beach in the sunshine – 

Views along the beach –

Hotel W – Along the Beach is a very expensive hotel located on the beach, you can see the Penthouse balcony sticking out, I think it be some time before can afford the £6000 per week stay.

18th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 2 –Old town Part 3

The Ribera – while full of tourist, this area conserves its extremely old urban layout, overlooked by the church of Santa Maria del Mar.

Basilica de Santa Maria del Mar – the cities favourite church is entirely in the Catalan gothic style, it took 55 years to build, with money donated by merchants and shipbuilders.

Museum de la Xocolata – history of chocolate, with a range of sculptures made from chocolate. Free sample upon entry, the Chocolate from this region tends to be high in coco content.  

Museum de Zoologia – the entrance to the Parc de la Ciutadella is the fortress like castle of the three dragons, this now houses the city zoo and part of the natural history museum.

Arc del Triomf – the main gateway to the 1888 Universal Exhibition which filled the park

Parc de la Ciutadella – popular park with boating lake, orange groves and parrots living in palm trees. The area was once occupied by a military fortress; one highlight is the par main fountain, the work of Josep Fontsere and Gaudi as a student.

18th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 2 –Old town Part 2

Barri Gotic (Gothic quarter) – the oldest part of the city, it was the site chosen by the Romans in the reign of Augustus (27 BC), and has been the site of the city administration ever since.

The Roman walls – The stamp of the Roman Civilisation is still present within Barcelona, remains of the walls, an aqueduct and two towers flank the entrance to the old city.

Barcelona Cathedral – A compact gothic cathedral, with a Romanesque chapel. Work begun here in 1298 under James II, on the foundations of a Roman temple and a Moorish mosque. It was not finished until the early 20^th Century, when the central spire was completed.

Museu d’Historia de Barcelona (MUHBA) – made up of several centres of historic buildings, which were once resident of the King of Catalonia and Aragon.

18th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 2 –Old town Part 1

The old town is traversed by the city’s most famous avenues, La Rambla, and is one of the most extensive medieval city centres in Europe.  The Barri Gotic contains the cathedral and a maze of streets and squares. Across from the Via Laientana, the El Born neighbourhood is dominated by the Santa Maria del Mar Church and is replete with 14^th century mansions. This area is bounded by the leafy Parc de la Ciutadella, home of the city Zoo. The sea fount is a mix of old and new with trendy shops and restaurants within the marina, contrasting with the maritime neighbourhood of Barceloneta.

Port Vell – this marina is located at the foot of La Rambla, it was built in 1902 at the site of the former maritime entrance. Here you will find the new grand shopping complex known as the Maremagum. 

Monument a Colom – Christopher Columbus, 50 metres up the top of this monument points out to sea with his index finger. 

Views up to Montjuic – views from the hill tops where we visited on day 1  

Rambla de mar – this floating walkway extends the Rambla as far as the Maremagnum across the port 

La Rambla - the most historic avenues in Barcelona, leading to the sea is busy around the clock, especially in evenings and weekends.  Among its famous buildings are the Liceu Opera House, the huge Boqueria food market and some grand mansions.

Human Statues and street performances – found all along this street in the central pedestrianzed zone, along with a range of tourist and flower stalls. The floating man seems to always pull in a crowd but not hard to figure out how it’s done if  your close enough.  

Gran Teatre del Liceu – Barcelona’s opera house has been rebuilt twice following fire damage

Placa de la Boqueria – this square features a colourful mosaic pavement and a Art Deco dragon design for a former Umbrella shop

Saint Joseph Market – situated alongside the Rambla, this market has a colourful range of fresh foodstuff, all sheltered beneath a large metallic structure. 

17th Feb 2011 Barcelona Day 1 – Evening meal at Castro Restaurant

Note: The opening hours for dinner start late, i.e. nothing is open till at least 8.30 p.m. so do not expect the normal UK dinner time of 7.30p.m.

Restaurant Address: C/ Casanova, 85

Decor (6/10) – cosy place with nice lighting, light music and simple white decor

Atmosphere (6/10) – The logo maybe look a little "aggressive" but the atmosphere inside is really good!

Food (8/10) – amazing food, some of the best we have had while abroad. Our starter was goat cheese parcels with a bud of salad, balsamic vinegar and a few strawberries.  Our main was duck served with figs and a toffee and raspberry sauce. 

 Service (7/10) – good service, fast but not rushed and English speaking

Value for money (7/10) – reasonable for the quality of food, the bill came to £55 but we had a bottle of wine with our meal which was also very nice.

Overall 34/50 = 68%