'Labor'ious 'day's in Barcelona

Saturday began with a trip to the magnificent Sagrada Familia (http://www.sagradafamilia.org/eng/index.htm). Wow! What a monument!! The architecture here is quite different from what we see in India...
The walls of temples and forts in India have many intricate carvings while the walls here have larger and less intricate carvings. From very near you might not get impressed, but from a distance, the view can be imposing. It is a church designed by Gaudi. He died after building the first tower (nativity) and the rest of the building is being constructed with the patronizing support of the Barcelona govt since then. Its almost 100 years since its construction started and still I guess 30-40 % is left. God only knows when this will get completed.

MS and HB didn't seem to enjoy it. They seemed to be quite bored with the building as they were comparing it with the grandiose of indian temples (which I felt was quite irritating!).

Well, from there we went on a walk along the Avinguda de Gaudi (Avenue of Gaudi). This is an interesting road with chairs laid out along the middle and traffic restricted to only two wheelers along narrow lanes on the sides. There was a cover all along the street and people just sat on the chairs along the road and had "alimentacion". A nice concept where in the roads are dedicated to pedestrians and travellers who would like a little rest after seeing the Familia.

At the end of the walk we arrived at the Hospital de Sant Pau (http://www.gaudiallgaudi.com/AA104.htm). This hospital is unique in construction. Its built in the usual style of palaces. It has some 18 different buildings, all looking like royal chambers, addressing different specialities. They are currently building a new hospital in a more conventional design at the back of this ancient layout. I guess the newer design would serve more people in the future.
And of course... a mention should be made....this is where I finally found a public toilet to relieve myself... phew. I was worried my balls would burst from the pressure if I hadn't found one soon. Its not like in India where u can water the walls in alleyways and gardens in an emergency. ;-)
Well, I sure was one relieved tourist after the visit to the hospital .... :-)

After a walk around the hospital (and the relief!), and a few photo sessions later, we walked down Avinguda de Gaudi back to the Sagrada Familia and then on to the Passeig de Sant Joan (Passage to Sant Joan). From here we walked down to the Arc de Triomf... a long walk actually.

The Arc looks very much like the India Gate in Delhi. This was built for some exposition in the year 1888 and serves as a place for demonstrations and protests by the catalonian people. But protests here are quite peaceful... a lecture and then a simple march. Not like in India where a few people get killed or injured if a cine star dies of natural causes!!!

Well, beyond the arc was the Parc de Ciutadella which we visited on Monday. We were quite tired with all the walking which we did from the Familia and were quite happy to call it a day.

I had not charted any plans for Sunday morning as a lady from India was supposed to arrive that day. So I just lazed around near the pool in the sun reading "Five point someone" till the afternoon (the effects of the sun bath were far reaching with all the burn marks on my face! ouch!!). Its really a nice read :-)

We left for the Rambla in the evening hoping to see the Cathedral and Santa Maria del Mar. The mazes near the Rambla can be very confusing even with a map!!! The builders here think the general public has eagle eyes and hence the names of the streets are put up in the smallest possible font sizes. Just to get to the Catedral, I had to navigate through 6 gullies asking about a dozen people. Why can't they write street names in larger letters??

Anyways, the Catedral was another church which was being renovated. We thought of going in, but seeing the crowd which was gathered at the entrance, we decided to get in some other day. However, the Catedral was quite impressive from the outside. This was located in the Barri Gotic area which is a very ancient locality where we would find old stone buildings everywhere.

From there we walked down to the Santa Maria del Mar. An excellent church (I think the english translation of the name would mean "St Mary of the sea" as this is located near the Mediterranean), it was a sanctuary for me after all the activity the previous week. There was a statue of Mary holding Jesus (Madonna?) in her arms on the main altar. The colorful windows of the church look magnificent from the inside of the church. Directly opposite the statue is a huge colorful window which is simply amazing. I was surprised to see many tourists (including our very own MS and GV) taking photographs inside the church. I guess, restrictions as in our temples are not present over here in holy places.
A very peaceful hour was spent in Santa Maria del Mar, after which we enlightened souls returned back to our den.

Monday was dedicated to the beach. Right from morning, the only thing MS and HB were talking about was our impending visit to the sea. Anyways, without their guide (me!), they wouldn't even step out of the hotel... !!! And out came my maps, figuring out the plan for the day.
The first visit was to the Parc de Cuitadella. Outstanding by Barcelona standards but nothing compared to the greenery of LalBagh. The bushes, though, hold the same secrets as those in LalBagh!! ;-)
The fountain in the centre was breathtaking. I won't be able to describe this here. I guess, only photos can give an idea of the beauty of this water body. A long photo session later, it was time to move on. We just strolled around the park taking pictures of each other standing beside green bushes, colorful flowers and nude figures... ;-)

Then came the moment of truth while we were contemplating whether we should enter the zoo or not. I have described the fight that ensued between me and HB in another blog... so I won't waste my precious energy on that. Well, after all that happened, we were not that eager to enter the zoo anymore and decided to come back some other day.

Now all guns were trained on the beach.... hehehe... this was going to be fun.
I had never seen the Goan beaches.... but I was prepared for what was to come. We got to the beach near the Villa Olympica (Olympic Village), near which about 6 beaches are located.
We went to the first one... Barceloneta!!

Well, what can I say? The place was crowded and the concept of clothing takes a huge hit here. When I left the hotel, the others were wondering why I was walking around in half pants while they were all completely covered! Now they understood. Everywhere we tried to sit, there were a dozen people eyeing my companions. They were all in jeans and a full shirt. On top of this, MS had worn a Wipro jacket too!!! Well, we decided to go on a long walk, and then find a non-crowded spot to sit. We went to the edge of a small inlet in the sea and sat there taking snaps. After that we found a spot where, even though most of the ladies were topless, there were some white skinned people with as much clothing on as us. We spent a good part of the evening sitting here talking and watching some surfers having fun.

That was it... a weekend well spent while the rest of the world protested against immigration and reservation laws.