Saturday - June 8th

Like I said, I did everything last night so that I would be free today. Unfortunately, I woke up to wind and rain outside. Not great weather for exploring the city on foot and going to the beach, so I went back to sleep until 2:00 to try and catch up on the sleep I’ve missed during the week. The good news is that waking up at 2 the skies were clear and it was warm again. I spent the afternoon in el Barri Gotico, the old medieval section of the city. The guidebooks say that this is not the best neighborhood at night and there is so much to see that I saved this for Saturday on purpose. Let me tell you, it was totally worth it!!

First and foremost, though the guidebook says to avoid this neighborhood late at night for safety, I know the real reason. The reason you don’t go at night is because it would be way too easy to get lost, it’s just common sense to go during the day. Walking out of the metro I took a wrong turn and got super lost right off the bat and before I knew it I could see the marina. After backtracking I found the correct way and then got to enjoy the neighborhood. The first thing I went to see was the largest surviving section of the second Roman wall constructed in the 4^th century AD. After this, I sent looking for the Cathedral and at first I couldn’t find it. Then, next thing you know I walked out of a little side street and was standing 5 feet away from it! This is not all that surprising if you could see these streets in person. They are small, narrow, dark, and twisted.

I went and found the Placa del Rei. This plaza only had one entrance and was surrounded on one side by the ancient Roman walls I already mentioned and on the others by the Palau Reial Mayor. This used to be the royal palace and was the residence of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella when Columbus arrived back from America and made his report. I basically got to stand on their front porch. I then found the Temple d’Augustus, a little know and relatively hidden historical gem. You go down yet another little side street, cut through a dead end courtyard, and go down some steps at the other end which turns and drops you off in from of another courtyard below street level. What is the Temple d’Augustus? It is what remains of the Roman Temple/Forum constructed in the 1^st century BC dedicated to Caesar Augustus and remains the best preserved Roman relic in the city. It was so out of the way that I was actually alone, and it was middle of the day Saturday!

I visited the Placa de Sant Just, the courtyard that has remained unchanged since medieval days, the Placa de Sant Jaume, the central courtyard of ancient Roman Barcelona and the current center of government for Barcelona, and the Carrer del Brisbe which was the principal artery of Roman civilization and led back to the Cathedral. I also visited the ancient Jewish quarter, synagogue, and baths included. (Though today the synagogue has been destroyed and replaced, as has the baths which are now a furniture store.) The last few notable visits were the ancient cemetery, the rose window, and the series of connecting courtyards which form an open air market and art show. I finished off my tour of the gothic quarter by returning to the Cathedral to draw a quick sketch.

Can I just say I felt uncomfortable? You know how when people go on vacation they stop and listen to random musicians and watch painters? It’s almost part of the entire tourist experience. I guess I was asking for it, but I had a group of people gathered around me to watch me sketch. Definitely made me self-conscious, but I couldn’t stop. I just tried to ignore them and keep trying to enjoy my vacation time. I did feel kind of cool though. I also took the time to enjoy the other exhibitions. The art was cool scattered throughout the various courtyards, and I ran into many musicians. Some local Catalan music, a fantastic violin player, some guitarists, an accordion player, some eerie Chinese music, and even a guy singing Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics but with a very Spanish accent and with every word clearly annunciated. I couldn’t help but smile. There were also tons of shops and stores and I eventually had to stop looking because I was so sorely tempted to buy stuff. It was a very fun and relaxing afternoon.

I then ran back to the apartment to change and ran to the beach for an hour or so where I just sat and read Earnest Hemingway. It’s nice to just be able to hop on the metro and less than a half hour later be standing on the beach. All the beach bars and restaurants along the edges, yet another band playing on the veranda which could be heard all over the beach, people playing sports, and plenty of others who walked around selling drinks and massages. It was a pretty good end to the day. And because it was so late in the day, I didn’t even get burnt or anything. I can’t wait until Nikki gets here so I can share all this with her!