Monday was Don and Jennifer's last full day, as they were flying out to London mid-day Tuesday. After Sunday's early start, we had a bit of a slower start, and left the apartment after 10:00 to start the day.
Besides needing to catch up on sleep, there was another good reason for our tardy start. The cable car from Barceloneta to Montjuic did not open until 10:30 am. Well, we did go out first to a nearby restaurant for a solid breakfast of eggs, really good bacon, and pan con tomato (bread with tomato spread).
The cable car tower was a 20 minute walk away, just a little bit further than where we go to the beach (and beach bar). There was no line, and we zipped up the eight stories or so on the elevator. Within a few minutes, the cable car ("teleferic" in Catalon) arrived. We got on, along with three others, and immediately set off for the eight minute crossing.
It was very cool, as we had commanding views of Barcelona from well above it. Carol and I talked about this later; I'm not sure there is another city with as many panoramic views from as many panoramic locations as Barcelona. Many cities might have one or two, but Barcelona has countless. We have not even been to all of them.
Carol noted that we should put together distance photos of Sagrada Familia from all different angles. I'm not sure we'll actually work that hard, but it might be a future post.
Montjuic from the cable car.
The Cathedral
The as-yet-to-be completed Glory
facade of Sagrada Familia.
Wow -- lucky to get this great picture of
our local church, Santa Maria del Mar.
(It's our local church because it
is a short walk away from our apartment).
Part of the harbor. To the left are a couple of
cruise ships, while the ship cut off on the right
side is a ferry, either for the Balearic islands,
or for one of two ports in Italy.
Park Guell, including the colonaded
pathway on the right on the photo.
At one point on the cable car ride, the
Cathedral (fore) and Sagrada Familia
(aft) lined up perfectly for me.
The cable car from Barceloneta comes in mid-point on Montjuic, so you have a choice. Either climb the rest of Montjuic along roads, with exposure to the sun, or take another cable car (telefaric) up to the top. We opted for the telefaric, after a stop for Don and Jennifer to admire the stunning view of the city from the Olympic Diving pool.
This time, the line for the teleferic was shorter and moved faster, so we headed up to the top, where the Castle is.
There were structures on top of Montjuic at least as early as the 11th Century, and the fort (castle) was built in 1640. It was expanded in 1694 into a much larger, more important castle. The old fort was demolished in the mid-1700s, with the new one built and finished by 1799.
It has a dark history, long used by Spain to keep Barcelona under control. Cannons bombarded the city from time to time. During Franco's regime, it was a place where many opponents of his regime were jailed, tortured, and/or murdered.
Despite its' grim past, the castle today makes for an inviting visit. We are afforded sweeping views of the city, the port, and beyond. The weather was perfect, and if we did nothing else all day, the trip was worth it.
Don and Jennifer on the second Teleferic.
Looking back at Torre Agbar.
The gardens and the entrance to the castle.
The W Hotel from above. Oh yeah,
and the Mediterranean Sea.
This was not one of original cannons.
The seaport, which Don noted
is unusually clean for a port.
The interior of the castle.
Hospitalet de Llobregat-Plaza de Europa,
Torres de Toyo Ito. This hotel is actually
outside of the city limits to the south,
but is considered one of the seven most
beautiful buildings in Barcelona. It's
visually stunning.
Being able to walk all around the
castle walls provided amazing views.
Right over Jennifer's head, you can see our
apartment building (the white building).
This is us.
The second, further port you can see is
where the Minerva is docked -- the boat
we went out a few days prior.
After we came down from the Castle, we went to the Olympic Stadium, past the art museums, and down past the Magic Fountain (not running), along the road to Placa Espana. It really is a beautiful walk, even though we were getting hungry. We ended up with a late lunch in El Born. We were able to get outside tables under the umbrella. The food was perfect.
Last time we went past the walk of Olympic fame,
I only took a picture of Mark Spitz's foot. This
time, being that Barcelona was where the Dream
Team starred, I had to take a picture of
Michael Jordan's shoed foot.
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