We ended up on La Ramblas and went down towards the harbor. In the distance I had seen some lighted banisters, so following our curiousity we discovered a long boardwalk heading out into one of the marinas. It was a pleasant walk, that took us over some water, viewed some boats, and ended in a shopping and food complex, along with a muti-screen cinema.
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After enjoying the vista, we headed back up La Ramblas, found our tiny street and made our way back home.
This morning started off with our usual morning trip to the market. While there are many fish stalls, we went back to the one we were at yesterday as the fish monger who served us was not only cute, but very pleasant and helpful. We had spied a fish the day before and were disappointed she did not have any left today. So we settled on another little fish that were most likely a type of sardine. We asked for ten, and she cleaned and filleted it without a knife with such dexterity. We will have to try it ourselves one day when we get home.
Dropping off our fish, we headed back out to the metro as we were off to Montjuic, its castle and its sites. There is much to see here.
In addition to the castle, there is Joan Miro's museum, the National Catalan Art Museum, the Magic Fountains, The 1992 Olympic site as well as the 1928 World's Fair site, along with many other places to visit. We knew we would not be able to see everything in a day, but we would do our best to see what we can see.
Exiting the Metro we noticed across the street the Bull Fighting arena. Since the Catalan's outlawed the Spanish bullfights, the building has been converted to a shopping complex, and its roof top terrance would have great views.
But that will have to be for another day. Barcelona is well served with its Tourist Information (TI) counters. You will find them everywhere. And do use them as they are quite helplful. There are many ways up the mountain, and this year's edition of a guide book I was using had mentioned a bus number that was recently changed. Asking at the TI, I was quickly informed of the change, and pointed to the bus stop just in front of us. Montjuic is a mountain, and unless you are looking for extra exercise it is best to take tranpsortation to the highest place you want to visit, and then walk downhill.
The castle of course is built at the top of the mountain. It was built basically to keep Barcelona under check by the Spanish government. While there is really not too much to see in the castle itself, it does give great panoramic views of the harbor and city.
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After taking in the sites, we followed a walkway then the street down the mountain. We came across part of the 1992 Olympic installations, the Diving and Swimming complex, and while we did not enter it, we could see that most of the seats were set to face the pools below with a mountain top view of Barcelona in front. It must have been spectacular to watch Olympic competition with equally spectacular views of the city.
Walking a bit further down hill was Joan Miro's museum.
Whether you like is art or not, it is again a museum that is well worth a visit, and again the excellent audioguide is a must. While I do love some of his art, I cannot say I was as impressed with Miro as I have become of Picasso. But we all have our own tastes.
Photography was not allowed inside of the museum.
We had not thought we would spend so long at the Miro museum and it was getting too late to do justice to any other museum or site, so we decided to head back home. Hera pan fried the sardine like fish which again was delicious along with salad and rice. We will certainly have to look for similar fish back home.
