Our last day in Barcelona started off a bit better in regards to rest; we slept in till about 10A.M.  We then got ready and headed to Taragona Station in order to ride the metro to La Barceloneta, a station about 10 mins (walking) away from the beach.  The walk took us along a stretch of roadway – when I then looked to my right and noticed that I could see Port Vell.  So we weren’t far from there, in fact, just across the port/harbor area that we had taken pictures at two days earlier.

On the blocks leading up to the beach, we must have passed about 30 to 40 restaurants, it made me hungry, hahaha.  We stopped for a Gelato – the flavors…caramel and mango!  I know, not the most common combination, but it was surprisingly very good.

Anyways, once we arrived at the beach, we were greeted with a very full and lively beach scene.  I suppose one of the traditions, as is at most beaches, is to build large scale sandcastles and sand sculptures.  The funny thing is that in Barcelona, the sculptures put out small dishes for observers to deposit change if they desire.  Oh, by the way, in Barcelona, as is common in many Mediterranean beaches, many women are sunbathing topless…and the men (less than is expected though) are wearing male bikini underwear.  But many men now wear normal swim trunks or board shorts, but there are (enough) men choosing otherwise.

Homer Simpson sand sculpture

The crowd of people soaking up the sun and enjoying the water

The sidewalk that runs parallel to the beach

Fishing for sport or craving seafood...

Something else we found that is rare in beaches in the Southern part of the U.S. is areas to work out.  Now I’ve seen that there are outdoor gyms that line some of the west coast beaches, but this is a little different.  It honestly looked like an adult jungle gym.  No free weights at all.  Instead, there were bars that were placed for a person to do pull-ups, incline push-ups, normal push-ups, Australian rows, triceps dips, leg extensions, an abdominal workout, etc.  But as you can guess, kids would want to climb up too…fortunately for them, there is a child’s jungle gym (not for working out, hahaha) located within 100 feet of where the adults are working out.  I noticed a father, as he’s working out, yelling at his son to play on the child’s jungle gym and to stay within sight…awe, what a scene, a father and son both hanging from bars…one doing pull-ups, the other just having a blast swinging back and forth…I guess the father should stop playing and learn to do pull-ups, LOL!!  Needless to say, considering that it has been a while since I last stepped foot in a gym, I took advantage and worked out for about 30 minutes.

The adult jungle gym

Trying to get my workout on. Having the wind made working out great!

From there, we began to make our way to Las Ramblas.  On our way, we found a small event called “Toute La France” which featured breads, cheeses, meats, wines, and of course tour packages to France.  It was a nice little event that spanned about 2 blocks (rough reference).  The committee that sponsored the event had inflated four large white domes that were air conditioned.  The domes housed some of the vendors as well as all the tour companies, all trying to give people bags with free small gifts and information as they walked by.  Upon leaving the event, we walked to Las Ramblas.

The welcome sign for the event

wine sampling in the air conditioned tent

Bocadillos and more wine tasting

Now THIS is French Bread!

I suppose because it was Saturday, there was an even larger crowd; I noticed a lot of French being spoken, so maybe a large tour had shown up, adding to the flood of people crowding the streets.  We saw a painting of Don Quoixote that we really liked; it cost 40€.  We didn’t get it because we didn’t want to fold them in our luggage.  My father assured me that he could have gotten the price down to 25€.  I don’t know why I was surprised, but I asked, “You’ve haggled?”  Knowing the obvious answer, I added, “In Guatemala right?”  My dad was quick to respond, “Oh of course, for everything…and I’m good! Hahaha.”

A weekend market setup in Las Ramblas

One of the paintings that we liked

Bargaining for a lower price on a painting

An artist sketching the profile of a young girl...he had some really GREAT drawings

Later on, coming out of one of the side alley ways (all are filled with stores and restaurants), we noticed two women who were franticly trying to cover the screen of an ATM to help alleviate the glare that was bouncing off of the screen and not allowing them to read the instructions.  Interestingly, one of them was almost up on a ledge trying her best to solve the problem.  What was hilarious was that, I began to take a couple pictures.  Of course, when people see you taking photos, they naturally look to see what it is that you’re taking photos of.  I finish, and as I turn to my father (while laughing) I notice out of the corner of my eye, a small crowd that had formed behind and around us…all looking at the two women and their plight.  Everyone had a smile on their face and or was outright laughing.  You just had to have seen how hard the two were trying.  As all great instigators…we left the crowd to their devices and continued on.  I wonder if those women ever got to finish their transaction, and if they turned around to see their fans look of approval.  Hahaha.

A very unusual predicament - either lost card or too much glare

We walked around some more and stopped through El Mercat de St Josep again.  Seriously, if you are ever in the area, you have to check it out!  Understand that it is an outdoor market, so if you aren’t used to or do not like the strong smell of fruit, fish, poultry, cheese, etc. mixing together, this might not be the place for you.  For everyone else, you’ll enjoy the fresh ingredients, the beautiful colors of foods, and liveliness of the vendors, their stands, and the people buying from them.

Pinotxo bar - as featured in Made In Spain: with José Andrés

A group of fruit vendors at the market

After leaving the market, we headed back to the hotel so that would take it easy and rest for our trip the next day to Valencia.

Filed under: Travel by Giancarlo Deleon