First
stop this morning was
Barceloneta,
a
triangular spit of land with Port Vell on one side, and sandy beaches
on the other.
This
group of gentleman were having a wonderful time playing dominoes on the beach, such a beautiful setting & we loved hearing their lively conversation.
On the other side of the spit we
were surprised to see so many super yachts in the Port Vell marina.
A few of the sights around the marina.
The
area was once the home of fishermen and is now one of the city's most
visited and popular districts.
On
the sand and inside the neighbourhood, rows of restaurants and bars
combine with the traditional images of locals sitting in their chairs
in the street and narrow balconies displaying clothes drying in the
sun.
We
enjoyed lunch on the beach...my pineapple, coconut and passionfruit smoothie was
the highlight!
From
there we visited The Columbus Monument that overlooks the harbour. It
was built
in 1888 for the Universal Exhibition as a tribute to Christopher
Columbus,
who chose to disembark in the port of Barcelona on his return from
America. The statue of Christopher
Columbus holding
a navigational chart in his left hand, and pointing to the route to
America with his right dominates the area.
In
the afternoon, we travelled on the funicular
railway up to Montjuïc
and visited Olympic Stadium Lluis Companys,
the centrepiece of the so-called Olympic Ring, the string of superb
sports facilities erected for the 1992 Olympics.
We
wandered around the area and stopped for a drink in the cafe on the
steps of the Musee National d'Art de Catalunya and enjoyed the
beautiful views over Barcelona.
There
was Sangria on offer and I decided to try it. Initially I was disappointed
about it arriving in a plastic cup, however the taste was a pleasant
surprise...delicious.
Before
heading home we called in to the Boqueria Market again and bought
some tasty morsels to cook for dinner tonight AND a bottle of Sangria to go with it!
Today
we walked 16.6 k's.
