Trosa is a quaint small town on the harbor on the way to the airport. Trosa, in Swedish, means ladies' panties. I'm not sure how the town earned its name, but it's not one you'd forget! It was beautiful and quaint. We stopped in a coffee shop for lunch and got some coffee and Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam, which Marie introduced on my last trip to Sweden around 15 years ago. Yum!! It's a strange combination but it works.
We walked for a while and went to our airport, a cute little one in the countryside. The flight was an hour late so we got to our apartment in Barcelona at 9 pm. The area is so cute! We are down a small alley right next to a large gorgeous church, Santa del Mar, in the Born district in the Gothic District. there are large wooden carved doors that are original, to enter the building which houses several apartments owned by Javier. He lives on the top floor. The lady who is in the office is the sweetest and gave us so munch information. However it was 9+ and we were tired and starving and really needed food. A lot was past us so we'll have to talk with her again tomorrow but she was such a wealth of information! The place is cute and well appointed. It's big enough and the neighborhood is truly amazing. The elevator is tiny and it only fit me and the bags! And our bags are small.
We quickly headed out and found a restaurant around the corner that we decided to try. I should mention the bodega (wine bar) right outside our door that I suspect we will try. The tapas place was really good and we loved the food we got. It was very cute and we were thrilled. She said that any of the restaurants around are good, and so far we feel she's right! We got jamon iberico, manchego cheese, bread (my stomach may go to gluten hell!), garlic shrimp and a dish of sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes and pesto. Accompanied by a Ribero del Duero, my favorite Spanish red, I am a very happy woman! We did a walk around the neighborhood to walk off a bit of our dinner and to people watch. Apparently it's the independence day today, so there were a lot of people out celebrating. I'm not sure if it's usually this busy in this area, but given the volume of restaurants, I suspect it might be.
The area has a ton of bars and restaurants and is still very quaint. The church is lit up at night and looks so gorgeous. I can't wait to see this area during the day, and more of it! I'm so excited to explore here! I love it so far!!
*****
By night Barcelona is beautifully mysterious, and by day it's stunning. the narrow winding streets that open up to plazas, the architecture, the constant awe and beauty of one incredible view after another. Wow. We woke up to the sound of church bells, distant and pleasant. The church Santa Maria del Mar is right around the corner but it was beautiful and not intrusive. We ate breakfast at a small cafe and tapas place in a very small square around the corner from the apartment, Bubo. It was right next to the front of the church so our view was magestic. It's a little hard getting pics as some of the streets are narrow so you can't really stand back far enough to capture the buildings.
We made our way to the nearby subway stop and met up with the Sandeman's walking tour. It's the same co I used in Munich and it didn't disappoint. Our guide, David, was from Ireland, and heading back in two days. He teaches at an art college and is here for a 6-month stint of writing and doing the tours, which he clearly loves. I find these walking tours a great way to learn history while orienting yourself to a city.
We started in Plaza del Rey where David shared some interesting history. Barcelona's first rise was 13 - 15C as part of Aragon. It was like the 'New York City' of the empire, not the capital, but a dominant power until 1492 when Columbus sailed to the 'new world'. When he returned, Madrid gained power until the 1870's during the industrial revolution, when the city expanded from a small medieval city until 1910. Franco, the fascist dictator ruled until 1975, causing a stop to the expansion. He banned the Catalan language, which was revived after his death. The Catalan people paid for the 1992 olympics and it became the third golden age of Barcelona, with an expansion at the seafront knocking down old factories and building out the area. Tourism is now the largest industry.
Back to Plaza del Ray-- it is the King's Square, and the residence of the city executioner. Executions were done in the square so the executioner had to stay close, and his home was actually in the city wall because no one wanted to live next to him. The place where the king and queen stayed when they were in town is also on the square. It was built on the old Roman walls. The executioners sold body parts of the victims to make money, and apparently feet were believed to be good luck and hung in homes to keep away evil spirits.
There are paths under this area open for touring. This area is where Ferdinand and Isabella received Columbus after he returned from the new world, then they had a procession to the Cathedral. This square was also the headquarter for the Spanish Inquisition and it was reported that if a person told a lie, the foundation would vibrate.
The Cathedral has a neo-gothic facade built just over 100 years ago, though the church was built in the 1300s. This Cathedral is stunning, and since it requires appropriate attire for women (no knees and shoulders showing), we will go back tomorrow. We then saw the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia who was killed by the romans as a young woman. They threw her in a barrel with knives sticking in it and rolled her down a long hill. When that didn't kill her they crucified her nude for three days. And when that still didn't kill her they decapitated her. Her remains are in this cathedral.
In 20 BC the Romans invaded and you can tell the original Roman walls by the large size of the stones. the smaller blocks are part of the medieval expansion as they had to go higher due to changes in warefare. There is an aqueduct in the walls that ran water through the city.
We then when to Placa Saint Felip Neri, whose heart, it was told, got so big that it cracked his ribs and he dedicated his life to his love of others (but not in a creepy way, as our guide said!) The church is in the Baroque style, very uncommon for this area and was built in the 1700s. This square has a school and once had an orphanage. There are pits in the walls from bombs dropped by Mouselini, however, Franco claimed they are from the firing squad executing traitors.
We then went to the Bascilica Santa Maria del Pi, a church of traditional Catalan Gothic architecture. There is a large pine tree in front with a story that the Virgin Mary climbed it.
We walked to Placa de Saint Jaime, where the Mayor's office is and another official office. Nearby is a sculpture that looks like several levels of chain link fence to symbolize castel, or human towers. It's a practice that was done in the area where people climbed on top of each other to see how high they could go. The record is 12 people high.
Santa Maria del Mar, or 'our church' as it's right next to the apartment was our next stop. It was paid for by city tradesmen from the Born district. This is where the wealthy lived. The church was finished in only 55 years (half the usual time) in the 1380s, and is in the traditional Catalan Gothic style. The arches are 31 feet wide and are the widest of any church in the area. In 1936 it was burned by anarchists in the Civil war for 11 days.
In 1714 there was a siege and the city was surrounded by troops from Madrid. Apparently the Catalan went against Madrid earlier, siding with Madrid's enemies. When Madrid won, Barcelona retreated and during the siege, the former allies all bailed on Barcelona. Finally after 13 months, Barcelona fell and was under occupation for years. Madrid leveled a quarter of the city to build the Citadel. We walked down Passeig Born and David pointed out a building with a half window that indicated the part that had been destroyed. This passageway is where jousting used to be held, and is a long narrow corridor near Santa Maria del Mar.
The Born Culture and Memory Center used to be a large food market built in the 1870s. In the 1980 it was being renovated and the floor began to sag and collapsed. Excavations showed old Roman walls that were demolished in 1714 by the Spanish and it remains in excavation as a reminder of how Spain destroyed some of the city.
Catalan is a mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French. Something like 46% of the Catalan want to secede from Spain, and 42% want to remain, with the rest having no opinion. It's something talked about a lot though Madrid refuses. It will be interesting what the future brings.
David taught us a little Catalan: Thank you is merci, Please is c'est plou (sp?) and Good day is bon dia.
After the tour we went back to the apartment to do some quick planning and headed back out. We first went to the Arc de Triumph, and then to the Chocolate Museum where I enjoyed a blissful small cup of thick rich hot chocolate with a consistency a mix of cake mix and hot chocolate. We then walked looking for the Synagogue (and not finding it) and looking for Las Ramblas, a main street in the city and also walking in circles by accident. We then walked to the waterfront, saw the Columbus statue and had a great dinner overlooking the water. We then walked Las Ramblas for a while and meandered through some of the winding narrow passageways in the old city before heading back.
This city is absolutely stunning and so interesting! The old section is a bit of a maze but it's fairly easy to figure a general direction. it's fun to just meander though, and see where you end up!
It was a long day of a lot of walking and tasty eats. There is a tapas place on every corner so it would be hard to go hungry here! Yum!
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