Porto Barcelona Day 26 - Fifth Day in Barcelona

Day 26 - Joe was back from France visiting his sister in Toulouse and was ready for another ride in Barcelona before he goes back to Kuala Lumpur in the evening.

We had our first stop at Gaudi's Casa Mila which was only a kilometre away from the hostel and learnt more things about the place from Joe especially on the pavement finish.

The street lighting posts are rather ornamentally unique with elaborated design for a street light.

Relaxing and sitting on a bench finished with the popular broken mosiac tiles.

The façade is built of large limestone blocks with curved iron beams surrounding the perimeter of each floor connecting to the internal structure and providing the necessary load-bearing support..

If you do not have the opportunity to cycle, you can also explore the city with this hop on hop off city tour bus, it will bring you to see most of the popular landmarks in Barcelona.

Another ornamental street light in front of Casa Mila.

Gaudi’s influence in the design of the pavement along Passeig de Gràcia at the proximity of Casa Mila. The hexagonal paving tiles with an intricate 7-tile ocean-themed pattern based on a Gaudi design for Casa Batllo.

Jardins de la Reina Victoria is a small garden located just to the north of Placa de Catalunya and near the southern end of La Rambla. 

Statue of Joan Güell i Ferrer located on the intersection of Gran Vía de las Cortes Catalanas and Rambla de Cataluña . Created in 1888, It was destroyed in 1936 and rebuilt in 1941.

A small fountain at the roundabout with two monuments in the gardens, one is Joan Gúell and the other is Francesc Soler. GPS : 41.388341, 2.167159

A monument of a red book at the junction between the Reina Victoria Gardens of Gran Via and Passeig de Gracia. The monument ii in honour of a Catalan writer. GPS : 41.389230, 2.168063

Whenever the crowd gets busy on the way, we shall push and continue experiencing the surrounding.

The Barcelona Pension Fund building is located along Vía Layetana, built between 1914 and 1917. The work of Enric Sagnier in the neo-Gothic style.

Urquinaona Station one of the Barcelona Metro stations in the city centre and one of the busiest. It's located underneath Ronda de Sant Pere and Via Laietana, next to Plaça Urquinaona - where the name was derived. GPS : 41.388698, 2.172711

Tribunal Superior de Justicia Sala Contencioso Administrativo is The Superior Court of Justice. Another distinguished building sitting next to the metro station.

Moving along the street of Via Laietana there are a number of old and beautiful medium rise buildings.

Still on the same street we stumbled into this 6 stars hotel. The name of the hotel is Ohla Hotel, 5 stars for their exclusive service and 1 for their restaurant. The Xerta Restaurant offers a Michelin Star breakfast. GPS : 41.387070, 2.174532

The house of the Guild of the Sailboats or House of the Silk which was built between 1758 and 1763 as the headquarters of the Brotherhood of Weavers of Silk Veils. The building was declared the Cultural Asset of National Interest and is the headquarter of the Silk Art College of Barcelona. GPS : 41.36981, 2.174915

Then we came into one of the most popular spots with very rich in history i.e. Placa Nova where Cathedral Barcelona and its surrounding are found via narrow lanes like this one at Carrer de les Magdalenes.

A drinking fountain at Plaça Nova GPS : 41.384820, 2.176284

It's back to the cathedral for one more time before we bade farewell to Barcelona.

The aqueduct of Barcelona is called Besòs or Montcada was the conduit that brought water to the city during Roman times. Its construction can be traced back to the first century AD, a time quite contemporary to the founding of the colony. It is difficult to say for sure when it stopped functioning but in the 4th century a new wall enclosing of the colony was built , the aqueducts continued to work, as well as for the internal distribution of water.

Sculptures outside Diocese Museum which is now known as "Gaudi-Exhibition-Center".

Entrance of Gaudi-Exhibition-Center.

Barcino is a sculpture located in Plaza Nueva, within the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona. It was created in 1994 by Joan Brossa .

It consists of seven letters that form the name Barcino, six of bronze and one of aluminum (the N), placed on the pavement of the square diagonally to the layout of the old Roman road. Each letter has an its meaning:- the "B" the works of Brossa; the "A" is pyramid-shaped and has a grave accent at the top according to the Catalan version of the name, Bàrcino ; "R" is in the form of typed typography; "C" has a crescent shape; the "I" is marked in bas-relief inside a rectangle; the "N" is shaped like a sailboat and indicates the north; and the "O" has a sun drawn, referring to the Mediterranean .

Poking ourselves through more narrow lanes for more places of interest.

Placa de Garriga i Bachs - A monument of Sculpture group of five bronze figures with a stone backing on the wall with two angels. GPS : 41.383633, 2.175808

The tiled plaque at the monument depicting during 1809 where the citizens of Barcelona were executed when the city fought against the Napoleonic occupation. 

The Bishop's Bridge is one of the most instagram-able spot in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. They called it El Pont del Bisbe (Bishop’s Bridge) which was specially built for the Barcelona International Exposition in 1929. The bridge links the Palau de la Generalitat and La Casa dels Canonges. GPS : 41.383286, 2.176456

Some of the shop fronts found in these narrow lanes with interesting items for sale.

The Palau de la Generalitat houses the local Catalan government in Barcelona where the office of the Presidency of the Generalitat de Catalunya is located. The Palau has a pure flamboyant Gothic, Renaissance look and baroque elements behind the neoclassical façade. The building was built between the 15th and mid-17th centuries which accounts for the mixture of architectural styles. GPS : 41.382746, 2.176517.

Within the tiny community of the Jewish settlement there are some building reverse tapered upwards to gain more floor space.

Just about to leave the old settlement we accidentally hit into another market called Santa Caterina. It is a spacious and modern market which was formerly the Convent of Santa Caterina as the name of this market is derived. During the post-Civil War period Santa Caterina became the main food supplier to the towns on the outskirts of Barcelona. 

During that time people from Sant Adrià, Santa Coloma and Mataró came on the tram to buy food in this market. Today, the market is still worth a visit with its modern exterior attracting people into a traditional market with good food stalls and restaurants. Joe met another local Brompton owner whom was busy engaging with her marketing chore.

The colourful and busy scene of a typical activity in the market of Santa Caterina.

We were somehow enticed by the food display at La Torna and immediately tucked our bikes neatly between the bakery corner and the food counter.

Here comes our orders, the food was delicious and affordable. The staff is friendly and service was excellent.

Cheers and a fabulous meal at La Torna in Sant Caterina Market. It was indeed a good find.

The refurbishment of Barcelona's first covered food market was initiated and completed in 2005. Maintaining the old Santa Caterina market character with its undulating and striking roof. Located at Av. de Francesc Cambó, GPS : 41.386439, 2.177964

 Santa Caterina Market was originally built in 1845 for the blue-collar community within the neighbourhood.

The label of Mercat de Santa Caterina.

The roof is attached to the building by wooden structure together and colourful ceramic pieces representing fruit and vegetables can be seen in this market.

Outside the restaurant of La Torna Especialistes en pa after a satisfying lunch.

Followed by visiting Raja's shop to see what are the things sold inside and anything that could buy back to Malaysia. It is located just opposite the mercat.

Next, we were back to Palau de la Música Catalana, built between 1905 and 1908 by the modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner as a home for the Orfeó Català. 

The building is located in Sant Pere district, one of the most beautiful areas of Barcelona. GPS : 41.387343, 2.175413.

The Palau de la Música Catalana is an architectural jewel of Catalan Art Nouveau, the only concert venue in its style to be listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO (4th December 1997). Today it represents an essential landmark in the cultural and social life of Catalonia.

‘Carmela’ at the outside of the Palau is a iron face sculpture, 4.5 meters high of a classical Mediterranean beauty located at a “virtual corner”. The figure seems to change depending on the perspective and the spot where you are standing. Just move around and you will see different perspective of it. This artwork is associated with memory. Created by artist, sculptor and engraver Jaume Plensa.

At the main entrance of the Palau de la Música Catalana 

Enough of visiting for the morning and it's time to get back to the hostel.

The purple cargo bike at bicycle lane is a food delivery vehicle. Mensakas, the Barcelona-based food delivery establishment founded jointly by former Deliveroo, Glovo and UberEats couriers.

Just in case you are interested to know the car parking charges in the city of Barcelona. It is many time more expensive than in our city Kuala Lumpur.

Our balance of stock in the fridge at Primavera Hostel, just nice for the last evening and was time to clear the space for others. Tomorrow night we will be going back to home.