The drive down to Barcelona was easy – the first bit of motorway we joined was completely devoid of traffic – not so later on as we hit the outskirts of Barcelona…all the traffic there came as a bit of a shock…
Soon found our way to Camping Barcelona in Mataro – about 40kms north of Barcelona – once again, both ACSI and the Internet were invaluable in finding somewhere that could take our big boys…
We pulled up outside the campsite (just on a slip road right outside the gate) and walked to the reception to check in – as soon as the receptionist heard that we’d parked outside, she quickly told us to come inside “there are banditos who wait outside for vans” eeek! Andrew quickly ran back and brought the boys in – at this point, we were wondering if the place was safe at all – the receptionist assured us that once inside, their security onsite made sure “no banditos in the camp”…probably the most helpful and friendly check-in so far – lots of information about the site, the pitches available, the facilities plus maps and all the local info as well… Very helpful in letting us have 2 pitches so we could park sideways on and they only charged us for 1 
Parked up and unhitched in record time and decided to catch the camp shuttle bus into Mataro for a look-see. Another reason for choosing Camping Barcelona was that it offers a free shuttle bus into the local town, and into Barcelona itself – have to book the day before for the Barcelona bus and we chose the 9.15am one to come back at 8pm – a long day, but as we only had one day there, we wanted to make the most of it…
Pretty Mataro…
The old bit of Mataro is quite pretty with narrow tree lined streets but there is a railway line which runs between the town and the sea (same along the coast at the campsite) and although there is a beach at Mataro, the coast here is very rocky… Spent an hour or so walking around before a beer and tapas and the bus back…met a couple from Australia who’d borrowed a big motorhome from a relative in UK, and were travelling around Europe too, so spent an hour chatting – the bar at the campsite was a bit weird – as we walked in, all the chairs were facing a TV which was due to show some big English match – TV volume was muted but when it came on full blast, it was time to vacate!
Barcelona – as we got onto the bus (standing room only) we were handed a piece of paper which told us they would not drop us at the Plaza Catalunya as planned, but another Plaza not far from there – because it was 1st May – Labour Day, a public holiday and there were demonstrations planned! Oh well, as long as we didn’t get caught up in any trouble…
We’d decided what we wanted to see beforehand and had a small map which the site had given us so off we went – prepared for a long day and a lot of walking! I also had my phone with an offline map and guide of Barcelona – Trip Advisor City Guides – downloaded and installed and worked without having to be online – it proved to be a lifesaver later on when we got a tad lost in the little old streets of Barcelona…
First stop, as it was relatively close to the drop off, was the Sagrada Familia – one of Antoni Gaudi’s most famous creations…but a bit of a disappointment as not only was pretty much the whole front covered with scaffolding and cloth, but the famous spires were too…and there was a 2 hour queue to get in which stretched all the way down one block – cost 18 euros each – so we didn’t get to see inside but walked all the way around – seeing some of the intricate detail up close just made the whole structure even more weird – some bits almost look like melted candle wax…standing looking at the back (no cloth or scaffolding) of it, each bit seemed more and more bizarre – wonder what he was on when he designed that?! It’s still a work in progress and ‘completion’ is not expected until 2035 – a money pit perhaps?
Sagrada Familia…
Next stop was La Pedredra – Mila House – which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site – once again queues around the block to get in and it cost 16 euros each…as we got there, 4 tour buses pulled up outside – no chance of wandering quietly around there then..
La Pedrera…
On down the Passieg de Gracia which is a lovely tree lined avenue with all the famous shops – it’s supposedly the most expensive street in Spain – and onto another famous Gaudi building – Casa Batlo which was restored by Gaudi as it was originally built as a family home – gorgeous colours of the mosaic work on the front of the building together with the little curved balconies made it look so pretty…but, another humungous queue to get it…the photos don’t really do any of the buildings justice – difficult to get everything in so pics of the detail had to do… while Andrew was taking some shots of one of the buildings, I overheard one tourist standing waiting in the bus queue say “they really should do something about all these trees, you can’t see anything when you’re on the top of the bus!” – no prizes for guessing what nationality…
One of our favourite pastimes is people watching, and boy, we had plenty of choice! It was a little unsettling to realise that not only were there May Day demonstrations, but a big football match between Barcelona and Bayern Munich was also on that evening – so police were very evident – on foot and also in riot vans…Fans from both teams in their colours and scarves were everywhere – some sitting on benches with their beers (lots of beers…) already getting tanked up and it was only 2 o’clock…
Further down de Gracia and we came to Plaza Catalunya – we could hear all the noise from the demonstrators as we approached so took a wide detour around the square and on down La Rambla – another tree lined pedestrian area which is famous for its little shops and buskers – and pickpockets! No – we didn’t fall victim but the place was so crowded we didn’t want to tempt fate…and we were feeling a little claustrophobic as well – big change to big city crowds after the peace and quiet of the countryside…Ducked down one of the side streets to get away from the noise and crowds and found ourselves in the Old Town – narrow, quiet alleys criss crossing each other – this is where we got a little ‘lost’ – no problem though as we found ourselves by the docks where we sat in the sun with our sarnies…feet up on a bench to rest – very welcome!
Casa Batlo…
Demonstrations in Plaza Catalunya…
Once fed and watered, we made our way back into the Old Town and the Santa Maria del Mar church – beautiful old building built in the 14th century, it’s one of Barcelona’s most important religious centres – a welcome respite from the crowds and the sun. It is hard to imagine how these massive buildings were constructed with all their towering arches and pillars – from the outside, this one didn’t look much but inside was a different story…
Our list of things to see focused on Gaudi buildings and architecture but another must see was Barcelona Cathedral…we could see the spire through the gaps in the buildings but getting to it was more complicated as the little streets curve every which way, and just as you’re convinced it’s around the next corner, it’s disappeared from view…well worth our persistence though as it is a beautiful building – we sat on the steps at the front for a while just to soak up the atmosphere and rest our weary feet…
Barcelona Cathedral…
Palau de la Musica Catalana – not a Gaudi construction but a flamboyant building too – we couldn’t get inside the main auditorium as it was tours only and the last one had just left…the photo of the outside will give some idea of the inside…
Having covered miles of the city, we were pretty tired so headed down to the rail station to see if we could get back to the campsite earlier than the planned bus at 8pm…only to find we were at the wrong station – argh! Back into the city for a final wander around before walking back to the bus stop – a beer and tapas kept us going until we got back to Woody…a long day but I reckon we saw the bits that we wanted to see – Barcelona is definitely worth a revisit sometime…
Currently back in France – we left Barcelona this morning and arrived in a little site just outside Nimes…sad to leave Spain behind as it’s been fun to experience and explore…we’ll be back!
Spring appears to have followed us here – fields of red poppies in amongst the wheat – the poplars are in full leaf and the maple trees look glorious – all the vines have new growth and the countryside looks wonderfully green…we love France :D
Looking forward to exploring Provence next…
Tagged: Antoni Gaudi, Barcelona, cathedral, La Batlo, Mataro, Palau de la Musica Catalana, Plaza Catalunya, Sagrada Familia, Santa Maria del Mar
