Touring Barcelona

This post picks up where I left off in the last one.


First off, let me descibe El Raval. El Raval is an artistic neighborhood full of people from all over the world. The architecture style contrasts very much from the Barri Gotic. It appears more Moorish in influence and even has a huge Spanish mosque. The street you see to your left is kind of like the main thoroughfare, with wide streets for walking, surrounded by palm trees which bear fruit for the vast numbers of pigeons (and even parrots!!!).

The first place we went to in El Raval was MACBA, a museum of contemporary art. We didnt go inside, but instead watched the skateboarders outside. Here you can see two skateboarders talking outside MACBA. Behind them are many more skateboarders enjoying their lunches.








Another thing of interest: I don't know why there is this statue of a big cat with huge cajones, but it was on the main thoroughfare of El Raval too.



After touring El Raval, we went back to Las Ramblas
and visited La Boqueria, a market place with many different kinds of foods. I think it'll be easier to upload an album onto facebook. but here are a few pics.

(Top) This is the view from outside La Boqueria
(Middle) Here's a fruit and spice stand
(Bottom)And here's some REAL fresh fish!




After La Boqueria we started walking back to the hotel on Las Ramblas. One the way back we some street performers. These guys dress up real strange-like and pose for pictures when you drop coins in their coffers.

(Top) This guy is some kind of devil creature
(Bottom) The guy on the left is some kind of earth- friendly superhero while the girl on the right is some kind of purple fairy





After seeing these guys, our guide (one of the API directors, from Barcelona) warned us not to fall for street performers or street vendors. Five minutes later, we watched her get tricked into that exact thing (some guy suckered her out of 1.5 Euros for a cheap bracelet). I hope to get more pictures of Las Ramblas, where the street is lined with pet stands. They sell many different kinds of animals, like chickens, squirrels, fish, and ducklings.



We then headed back toward the hotel, and on our way found a street band. I got about thrity seconds of their song on video:

Anyways, that about does it for now. Hope you enjoyed this live action blog, and I hope to bring you more and more as my time in Barcelona goes on. Gotta go real fast for Adriana's surprise birthday party (which will be in about 30 minutes!!!). Adriana is one of the daughters of the family that I am staying with. More to come, until then, hasta luego!