Bad Case of Loving you (Barcelona)

Well, dear reader, for those of you who are long standing devotées of this blog, you will know that we've spent some unhappy holiday time in hospitals, not of our own volition. Hence today's title Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor Doctor) by the late great Robert Palmer.

Today, however, we were seeking out a hospital upon recommendation of our Concierge. This is St Pau Recinte Modernista, also known as the old hospital, an Art Nouveau site, built from 1902 till 1930 and continuing to provide medical care and research facilities to the people of Barcelona until 2009. It is not a big ticket item in the must see Barcelona brochures but it should be.

The entrance to the hospital.

Underneath the Admin building.

It was built in a direct line to Sagrada Familia, linked by, you guessed it, Avenue de Gaudi, but it is the work of another landmark Catalan architect, Montaner. We had glimpsed this amazing edifice on the Hop-on Hop-off bus and decided to make this our morning focus, being careful to use the hotel wifi to book our online ticket time slot before we departed for breakfast en route. An added bonus was the option of a self-guided tour with a paper map instead of having to deal with the joys of audio devices. Although I have since reset my Apple ID so I can now download Apps.

Gardens to the right.

A restored ward.

The hospital is a complex of 12 pavilions, 8 of which have been restored and are open to the public. Today we tend to expect hospitals to be functional and cutting edge, and clearly this one was that. However, it is also beautiful. A work of art. From the turrets and the ceramic tiled rooves to the interior tiled ceilings, denoting the different buildings and the gardens for their healing power. The complex was testament to an holistic approach to medicine. I wonder how that would work today?

So colourful.

Coloured domes everywhere.

The underground tunnels, white tiles connected all the pavillions. Each pavillion was dedicated to a separate area of medical treatment. Of course, being a Catholic country, the genders were kept apart. There were statues on every building, denoting its dedication to a saint. Should medicine and prayer fail, the complex was in a direct sight of Sagrada Familia.

Next stop, the Sagrada.

The ceiling in the stairwell of the admin building.

As amazing as the hospital wards were, the administration building was next level. It's probably not a surprise that the bureaucrats get the best work environment. Sorry, my cynicism just bubbled to the surface. Walking into the foyer was like entering a cathedral. There was an automatic intake of breath and an awe inspired hush. The ceiling, the staircase ... it could never, would never be built today and that in itself is a shame. We have lost the concept of beauty and enjoyment in a functional world that focuses on profit and cutting costs. There was more ... let the pictures tell the story.

The ceiling in admin.

One end of the great room.

The other end.

Leaving the hospital and its magnificence behind, we charted our course for the Arc de Triomf. We had seen it from the bus yesterday and while it was not up to Parisienne standards, it dominated the area and acted as a gateway to the Parc de la Ciutadella. It was another hot sunny day and quite humid. Hydration was an issue so we paused for a beer. Across the square was an outdoor gym. Excellent. Drinks and entertainment. We regathered our energy while watching others exhaust theirs.

We continued our walk to the Arc. Like most other major attractions, it was quite crowded. The area beyond the Arc, Passeig de Lluís Companys, was populated with prefabricated stalls all selling books. Again similar to the stall along the Seine in Paris, except these ones were larger and provided protection from the elements for the stall holder. They had a similar arrangement in the Passeig de Gracia.

Arc de Triomf.

By this point we were feeling the impact of walking in the heat and decided to save the exploration of the park until tomorrow and walked back to the hotel to rest before dinner.

Passeig de Lluís Companys.

It was time to abandon tapas for paella. We located a restaurant just around the corner from the hotel and selected an inside table as the weather looked like it could turn. It was the most expensive of the dinners we've had so far and probably the most disappointing. Eating out, unless you can get a local recommendation, is proving a little hit and miss. Our meals at Ciutat Comtal have been excellent and we will return there tomorrow for our final meal in Barcelona.

Not so disappointing was the gelato we had before returning to the hotel.

The Mirador Torre Glòries from a distance.

Before retiring we went up to the rooftop bar to take a couple of night shots, expecting the Sagrada Familia to be it up. Alas no. No lights on the famous Cathedral.

Plaça de Catalunya.

Until tomorrow.

Rio Bound (Barcelona)

After yesterday's culture and architectural overload, dear reader, we decided today should be a little slower paced. Although it still included Gaudi. How could it not? Everywhere you look there are waves or fragments of colour. As usual, I am getting ahead of myself.

Warning - all the pictures are from Parc Güell and are not necessarily near the appropriate text reference.

And the song? Yes, curiously Rio Bound is played between the commentary on the Hop-on Hop-off bus. When you spend five hours plugged into the commentary it gets into your head. It's by Jeremy Sherman, have a listen.

We wandered away from the main plaça to find a café for breakfast. We ended up at Café de la Francesca, another chain. Their coffee was OK at the last place but the croissant was woeful. Today we split a toastie and had an espresso. Good coffee, reasonable toastie. While there, I attempted to download tickets for the hop on-hop off bus.

There are two such buses in Spain, the 'official' one and an obviously Spanish, bus turistic, not official. The routes cover much the same area unless you are after a cable car ride up the mountain, in which case you can use the latter. The official Hop on-Hop off bus, which we opted for, does land you near the cable car at the port, although it calls it a funicular. Now I've seen a few funiculars in my time (😉) and it is definitely a cable car.

A monk parrot at home.

My e-sim from Simcorner has been woeful since we arrived in Spain. It takes nothing for the speeds to slow down to snail pace. I'm going back to Holafly on the next trip. Maybe even before this trip concludes. The process over breakfast went like this: click on the App, put down the phone and wait for the page to load. Complete details on the page and click next. Put the phone down and wait for the page to load. Eventually I decided it might be better to be outside.

Gaudi house #3, the museum.

It was only marginally quicker and we needed to stop every few minutes to load the next page. Finally our 24 hour tickets arrived, with enough time to cover both routes and we set out for the pick up point which was near the second of the two Gaudi houses.

Barcelona's twin towers.

As it eventuated, the expected travel time was around 2 and half hours on each route. Traffic dependent, of course. We spoke to the attendant at the green route stop and he recommended walking around the corner and taking the orange route first. It had more stops and if you were to get on and off a few times it would take most of the day. This was more of an orienting excursion and we weren't planning on getting off, but we followed his advice.

The curved seating.

We were peacefully waiting at the orange stop with another couple when we were invaded by three American couples who disregarded that we were there first when the bus arrived. They pushed on and assumed the last vacant seats. I crouched in the vacant pram/wheelchair bay and Jayne stood in the aisle with some other late comers. The signage in the bus clearly stated, 'no standing'. Fortunately the next stop was the Sagrada Familia which cleared most of the bus, including the arrogant seat usurpers.

The curved seating and tower.

The orange route did indeed occupy the full two and half hours and I can assure you that seats became less comfortable as we travelled on. The commentary, which has been most informative on the Big Bus (not operating in Barcelona), made the offerings here look thin. We passed a number of significant buildings which were largely ignored - we still have no idea what they were. However, it did allow us to see around the beach area and pinpoint a few places we will visit in coming days.

The exit point. Hallelujah.

Returning to our original starting point, we walked around the corner to see a bus waiting at the green route stop. No time for a beer, we boarded and discussed the afternoon. The two major attractions were Parc Güell and the St Pau Recinte Modernista. Given St Pau was closer to home, we opted to drive by, impressive as it is, and continue on to the Parc. Unsurprisingly, it is a Gaudi design.

The gingerbread house.

The green route map shows the drop-off point on the edge of the park. Yeah nah. It was probably a 15 minute walk up a cliff face. Ok, a really, really steep street. We walked off the footpath to get around all the wheezing smokers. Did you know, dear reader, that smoking is bad for your health? This news is yet to make it to Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia or Spain.

The Laundry Room portico.

It was nearing 4 pm by this stage and I mistakenly believed park entrance was free. Nope. Like every other attraction (gross exaggeration), the entry tickets are timed in 30 minute brackets. Jayne spoke to a man who was assisting people (sort of). Yes, tickets are required for entry. They must be purchased online. Now there was some important information I could have used earlier in the day. Entry tickets, basic, no audio guide, €13,50 each. We received a discount because we're old.

You can see the Sagrada from the park.

So, as multiple tour groups came and entered the park, which apparently limits how many people can be there in any one time slot, I once again played the excruciating waiting game with my e-sim to purchase the tickets online. Eventually, I secured a 4:30pm time slot but we decided to see how rigidly they were enforcing the time limits. They weren't and waved us straight in so we headed for the QR code sign to download the park walking map. Right next to the sign was another sign that pointed you towards, among other amenities, the Ticket Office! Let's get this straight - tickets could only be purchased online because you needed the tickets to get access to the ticket office? 

Hibiscus in the Austria Garden.

We squinted closely at the map to try to decide how best to navigate the various focal points - it was not very helpful so we decided to download the map. The QR code you were directed to was not a map but an App for Parc Güell. Another brilliant piece of misdirection. On another sign, well hidden from the one extolling you to download here for a great experience, was the QR code for the map of the park.

The pillars in the Hypostyle.

As we walked past the Gaudi house (number three) containing the museum, The App finally downloaded and provided a better map, at least with discernible information on it. The park itself was unremarkable except for its Gaudi houses and other structures. At this point, dear reader, I believe I reached peak Gaudi. It was inevitable. Despite his calming curves and waves, his gingerbread house, and fragments of reflected colour, the battle with the internet and crowds had washed over me like a tsunami. I was done. But not before we explored the last of the park. I wanted my money's worth. And a beer. Sadly there was none to be had behind the walls of Parc Güell.

The ceiling of the Hypostyle.

The view back across the city was quite spectacular and would certainly be a marvel at night. We walked the paths and climbed higher to see, well nothing, there was a building up there but it was not open to the public. We ticked off the list of attractions (not in order):the salamander fountain, the hypostyle room with its sloping pillars, the serpentine bench overlooking Barcelona, the Austria gardens and the laundry room portico. Done. That's it. No more Gaudi for me.

The salamander/dragon. People erased.

We exited the park between the gingerbread houses and looked for a sign back to the bus. Nope. Nothing. We walked up to the next gate. Back down there and turn left, we were told. At least we were heading downhill. Ah, an intersection and then another that was not calculated into the 'turn left' advice. However, we made the bus stop in time to watch not one, but two buses pull away from the kerb and stop in a traffic jam.

The grand staircase. There were a couple of people in my shot.

The next bus was only minutes away and when we alighted, it was most definitely beer time. It had been a long day. We were hot and tired and the beer was most welcome. My verdict on the park? Overpriced, overrated, overcrowded and over Gaudi.

Safely on the outside.

We had tapas for dinner, now there's a surprise, not as good as Ciutat Comtal but we stood no chance of getting in there.

Until next time.