Barcelona, Spain 2

We were still a bit weary and thought we’d have an easy day. Went down to the market again looking for lunch but it was packed. Went over to the Barcelona Cathedral which used to be free but now costs €7 each. We are finding this much more prevalent and we reckon it’s actually fair enough to charge the hordes traipsing through their churches. They have dwindling parishioners and the upkeep must be massive. As we have been to Barcelona Cathedral, and despite it being one of the nicest we have visited, we chose to spend our tourist dollar across the way at the Barcelona History Museum.

The museum looked quite small from outside and not well advertised. But what a delight. The main feature is an underground labyrinth of excavated Roman ruins which extend under the cathedral. Laser lights show the outer city wall, paved road and then the first layer of defensive buildings. Another perspective of Roman ingenuity – “what did the Romans ever do for us?” (Monty Pythons Life of Brian reference for those who missed it). The site was quite a large public laundry and fishmongery with massive tanks for salting and preserving fish.

The museum also included the Royal Palace Chapel, a number of excavated pieces and a good display of the growth of Barcelona which started as a Roman outpost to settle discharged soldiers. Despite being over ruins, the museum was fascinating and we spent over two hours there.

After more wandering about we headed back to base for a cuppa and something to eat – we had forgotten about lunch and it was now mid

arvo. We still had a couple of hours of light, so decided to have a look at Gaudi’s creation – Casa Battlo. The Battlo’s were a wealthy family who wanted their house on Passeig de Garcia renovated and gave Gaudi free reign to create something unique and special.

The house is on several levels, is quirky and whimsical with hardly any straight lines, inspired by sea creatures and dragons. There is an elevator and atrium in the middle of the building and eventually you end up on the rooftop patio with a great view of Barcelona. Gaudi thought a lot about airflow in the building and there are wooden shutters off the atrium to assist with ventilating the building. And the two seats by the fireplace are pretty cool.

Back home again for chicken, salad & potatoes – so nice to have plain food!! We decided we needed an icecream so popped downstairs to one of the millions of little 24 hour Supermercats. They vary in size but are akin to a dairy and there can be two right next door to each other and 5 or 6 in a block. It doesn’t make sense. Anyway, the first one we went into had no prices. We had read about prices being “fluid” in these dodgy establishments and to avoid. We asked the owner how much for a Bounty icecream - €2.99 each. We laughed and said noooo two expensive for us! He did have the good grace to look a bit sheepish. The second larger supermercat did have pricing, scanned the bar and said €1.30. We got our chocolate.