On Tuesday morning we left Olonzac at 8.30 and drove to Narbonne Railway Station and left the car in the long stay car park.We had booked tickets on the TGV train to Barcelona and it was leaving at 10.30 but is was delayed about an hour.
We ensconced ourselves in a little coffee shop and people watched,a wonderful pastime .
Our train arrived and it was very busy,I was relieved that the groups of students on excursions with their teachers,were not on our train the carcophany of sound was all too familiar!
We found our seats and housed our meagre luggage.We headed off into the countryside.
From Narbonne the first station was Perpignan,then Figueres-Vilafant,on to Girona,then Barcelona Sants.
The trip took approximately 2 hours .It was wonderful,the seats were comfortable and the scenery was diverse and stunning.Passengers are sedate and quiet and we sat back and enjoyed the experience.It was stunning to see some snow still on the Pyrenees.
We arrived in Barcelona Sants station and headed off the train into a new adventure.The Catalan language is challenging but you can work your way around the intended meaning of some instructions,we needed tickets on the Metro and had to work out where to go and what to do.
We had booked a Boutique Hotel in the Gothic Quarter,on the recommendation of some Australian tourists we met in Narbonne.They had stayed there and they were on their way to take a boat on The Canal du Midi.
Our hotel was called "The Avinyo" on Escudellers Avinyo.
We had read about this hotel on a Trip Advisor and several of the entries were less than salubrious .We find the Hotel after hopping on the Metro and heading to Drassanes and walking down the famous Las Ramblas.
Everyone had said watch out for pickpockets,the minute we said we were heading for Barcelona,people told us to be careful .
Our hotel was tucked into the Gothic Quarter in a very prime position.
We ask for a room with a window,we got two,and a double bed not singles,which was wonderful.
The room was very avante-garde,small,compact and functional.We were not intending to spend very much time in there.The windows opened into a blank walled shaft with end of corridor windows so we were very fortunate.
The mural on the wall was a photograph of a railway station,you will see what I mean in the photographs.The gym downstairs had a photograph of a pier ,I have included this picture as well.
The staff were very helpful and I would certainly recommend the hotel and I will put a post on Trip Advisor indicating our support.
The Gothic Area is a wonderful introduction to Barcelona.
We dump our luggage and head off with our McDonalds tourist map.We weave our way through the little streets and head for the water.We walk the dock area and head to the beach .We take a seat to people watch and suddenly amongst the topless bathers et al there is a sun worshiper in his birthday suit!
He is loving the sun and warmth and I am gob smacked ,to coin a phrase .As our eyes wander we begin to realise that this is quite acceptable along the beach.
The place is full of people and I mean full!
We walk miles and miles stopping occasionally for a beverage and an opportunity to people watch.
We find an outdoor restaurant amongst the thousands,and have a snack for dinner and again people watch.
Barcelona is a beautiful city,over the centuries,the city has become reknown for its industriousness and modernity.
Barcelona is a coastal city and the greatest moments in the city's history were during medieval times when it was a prosperous trading centre.
Barcelona also possesses enormous,rich historic,monumental and artistic heritage ,centred in two distinct areas.
The Gothic Quarter you find the cathedral,city hall,The Palau de la Generalitat,seat of autonomous government of Catalonia; and the works of Art Nouveau architect Antoni Gaudi.
The cultural and artistic heritage of the city displays a vast array of museums one we visited was The Picasso Museum,which I have to say is one of the finest galleries I have ever visited .
On Wednesday we had organised to take a tour visiting The Basilica of La Sagrada Familia.
We organised our tickets online as you can wait in line for several hours to get in,if you are lucky.
The Basilica of La Sagrada Familia is a wonderful symbol of Barcelona and one of its most visited sights.
Gaudi began to direct work on this temple in 1883,intending it to be the great modern church of Barcelona,and designing a complex system of Christian symbols to be represented in its construction.
The part built by Gaudi up to his death in 1926 includes the Nativity Facade,the crypt,the apse and one section of the cloister,that corresponding to the Portal of Our Lady of the Rosary.

After Gaudi's death,the bell towers in the Nativity Facade were completed. Soon after,however ,during the Civil War,many drawings and plaster models stored by the architect in the workshop were destroyed by fire.
Work began once more in 1954 on the west,Passion Facade for which Joseph Maria Subirachs was commissioned to produce the sculptures in 1986 .
This visit is outstanding and I have to say I cannot pull together any appropriate adjectives to describe the building or the experience.You have to see it feel it and immerse yourself in it personally.You must see it!
We were emotionally drained after this experience so we decided to spend the afternoon exploring and appreciating the architecture and the throng of the crowds.
Yesterday we visited the Picasso Museum and this is also a must.
This was opened to the public March 9 th 1963.
Comprising 4,250 works,the museum's collection is the most comprehensive as regards Picasso's early years of apprenticeship and youth which makes it a centre of reference.
It is well worth a visit!
We packed up and headed for the Metro and then walked down to the Placa de Catalunya ,the centre of the city and the Ramblas.
This walk allows you to admire a number of fine examples of 18th century civil architecture,such as the Virreina Palace and the La Boqueria Market .
The central section of the Ramblas is lined with kiosks selling flowers,gifts and newspapers and magazines,there are pavement cafés ,stands stalls where craftsmen and women sell their wares and display their skills.
There are tourists EVERYWHERE !
We headed to the Metro,to catch our train back to Narbonne.
A great trip back and a fantastic expose into Barcelona.We will be back!
Today after finishing this blog we have travelled to the beach area.We headed out from Olonzac up to Gruissan on the coast facing Le Mer Mediterranee .
How different the beach areas are,the starkness and lack of greenery and foliage.Our beaches and our surrounding areas are very different.
We have a seafood lunch and head off to Narbonne Beach this is larger but the terrain is similar .it is 35 degrees and very windy.There is a lot of activity on the beach and the sand is fine and white.Parasailing and gliding activities are the order of the day.the grey nomad vehicles are parked everywhere.
We take another route home and drive into some very different terrain with,once again ,loads of grapes and olives but limestone and Gneiss,a metamorphic rock,an altered sedimentary rock,created by high temperatures and huge pressures.
We wonder about the grape vines,looking wonderful but the majority of them are not irrigated.
The wine here in the Minervois area is wonderful both rouge and Blanc varieties.
Tomorrow we head for Paris.
We drop off the car,grab a taxi head for the same train station as yesterday and head for Gare Lyon.
This will be another adventure.