May 18, Last day in Barcelona

Wednesday, May 18  Last day in Barcelona

Manuel printed out boarding passes for tomorrow and we called to confirm shuttle pick up, so we are set.  Today we decide to explore the area of Montjuic. An area atop another hill, so named because it is the mountain where the Jewish cemetery was long ago.

 We decide to take the Metro there, but our T-10 pass is no longer working and there is no one around.  Fortunately, a tall young security guard sees us and comes over to help.  He doesn't speak much English, but we manage to communicate enough so that he calls someone to come replace our ticket.  We talk a little about where we are from, what we have seen thus far, and of course football, in his broken English and our broken Spanish :).  New ticket works great, and we are off.

We change lines and arrive at the Paral-lel stop.  We have found the metros very convenient and easy to navigate. Pretty clean too, which is amazing considering the huge amount of graffiti elsewhere.  From here we walk uphill through some nice gardens to an overlook.

We continue to the top of the mountain and cross the drawbridge into ivy-covered Castell de Montjuic.  It is free today and there is an art exhibit called The Flowers of Peace on display throughout the grounds.

Since it overlooks the harbor and the city, this spot has been used since 1073 as fortress/lookout/castle, and most of the displays cover its history.  It was a strategic hold, so several battles were fought here and the city of Barcelona was bombarded from this location more than once.

Beautiful sunny day and the Catalonian Flag flies in a brisk breeze.  Quite a few people enjoying the site, including a few groups of school children.

We head back down the mountain, through more gardens and eventually reach the Museum Nacional D'Art De Catalunya, a large impressive museum.   There are a few outdoor escalators here which carry us farther downhill to an area of fountains and plazas.

National Museum of Catalonian Art

 Across the street is our destination, the CaixaForum,  a cultural center with five different areas of exhibits.

 One of them features the Phillips Collection of art from Washington DC.  It is quite a collection, with paintings by Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Degas, Picasso, O'Keefe, Pollock and more! The other exhibits are more modern and contemporary art and not so interesting to us.

We go up to the wavy rooftop for a look, then find the nearby Metro and head back to our room.

taxi?  No, Metro

We decide to try Cerveceria Catalonia Indu for dinner, somewhere that our tour guide had recommended.  4 1/2 stars. It is about a 20 minute walk. Filipa warned that there can be a long wait, but we arrive about 7:30 (early by Spanish standards), and only have to wait about 20 minutes.

 It is mainly a tapas place, but the tapas are unusual and unique.  There is a bar in front and dining area in the rear. We order a bottle of wine and proceed to enjoy several dishes. Nice and friendly service as well!  Bravas Potatoes with spice and alioil sauce,  Baked red peppers with cod puree, Asparagus and mushrooms, and gambas alajillo - shrimp served sizzling in olive oil with garlic and peppers.  All are delicious, especially the shrimp.

For desert we go with a six-textured chocolate cake. Best meal we have had! And pretty reasonably priced!  Easy to see why this place is popular!

This restaurant was on a part of the Ramblas that we hadn't been to, so we meander our way back towards our room.

He is playing a flute but I swear he is brushing his teeth!

 Tomorrow will be an early morning pick-up, flight to Madrid, then connection to American Airlines flight to Charlotte, then on to Houston.

Adios, España!