Wrapping up a trip is never a good feeling. Knowing that you will be returning to the daily grind of work, and even more so, that you will be leaving the new friends you have met along the way. This cruise introduced us to some really fabulous families that we just love! The Long's from Atlanta, The Winblad's from Cali (Sacramento[ish] area), the Kirst's (& friends) from Iowa, the LeBlanc sisters from So.Cal, plus many others! Although the cruise has come to an end, which makes us so sad, today we got to take on a city that has been on my bucket list for a long time! That made saying goodbye to all of our new friends slightly easier.
Since we could not take off work long enough to stay longer than a day and some change in Barcelona since we were heading to Pamplona the following day, we had a jam packed day of exploring Barcelona. We started the day by getting our bags to our hotel (which is so turbo cool, BTW), and then headed into town for our Fat Tire Bike Tour of Barcelona. We actually had 2 bike tours with them today: one was the city tour, and the other was the Montjuïc e-bike tour. Our first one was the more educational one where we got to see the city of Barcelona. Here are the highlights of that tour with pictures:
Plaza Sant Jaume- Located at the center of the original Roman settlement of Barcino, this plaza is home to the Ajuntament (City Hall) and the Palau de la Generalitat (seat of the Catalan regional government).
Plaza del Rei- This wholly preserved medieval courtyard of the Palau Reial (Royal Palace) is where Ferdinand and Isabella are supposed to have received Columbus on his return from the New World.
Arc del Triomf (left)- not quite as famous as the one in Paris... but at least you don't have to dodge cars to get to it!
Palau de la Mùsica Catalana (right)- One of the world's most extraordinary concert halls, the Palace of Catalan Music was designed in the Catalan modernisme style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
Parc de la Ciutadella- After the War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1714, a large fort was constructed on this site to keep the city in line. The fortress was demolished in 1869 and redesigned as a park containing a zoo, a boating lake, gardens and a large fountain worked on by the young Gaudí.
Okay, so when this tour was complete, we had an hour before we met for our next bike tour. We used this time to do a little souvenir shopping.
The tour group for the Montjuïc e-bike tour was much smaller than the city tour, which was nice. And what was even more sweet was the fact the tour was on e-bikes... short for electric bikes. It was our first time on an electric bike, and boy oh boy, I never want a normal bike ever again!!!!!! E-bikes are soooooo much fun & really fun to ride!! And in a town like Barcelona, going down hills you can seriously FLY down them SO fast! The views on this tour were also just incredible. It was our favorite of the 2, for sure. Here are the highlights with pictures from that tour...
Columbus Monument (left)- Situated at the lower end of Las Ramblas, The Columbus Monument was first constructed for the Exposicion Universal de Barcelona in 1888. This grand, 60 meter-tall monument was sculpted by Rafael Atcheto in honor of Christopher Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas. 
Plaça d'Espanya (right & below)- One of Barcelona’s biggest squares, this area is the junction of several major thoroughfares and leads to the Palau Nacional through Avinguda de la Reina Maria Cristina. It was built for the occasion of Barcelona's 1929 Universal Exposition. It is a bit behind us in the picture... they were having an extremely large Harley Davidson festival there, so it was hard to stop too close with the chaos of motorcyclists everywhere.
Palau Nacional- This magestic palace was constructed for the 1929 Universal Exhibition as the main building of the event. Since 1934, The Palau Nacional has been home to the National Art Museum of Catalonia. It is just behind the Plaça d'Espanya, and it is gorgeous!
Olympic Stadium- The Olympic Stadium was inaugurated during the 1929 Universal Exposition. After being used as a football stadium and a motor racing venue, it was chosen as the flagship stadium for the 1992 Olympics. The 1992 olympics are my favorite olympics EVER. For 2 reasons: One, the Dream Team (need I say more!?), and two, Kim Zmeskal- my gymnast idol growing up. I LOVED her and wanted to be just like her! This world-class, celebrated landmark venue has a capacity of 57,000 and is still used for major sporting and cultural events in Barcelona. Also pictured is the torch from those olympics, and a statue commemorating one of the all-time best torch lightings in olympic history.
Palau Sant Jordi- This indoor sporting and multi-purpose venue is part of the Olympic Ring complex. Designed by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, it opened in 1990 and served as one of the primary venues for the 1992 Summer Olympics (including gymnastics- go Kim!). Currently, Palau Sant Jordi hosts handball, basketball and a variety of musical events.
Montjuïc Castle- Boasting spectacular views of the sea and city, Barcelona’s Montjuic Castle is an old military fortress with roots dating back from 1640. It is now home to Montjuic’s Military Museum, which features an array of weapons and military relics and artifacts from around the world, and also plays host to a variety of cultural gatherings and festivities throughout the year.
Cactus Garden- The Cactus Garden of Montjuic boasts 800 cactus species surviving in a microclimate on the east side of the mountain. Created in the 1960s by a Catalan cactologist, the area is sheltered from the north wind which allows the unique varieties of cactus species to thrive here. This unusual and amazing site is widely considered to be one of the best and most spectacular cactus gardens in Europe, with an array of tropical and desert plant specimens that are hard to find anywhere else in the world.
And again, last but not least.... VIEWS, VIEWS, and more VIEWS!!!! Barcelona is such a beautiful city, and this tour up & down Montjuïc offered some of the most captivating city views!!!
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