Ports and Picasso

Threatened to rain all day but never quite did, though it has been awfully muggy throughout. Spent the day on foot, and managed to cover quite a bit of ground.

Started off with the usual amble down La Rambla (a popular boulevard near our hotel) to have a peek at the produce markets. There was nothing we hadn't already seen in Sicily or Naples, so we went instead to Gaudi's Palau Guell in time for the guided tour - except the house is closed for restoration at the moment. Sigh.

Went to the end of La Rambla and had a walk along the waterfront Port de Barcelona. Saw the Christopher Columbus statue, crossed the rotatable bridge Rambla de Mar and then had a stroll through the Parc de la Ciutadella. This is a decent sized flat park, with the Barcelona zoo flanking it on one side (we were tempted, but the steep price put us off) and the Catalonian Parliament buildings on the other. There is also a wonderful fountain here by Fontsere & Gaudi called the Cascada - it looks like a wild waterfall, with rocks and mosses and grass, but with classical statues built into it. Very clever.

Ate a traditional Basque lunch at the Centre Cultural Euskal Etxea - who, incidentally, do a mean creamed rice with citrus peel and cinammon - and lined up for our compulsory visit to the Museu Picasso. This represents his early work well, but is a bit sparse on his later efforts (okay by me as I'm not really a fan). His formative attempts, however, are prodigious and impressive.

Next, we finally made it past the goose-festooned cloister of the Barcelona cathedral and into the church itself (despite my usual sleeveless shirt). Very similar to those we'd already seen, but we got to have a walkabout on the roof which was interesting and gave us some lovely photo opportunities.

Finished the day with a return visit to the Sinagoga Major (we spent quite some time outside the other day, waiting for it to open... which it never did!). This is the oldest synagogue in Europe, where the Roman remains are visibly oriented toward Jerusalem. Not much to see though, and it felt like a rip-off since you can see everything while standing at the ticketing desk. It's basically one exposed cellar floor, with no information provided. Oh well!