Early on the morning of 6 May 2011 an intrepid group
of adventurers from the Abbots Langley Gardening Society set off,
courtesy of Brightwater Holidays, to Barcelona. We were met at Barcelona
airport by our guide for the day, Ines Calzado, who took us on a
whirlwind coach tour of the city. First we were taken to a marvellous
view point on Mount Montjuic where we were able to gaze over a fantastic
panorama of the bay, all the way round to the centre of the city
– photo opportunity No.1. We had a cup of Sangria in the warm
spring sunshine, raising a toast to absent friends and chatted to
Ines about Barcelona, the current economic situation Spain finds
itself in, which restaurants to try, travel tips on public transport
and the dangers of pickpockets.
All too soon, we were back on the coach. We were shown the Botanical
Gardens’ entrance near the Castle on the top of Monjuic, then
the coach took us down into the city to see all the places we were
going to try and visit during our short stay. Eventually, we stopped
at the Sagrada Familia – Gaudi’s Basilica that seemed
to grow out of the very rock beneath our feet. Ines took us on a
guided tour of the Basilica, pointing out many of the features,
the carvings, the stone used, the symbolism of numerous pieces,
etc. She took us into the museum where we marvelled at the methods
used to create such an amazing building. Then it was our chance
to climb up into the heart of the Basilica – up into the towers
to see at close quarters some of the features Ines had described
earlier. It was a weird experience – although we split up
and tried different routes to explore the turrets and passages,
we kept bumping into each other and passing each other going in
different directions! And we all came out of the same exit more
or less at the same time. Very strange!
By this time it was about 7pm and we checked in to our hotel –
the Barcelo Athena Mar. We all had beautiful sea views but there
was no time to sit back and relax – this was, after all, a
Gardening Society trip! Ines had told us that the evening meal is
usually around 9pm – we were going to have to get use to eating
late. We decided to eat locally and were recommended to try the
Fonda – a short taxi ride away on the marina. Superb seafood
and a lively atmosphere – we had a great evening. Despite
being tired, some of us decided to walk the 3km back to the hotel
along the seafront. It was warm, but very breezy and we enjoyed
the fresh air.
Saturday 7 May we explored the public transport system and found
our way up to the Castle on Mount Monjuic via the metro, the Teleferic
(cablecar) and funicular. There was the odd spot of rain as we reached
the top in the Funicular, but the sun soon came out and after a
rather long walk, we found the entrance to the Botanical Gardens.
It was obviously not the most publicised tourist attraction and
we had the place to ourselves. The gardens were only opened in 1999
and are set on steeply sloping terrain, having magnificent views
of the city. This is an experimental area using new technologies
for park maintenance and research is carried out into adaptable
plants suitable for sustainable Mediterranean gardening. The paths
are wide and white – quite stark against the flowing planting
comprising samples of flora from the regions of the world that have
a Mediterranean climate.
Having explored these gardens, we walked down to the Olympic stadium
where we had lunch, then down past the enormous national art museum,
and the Cascades and back onto the metro to El Roserar del Parc
Cervantes - Barcelona’s beautiful rose gardens. They were
hosting a competition on the weekend of our visit – we were
all given voting papers and asked to go round the planted area where
new roses were awaiting our approval – we had to choose our
favourite, all numbered rather than named, and post our votes in
the ballot boxes, upon which act we were each given a lovely red
rose to carry round with us for the rest of the day. How nice!
By now we were all pretty exhausted and in need of a siesta –
but we still had to find our way back to the hotel. No time for
a nap! We decided we didn’t have time for the firework and
music display at the Cascades either. We had a quick turnaround
and back out to find our restaurant for the evening: The 4 Cats.
Recommended by Ines, we all agreed that this was a fantastic restaurant
with so much historical interest. Famous artists and writers had
frequented this place over the years and the walls were covered
in their artwork. A pianist tried to accompany the diners, but the
noise and chatter drowned him out most of the time. And the food
was superb. When we left the restaurant, the rain had started and
by the time we got back to the hotel we were all soaked. We tried
to shelter as we walked along the side of the hotel, balancing on
the wide low ledge of the edge of the huge hotel windows –
people looking out would have seen some very bedraggled wanderers
resembling fairground ducks moving along the ledge, dodging imaginary
potshots!
Kate
