Barcelona Trip (26-28 May 2006) - Part 2: Port Vell & Barceloneta, Parc de la Ciudadell and Les Ramblas

Port Vell and Barceloneta
Welcome to Port Vell, or the Old Port. Plenty of fishing boats here, together with cruise ships and the Port Vell IMAX theatre and the Barcelona World Trade Centre.


Port Vell in the evening


Lots of boats




The seaside stretch


And the Barcelona World Trade Center

Photobucket: Port Vell

On the other side is Barceloneta, the famous beach which is very crowded. Lots of people sunbathing (top is optional) even on a Friday afternoon. On the block behind the beach stretch, there're many good seafood restaurants that serve delicious Catalanian food for a reasonable (or even cheap price). The only downside is gelato is generally cut-throat here compared to Munich.






Different views along Barceloneta restaurant stretch

The food here is basically seafood, since we're just metres from the Mediterranean. We tried the tapas here:

Grilled Octopus (Left) and Clams in Garlic Oil (Right)

A full seafood platter (which is really no joke, the waiter told us that once we ordered this, we were "finished"!):

Took a while before we could close our jaws and start moving our hands. It was cheap though, €31.30 (approx. SGD60, well, cheap by European standards at least)

And I ate an entire seabass for lunch on the last day:

One whole solid grilled seabass, even comes with two prawns

Walking along the beach, there are plenty of interesting sights:


Apartments by the beach, should be very expensive










This was taken on Friday afternoon. Don't they need to work?


Don't you get the California/Hawaii kind of feeling? Palm trees, beach resorts, sun, sand, sea?


So of course, I had to block the beautiful scenery with my face :D


I think Singapore has a lot to learn about beaches

So proceeding on is the Olympic Port, now mainly a food stretch with a marina for boats.






Yup, "everyone's favourite restaurant" has their flag flying high... too bad I'm not really "lovin' it"

Photobucket: Barceloneta

Parc de la Ciudadell
Moving up to the Parc de la Ciudadell, where there is a beautiful fountain there, one can see the Catalanians (they don't like to be called Spanish, just like Bavarians) relaxing:


Enjoying a game of table-tennis


This is the fountain that I'm talking about


"I've been here!" Sorry for the cliche :p


It's very beautiful and relaxing, especially up-close


The structure at the top


The waterfall


And the pond


This place is also quite animal-friendly, where dogs can drink from standpipes


And there's also a Zoological Museum in the area

Further down the stretch of the Arc de Triomf. Still not very sure what victory they were celebrating, but it's definitely something big:


The Arc de Triomf on a sunny day in bad lighting


Which dramatically improves when I'm standing on the other side

Well, enough walking for the day, but not done yet. Off to dinner at Barcelona's most happening stretch, Les Rambles.

Photobucket: Parc de la Ciudadell

Les Rambles
Pronounced "La Rambla", this is THE happening stretch in Barcelona, much like our Orchard Road. Starting from Placa de Catalunya all the way to the coast where there is a monument of Christopher Columbus, this boulevard is crowded even at midnight with plenty of performers, artists and peddlers. The crowds don't seem to die down either.


Placa de Catalunya


Down the stretch


Into nighttime


A familiar sign


This one even more familiar


This one's really good, he controls a puppet that actually can play the mini-piano, no need for amplifiers or CDs. Also, the puppet is capable of facial expressions!


Drop a coin and she will start to move


And ending with the Christopher Columbus Memorial Column at the Port Vell end

Photobucket: Les Rambles