As we started the day we walked from Las Ramblas toward the Cathedral and into
St Oriol plaza where an art show was going on.
The plaza in front of the Cathedral, Placa de la Seu, was packed. Unfortunately the Cathedral
is undergoing renovation so no pictures of the actual structure. The Cathedral was started in
1298 and took 600 years to complete. The spacious interior is typical Catalan Gothic -
very wide spaces supported by buttresses.
Along the walls are 28 chapels all very ornately decorated. These chapels allowed the wealthy to
provide support for the church. This was the chapel where the Indians that Columbus brought
back to Spain were baptized.
Attached to the Cathedral is the cloister - a statue of St. George slaying the dragon is
on top of the garden fountain. Jordi (George) is one of the patron saints of Catalunya and
a popular boys name.
The cloister garden is very beautiful.
The garden is home to 13 geese - there are always 13 in memory of Eulalia. They served as an alarm -
any intrusion would cause much squawking.
Cal loves gargoyles and Barcelona buildings - especially the churches had wonderful gargoyles.
This was a dog gargoyle on the Cathedral roof.
The entire area of the Cathedral was originally Barcino - a roman city. Part of the old city
remaining is the Temple Roma d'August. There are only a few columns left.
The Roman Temple was built on the highest hill in Barcelona.
After the Cathedral we caught the wrong train to Sitges. Fortunately the Spanish are very kind people
and we were pointed the right direction and to the right train. After turning around we
finally arrived in Sitges. It was a very nice
day and the train ride along the mediterranean, even past Sitges, was picturesque.
The church is called Esglesia Sant Bartomeu i Santa Tecla and was built in the
17th century. We attended a concert at the end of the day in the church.
It featured an organist (from the US), flautest, and soprano before heading back
to Barcelona.
The view from the church out to the sea is protected by several guns. From here the church commands
views up and down the coast.
Cal standing on the church steps. We ate a late lunch at
a beach side restaurant just below the church called Restaurante Maricel.
Virginia Ann ordered a bowl of mussels and Cal had
Black Paella with clams - basically rice dyed with squid ink.
It is a regional dish and was not as
bad as it sounds.
The long curving beach is called Platja d'Or (Golden Beach).
Besides the beach Sitges has a quaint village. Due to the number of tourists coming to the
town there is also a good number of small shops selling boutique clothes. Virginia Ann did some
shopping but fortunately no real damage was done. We returned to Barcelona so late that we skipped
the typically very late (9:00 pm) dinner.
