Hearing that Barcelona is best seen on bike, we booked a
group bicycle tour accordingly. Lucky for us, no
one else showed up for the tour so we had our own private guide. Even better...she was a fantastic guide!
With Beth a bit nervous about navigating through the busy old town, we opted for the Beaches and
Barrios tour which took us a little further afield. Although the first part took us right through
the Old Town and along the La Rambla which required navigating through some very busy intersections,
we made it through unscathed and headed resolutely for quieter paths.
Our first stop was Raval, the area where
Gaudi was taken to hospital after being hit by a bus and where he eventually
died. The area was once considered quite
rundown but has been through a resurgence, sparked by the hosting of the 1992 Olympics,
and is now considered a hip part of town.
The Ramble La Poble had a much more relaxed vibe that the old town’s
main street but had a dramatic sculpture by Botero and certainly made an
impact.
The beach area was packed with people enjoying the gorgeous
weather and we dodged in and around them to head along the boardwalk to see the
old fishing villages and the Olympic villages.
It became very clear through the tour that the Olympics, if done
properly, can be a remarkable boom for a city.
Barcelona’s strategic choices around Olympic preparations – from
cleaning up certain areas (including tearing down buildings etc), extending the
waterfront beaches, building strategic housing and arenas really introduced the
world to Barcelona and put it on the map as a very attractive tourist destination. From that point forward, tourism in Barcelona
exploded and they have not looked back since.
Having cycled along much of the beachfront, we headed for
Poblenou only to stumble upon the Poblenou Beer Festival happening in the
park. This weekend festival hosted craft
brewers from around the country and beyond and offered food and music
accompaniment. Naturally, we needed to
stop and check it all out so we bought a glass and then went to find a beer to
fill it. Thankfully, our guide was more
than happy for us to buy her a beer and for us to take a quick break!
For our final leg, we headed back through the business
district to see Barcelona’s version of The Gherkin and cycled through the
beautiful Parc de la Ciutadella before arriving safely back at the bike
shop. Beth still doesn’t love biking but
the gorgeous weather, flat roads and fascinating sites made it much more
enjoyable!
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