Barcelona was a city I was most excited to visit on this holiday. Unfortunately, the weather put a slight damper on the day trip we planned - a walking tour of the Gothic Quarter. Not only was it raining, but also bitterly cold with my hands frozen solid from holding the umbrella. These circumstances were not very conducive to photographing at ease. I captured most of the photos from Barcelona with my phone, and I didn't take many. You can even see the dark clouds looming at sunrise in the photograph below.
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| Sunrise in the port of Barcelona |
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Rainy view through a window
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| The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia |
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| Tympanum on the Cathedral of Barcelona |
The photos of the Barcelona Cathedral and the panoramic view of the city are the only ones I took with my camera while in the city. It was a short excursion that lasted only a few hours, and we were back on the ship by around lunchtime. At first, I was a little disappointed I wouldn't get to see the more famous sights such as the Sagrada Família, Park Güell, or Casa Milà.
Despite the weather, we enjoyed some of the charms of the Gothic Quarter, and stopped to enjoy some churros at the end of the trek. Barri Gòtic is full of narrow medieval streets and is part of the district of Ciutat Vella, numbered District 1. The name means "old city" in Catalan and refers to the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Barcelona.
Barcelona enthralled me regardless of the weather or the lack of photographs. The gloom certainly suits the Gothic look and atmosphere of the heart of the city. The last section of images, quickly captured with a smartphone, sums up some of the well-known places we visited. We walked on La Rambla, a tree-lined, over 1 km long pedestrian street. We saw many squares in the Gothic Quarter, such as Plaça de Sant Josep Oriol, Plaça del Pi - Pine Tree Square, and Plaça Reial, close to La Rambla. The Royal Square is the only arched square of Barcelona. We also saw the entrance to one of the city's biggest tourist landmarks - The Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria, or simply La Boqueria. It being a Sunday, the market was closed.
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| Mountain view from the port |
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| Symphony of the Seas @ 4 p.m. |
By the time we returned to the ship, the weather had improved. This collection of photos hardly looks like taken on the same day. The cruise ship remained docked until after sundown, so we enjoyed the sunshine from the deck, and admired the views surrounding Barcelona from the port. The day ended with a glorious sunset, even if surrounded by industrial scenery.
The Symphony of the Seas was docked behind us. I took photos of this massive ship before and during the sunset. It is the largest passenger ship in the world, five times the size of the Titanic. Its maiden voyage departed from Barcelona only a few months before, in April 2018.
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| Symphony of the Seas @ 5.30 p.m. |
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Sunset view from the port
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Sun shining through a gantry crane
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Sunset clouds over the mountains
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