Barcelona – City of Contrasts

We’re going back to another of our favourite cities this Spring – Barcelona.  We didn’t manage to get there last year, so we both feel a strong need to ‘reconnect’.

Barcelona is a true ‘city of contrasts’.

It’s a city heavily steeped in Roman history and culture.  In the ‘Barri Gotic’ (Gothic Quarter) you can still see Roman ruins above ground, there’s the remains of an aqueduct as well as parts of the city walls including a city gate, both of which are near the Cathedral.  Even more stunning are those ruinsstill at their at their original level, expertly excavated and amazingly preserved within the Museu d’Historia de la Ciutat (‘City History Museum’) – the most extensive subterranean Roman ruins in the World.  You can almost feel them beneath your feet as you wander the maze of winding, shadowed streets so typical of the Gothic Quarter that surround the Cathedral.  Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital, has the seat of their government – the ‘Generalitat’ – on the site of the original Roman forum, and the Cathedral is built on the site of Roman temple (as well as a Moorish mosque).

The ‘Old Town’ complete with La Rambla, or rather ‘Las Ramblas‘ – there are five of them in total end to end – is Read the rest of this entry »