Barcelona day 2

I'm going to load this entry with photos,just bare with me ok! ;p
And a little sharing about visiting Spain and other EU countries.Spain is a member of Schengen union,in which the visa holder can travel to any of its member countries using one single visa.And being a Malaysian is even more fortunate as the Malaysian passport serves as the Schengen visa itself.If you are visiting Schengen countries for less than 3 month,you do not have to apply for separate visa,guna passport jer.So flight from DE to Spain can be considered "domestic" and does not have to pass through immigration control at all(at departure/arrival gates),except that Ryan-air requires the non-EU passport holders to verify their passport at the check-in counter and get a stamp on the boarding pass and you're good to go.

I also forgot to note this in the previous post.On the first day,i brought dinner all the way from Augsburg,gigih tak?hahaha sebab dah survey online there's no halal eateries nearby our hotel and sampai pon dah ptg kan,might as well bawak jer. You can download the halal/mosque directory on your GPS from zabihah.com,and believe me,it comes handy,danke zabihah.com!

Since it's winter and the day starts late(subuh habis 8:05am),we started our day quite late too,around 830am.Like most of the EU countries,most shops are closed on Sundays in Spain.The opening hours for shops and offices in Spain is rather funny,according to what i read,on weekdays,they are closed from 1pm-4pm,lame gile lunch break!But large cities and major tourist attractions may not follow these schedule,some shops like supermarket,souvenir stores and of course restaurants in Barcelona are still open on Sunday.Spaniards are also known for eating lunch and dinner so late(lunch is between 2-4pm and dinner is between 9-11pm).weird huhh?

Ok back to the trip,our initial plan was to have breakfast at one of the cafes in Placa Catalunya.But it was 845am and there were still no cafe opened!Apa daa,the only one yg dah bukak was McDonald's,so we had no choice,pancake die tak sedap giler huhu.Tourist center opened at 9am and we dropped by to get a bus map but they said it's not possible as the only map available was the one posted at the bus stop,huhu.Fine lah,we just take the metro or walk!Hihi kalau tourist bus hop on hop off tue i tak pernah naik,i would rather take the public transport,unless pegi sehari jer ker.

Placa Catalunya

A visit to Barcelona is not complete without visiting Gaudi's buildings.Gaudi is one brilliant architect who built buildings without a single straight line.His work was greatly influenced by forms of nature and adorned with beautifully colored tiles.So Sunday was the day to honor and explore his most celebrated works: Casa Mila(La Pedrera),Casa Batillo,Park Guell and the unfinished cathedral,the Sagrada Familia.
First stop was Casa Batillo which resembles a dragon,no?We decided not to tour the interior as we did not have enough time and i was more interested to see the other building at end of the Passeig de Gracia,Casa Mila or better known as La Pedrera.

Casa Batillo

The construction of Casa Mila was completed in 1910 and is said to be the best example of Gaudi's concept of nature.Gaudi made everything flows and swirls that none of the walls in this building are straight.Most famous and my favorite too are the rooftop with bizarre shaped chimneys,looking like medieval soldiers helmets. There's exhibition inside the building where we could see Gaudi's work up close like how he designed the building and typical hubby did not want to miss any of this that we we spent more than 2 hours here hahaha.

Segrada Familia from the rooftop of Casa MilaAliens attack! ;p

Soldier's helmet cum alien chimneys

us

About 800m from Casa Mila is the renowed symbol of Barcelona,the Segrada Familia.Most cities have their own distinctive monuments,London with Big Ben,the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Barcelona has this Gaudi's Segrada Familia.This is Gaudi's final and most devoted project.It was unfinished when he died in 1926 and the construction work is still on going today and i read somewhere it is expected to be completed in 2026,a long way to go.This cathedral is massive and packed with cranes.Some critics believe it's best to leave the temple as it is.My personal take on this building?If you look closely,the melting effect of the cylindrical towers looks rather err hideous?But he was surely a genius person,who could have construct this in early 1900? Close to the Segrada Familia was the Hospital De La Santa Creu,not by Gaudi but it was also declared as a World Cultural Heritage.The architecture defies the design of the Eixample by aligning the building to the streets.It's the most adorned hospital i have ever seen!

Time for lunch and i told hubby earlier that i would like to sample marisco(seafood)meals since i heard great things about seafood in Barcelona.We asked for mr google's help and found this busy but highly recommended restaurant.There's 3 Paradetas in Barcelona and we went to the one in Sagrada as we were already in that neighborhood.The food was excellent!The fresh seafood was displayed on the counter and i got to pick out what i wanted to eat.Got them weighted and priced(the prices depend on the weight like in markets and seafood restaurants in Msia),let them know how i'd like it to be cooked,paid ,found a table and waited to be called.Once the meal was ready,they called our number(in Spanish).So if you plan to dine here,make sure you know how does your number sounds in Spanish.The seafood was cooked very simply,no paella,masak 3 rasa;p whatsoever,it's either broiled,fried or steamed,we got ours broiled and fried.Most importantly,the price was so affordable,what we had below was Euro40.Considering it's Spain where people believe is one of the best place to have seafood,and considering it's Barcelona where a medium sized pizza costs Euro14,we think this place is so worth it.Locals and tourists love this restaurant so we went 10 minutes before the opening time(as suggested on the net) and there was a queue even then.But we did not have to wait long as we were number 8(Ocho in Spanish).The place is nothing posh,it's just a simple self service restaurant,yet can be very exciting experience.If there's another trip to Barca,we would surely dine here again!But if you prefer a more formal dining,try one of the seafood restaurants in the area of Barceloneta(near Barcelona’s beach). We had oysters,gambas(prawns),squids and razor clams.Fish selection was limited but we're totally fine without fish.Did i ever mention that hubby dislike fish? ;p

I particularly enjoyed the razor clam and gambas! Hubby macam biasa la,squids and nothing else.

After lunch,we headed back to hotel utk solat,rehat kejap and walked up the hill to the Park Guell.Park Guell is Gaudi's enchanted hilltop park which was completed in 1914.

The park's main entrance

The grand stairways and the multi-colored dragon fountain.Everybody wants a picture of him or herself next to the dragon,so these are the best i could come out with.

Forest of pillars.These pillars support the rooftop plaza below.I love this part!Looking like a fairy-tale garden isn't it?

Rooftop plaza with colorful winding banks

We went back to the hotel after Park Guell and went out again to Port Vell and Port Olympic.I was quite exhausted at this point,so i had no mood to take photos.Shame to admit but,i am no good with night mode ;p Had pizza for dinner,balik hotel pengsan!Tak sure si hubby tido bila,nie malas kalau hotel tue ade sport channel aiyooo.