{"id":29574,"date":"2016-10-20T01:38:06","date_gmt":"2016-10-19T22:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/?p=29574"},"modified":"2016-10-20T01:38:06","modified_gmt":"2016-10-19T22:38:06","slug":"walking-tour-in-barcelonas-gothic-quarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.raecrothers.ca\/blog\/walking-tour-in-barcelonas-gothic-quarter\/","title":{"rendered":"Walking Tour in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was some commotion here late last night, so my plans for an early night and morning were dashed. I got up around nine and by the time I’d done my morning online stuff and dressed, it was time to head out for my tour at eleven. I hadn’t had coffee since I’m out of powdered milk and it didn’t make sense to buy a litre of milk for the short amount of time that I’m here or drag a container of powdered milk around with me. So I budgeted to have my coffee out this week and therefore, that was my first stop this morning.<\/p>\n

My street terminates at Avinguda del Paral\u00b7lel (Parallel Avenue), so named because it is parallel to the Equator. Remembering that this is my nearest major intersection would have saved me a lot of grief yesterday as I would have just needed to make my way back there and then look for that caf\u00e9 where I had breakfast! But anyway, I knew it today. I walked along it for about a block keeping my eyes peeled for a “cafe para llevar” (coffee to go) sign and spotted one quickly. A delicious Americano with a splash of milk was 1.50 euros (2.30CAD). Ridiculously expensive by Balkan standards, but still slightly better than I’d pay in Canada.<\/p>\n

I was doing the Old City\/Gothic Quarter free walking tour with Runner Bean Tours<\/a>. We met at the\u00a0Pla\u00e7a Reial by the fountain. This was the first such walking tour for which I was strongly advised to book in advance. While I liked the “just show up” format in the Balkans, it sometimes made for very large groups. By booking in advance, Runner Bean Tours knew to have a few guides.<\/p>\n

This plaza made me realise where Mexican colonial architecture comes from!<\/p>\n

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There are two of these lamp posts designed by Gaudi. There were originally six, but four were stolen. Our guide, Ruth, couldn’t come close to positing a theory as to how anyone could manage to steal lamp posts!<\/p>\n

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Ruth, who is originally from London, UK, majored in Hispanic studies and really knew her stuff. There is no way I can come close to recapping her tour or sharing everything that I learned today. I did jot down a few notes on a map she gave us, so I will have the odd tidbit.<\/p>\n

Just some general notes in no particular order:<\/p>\n