Visting Montjuic Park and Castle

I often visit Montjuic park and castle.The views from the castle are some of the finest in Barcelona. You have access all sides of the city from the airport to the west to the coasts of the Maresme to the east. Everything that you can see seems like fantasy land, almost something that Gaudi would have dreamt up. At the top of the park is a castle that is over 100 years old. It has guns and cannons and at the same time there are orange trees at the top. Moreover, there is a big park below the castle with fountains and beautifully designed landscapes. I enjoy relaxing in the park as it is very peaceful and clean.

To get to the castle you can go to the by bus and funicular from Parallel station and then you can go to the cable cars from Montjuic park to the top of the castle. I enjoy getting to the castle by bus because it has a lot of nice views as the bus winds its way to the top. The bus and  the funicular mountain train is cheap and it is covered by the T-10 or travelcard. The cable cars however, cost around 6 euros per person.

The top of castle has a lot of tourist facilities such as toilets and you can buy coffee, drinks and other snacks. The prices are a bit expensive but still worth it.

I find that Montjuic is a really nice park compared to London's parks because it is quite high up and you have full sweeping city vistas.

Tibidabo Barcelona

Today I am going to talk about Tibidabo.You might think what is Tibidabo? Well, it is an interesting place in Barcelona that is set on a high mountain (the highest point in Barcelona at 512 metres) . There is an old church (called Sagrat Cor) which is very nice from the outside and beautifully detailed from the inside. Also there are some coffee shops as well, so that you can view the world and sip on some of that Spanish cafe con leche (my favourite drink).

The Sagrat Cor church is actually visible from all corners of Barcelona, and at night it lights up and looks beautiful and scary at the same time. It reminds me of a Disney movie.

From the top of church the view is amazing you can see all around the area and on a clear day you can see the island of Mallorca and even the French Pyrenees mountains!

This mountain is even higher than Montjuic and the views are panoramic as you can also see behind Barcelona, including that massive mountain of Montserrat.

Below the church area there is a big park with loads of different  rides for adults and for the children. This amusement park is nice but quite expensive and you have to pay around 75 Euro per person for a day pass. If you are interested to go to Tibidabo there are many ways to go to the top. Firstly you can take the metro and bus with your T10 journey card. Another way is to take the metro (line 7) to Avinguda Tibidabo and then take the blue old tram (Tram Blau). That is a nice journey as the tram is very old and slow but enjoyable. For the Tram Blau you have to pay more as they cannot take the T10. After that you will need to take the mountain train (funicular) which will take you to the top (and again there are extra charges for this). Overall this option can take a long time to get to the top, but it is an exciting journey from the begining to the top.

My favourite way to get to the top of Tibidabo is to that the Tibi-bus T2 from Placa Catalunya. This journey goes non-stop directly to the top. The cost of the bus is around 5 euros return  but it is worth it as the bus goes around some scary hair pin bends on the mountain  roads and passes some breathtaking scenery.

Enjoy your time in Tibidabo and don't forget to take pictures, it will be a time to remember!

Shopping at Las Arenas -The new shopping centre in Placa Espanya

On Friday March 25 a new shopping centre had oppened at the side of the famous Placa Espanya. This shopping centre was being built for over seven years and it was built from the old bullring dating from 1900. The developers also were not allowed to get rid of the old exterior facade of the bullring because it was a historically important building. Therefore the developers had to make everything new except exterior. This caused many problems as they had the problem of disigning the shopping centre around the shape of the old building. They also had to lift up the whole building by up to seven meters. This was an amazing engineering feat because not a brick was out of place when it was lifted permanently.

On the opening day we visited the shopping centre and enjoyed the new and bold interior  and because it is original and new from inside but from outside it is very historical and imposing. We went inside and found that it was so busy and there were queues everywhere . The shops were very busy and people was rushing around so that it seemed like is everyone wanted to go to the top of the building. As a result we spent around 30 minutes waiting to get to the top.

However, once we got to the top, the view was very nice as you could see all the Placa Espanya and also walk around the roof to see a 360 degree view of the city.  We did find that some of the restaurants were not open on the first day but they were getting ready for opening soon.

I think once they are open it should be nice to have a meal at the top of the building while admiring the city and of course enjoying some retail therapy. It is a different shoping experience and well worth a visit to enjoy a vast range of shops and resturants and of course my favourite cafe, Farggi is there as well!

Gava Mar: A nice area outside central Barcelona

I found a very nice place outside central Barcelona and it was clean and peaceful and quite, this area is called Gava Mar.It is close to the airport and you could reach it by going on the motorway towards the direction of Sitges. I enjoy the drive to Gava Mar from central of the city because its a big change from busy, bustling Barcelona.

The air is fresher and not full of car smoke, I can hear birds singing and the waves of the sea instead of car horns and scooter exhausts. I also can see pine trees and smell the alpine air instead of open gutters in central Barcelona.

When I am sitting at the beach in Gava Mar I can always relax, breathe deeply and enjoy hearing the peaceful waves instead of  the annoying "Fanta,Cola,Cervessa,cold beer?" I know that no matter how stressful a day I may have had, the sea,  the air, the blue blue sky and the noises of nature will be the best medicine for me.

Gava Mar is only ten miles from the centre of Barcelona but it feels like a million miles away!