Saturday, August 09, 2008

Barça Day 2...

On day 2 we decided to take the Bus Turístic, buses that take 3 different circuits around the city, letting you get on and off as often as you like. We had taken the bus when we visited Barcelona before and have taken a similar one in Paris. If you don't know a city, it's worth taking at least half a day on these buses to get the lay of the land, returning to the spots you think are most interesting.
The bus stop for this bus was about a 2 minute walk from our hotel. One of my only complaints about the trip was the unbelievable heat most days. Combined with 80% (or higher) humidity, it was truly miserable at times.
We first got off at La Sagrada Família, hands down my favorite building (inanimate object really) on the planet. To get there, we had to change from the green route to the blue and then the red. A word of warning: the transfer points can be crowded with long lines. We avoided this for the most part by asking the personnel on the bus which points were fastest.
What at can I say about this incredible work of art that pictures can't say much more eloquently?
The kids were only moderately impressed, but I assume that will change with age. It kept their attention for a few minutes, which isn't that bad all things considered. To them, the Disney Castle is about as good as it gets architecturally speaking. We then went to Parc Güell, which they enjoyed a bit more. I love this place too. Unfortunately, taking pictures of them most of the time is like trying to herd junebugs on speed, so the perfect picture I had imagined of them near the famous lizard/dragon wasn't meant to be.

The brutal sun and the relentless heat didn't help much with the pictures (in terms of optics and my limited patience), but I still recorded some decent shots.

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