Placa Reial
by Marpessa
Not really a 'must see' while in Barcelona - but Placa Reial is a very beautiful square, and if you have time, you should check it out.
I was lucky enough that the hostel I was staying at was situated in one of the buildings around this square. It is filled with cafes and restaurants, and is a great place to grab a meal and relax.
Or an alternative is to just buy a drink, sit against the fountain or on one of the seats around the square and just people watch. It really is like a picture from a postcard :).
Placa Reial is found about a third of the way up Las Ramblas on the right (if coming from the harbour).
Columbus Monument
by Marpessa
Just in case you hadn't noticed or heard about the Columbus Monument I thought I would tell you a bit about it.
Christopher Columbus was a famous navigator and explorer of the 15th Century. He was born approx. 1451 in Italy and died in 1506 in Spain. He is well remembered for his voyages to the Americas which established trade routes between there and Europe.
The Column itself is fitted with sculptures of angels and people of different status, and standing above them all at the top is Columbus, pointing to the new world (and new opportunities)... only, I'm pretty sure he is actually pointing towards Africa and not America... slight mistake there :).
Anyway, aside from that small error, it is a beautiful column and you should check it out when in Barcelona. You can find it at the very start of Las Ramblas at the harbour end.
SPANISH and CATALAN
by Umea6
There are two official languages in Catalunya: Spanish and Catalan. Catalan is not a dialect, but a language as close to French as it is to Spanish. Catalans are totally bilingual and they speak Spanish without any accent.
Espanyol Stadium
by lolitajane
Barcelona's got two main football teams, Barcelona FC & the Espanyol. The Espanyol's Stadium is at the top of Montjuic, next to the Palau St. Jordi. The location is great & you get a breathtaking view of BCN from up there.
Gargoyles and Grotesques adorn some overhead walls
by dlytle
At the heart of Barcelona lie the ancient passages, shadowy alleys, gargoyles and ghostly spires of the old Gothic city, apparently untouched by time. For hundreds of years gargoyles have adorned the rooftops of buildings, churches, and cathedrals.
On Carrer dels Comtes, as well as on other streets, you can admire some of the animal and human gargoyles that adorn the upper walls. The word "Gargoyle" shares a root with the word "Gargle"; they come from "gargouille", an old French word for "Throat". A true gargoyle is a waterspout. An unusual carved creature that does not serve that purpose is properly called a "Grotesque".
These fantastic creatures have been with us for thousands of years. The most common belief is that they are protectors, keeping evil away from the buildings and their occupants. The best-known examples of gargoyles are from the medieval period, a time when most people were illiterate. The carvings served the role of books, telling stories and reporting on life. Any original legends have probably been lost or have changed so much over time that they don't tell us anything about the original intentions.
Gargoyles and Grotesques were often thought of as guardians of the people and protected them from harm. They were made to look ugly in hopes that they would scare off evil demons and spirits who tried to enter the building or cathedral.
There are human, animal, and grotesque gargoyles. Human gargoyles weren't as popular as animal and grotesque gargoyles. Human gargoyles tended to be more bizarre than beautiful. They sometimes represented exiled townsmen who had been vanished from the city. Other human gargoyles may satirize those engaged in businesses frowned on by the church such as prostitutes and moneylenders. Some human gargoyles were made ugly to show the illness and ugliness that was believed to have been caused by the evil demons that worked for the devil.
That's why in medieval art, Jesus Christ was always handsome; he represented the absence of evil.
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The famous Gaudi mosaic lizard
View from the museum
black and yellow taxi in Barcelona
you are there
