Arriving in Barcelona

The flight from Auckland was long and tiring but not as bad as i had feared. I didnt sleep at all but watched several movies and watched a huge electrical/storm out the windoww. Lightening lit up the clouds multiple times a minute. After a short stop in Dubai to change planes we were off again for the las 6.5 hoursto Barcelona. This was a dytime fllight with quite a lot to see out the window as we trcked across Saudi Arabia and over the Mediterranean.

This was one of the many man made islands being created off the Dubai Coast

I believe this is the Suez Canal

And finally, over 28 hiurs after we left here was our first view of Barcelona.

After a short trip in one of the cleanest taxis Ive had we arrived at our Hotel Arc La Rambla ,situated near the port end of the famous a Ramblas. This tree lined street is filled with restaurants, market stalls , entertainers, and loads of tourists of course but is lively and fun.
Ourroom was typically European, small but very functional, but with a balcony looking out to the street below .

La Ramblas is famous for its human statues.

We changed and went out wandering and came acrss one of the many sqaures. This one Placa Reial or the Royal Square , we stopped for a drink. I had my first Spanish Sangria and Steve had a Spanish beer

We wandered further into the Gothic Quarter, probably my favourite area of this amazing city. This little church was so old ( 1391) and peaceful.
Here is some info regarding this church



This primarily Gothic-style church, begun in 1394, is located in the heart of the “Call”, Barcelona’s Medieval Jewish ghetto, and in this respect there is always a hint of something melancholy about it. A synagogue originally stood on this site, but was later torn down to make way for the present church. 
According to pious belief and long tradition, the Apostle St. James worked as a missionary in what was then known as Hispania, modern-day Spain, one of the largest and wealthiest of the Roman colonies. His shrine at Santiago de Compostela is of course well known, but it is believed that he preached in many cities, including Barcelona and Tarragona. Whether or not this is the case we do not know. We know that St. Paul specifically wrote in Romans 15:23-28 that he was planning to visit Spain, to preach there, so it is not outside the realm of possibility.

Whatever the truth of the stories, the very old church dedicated to Sant Jaume (St. James), first mentioned in a document of 985 A.D., was torn down in 1823. Part of the building reportedly dated from the arrival of Christianity in Barcelona, and it had been expanded over the centuries until it occupied the site of the ancient Roman Forum, where supposedly St. James had preached. The building was torn down to make way for the Plaça de Sant Jaume, or St. James Square. This new square roughly corresponds to the dimensions of the old Forum, and is dominated by the Generalitat (Catalan government) headquarters on the north side, and Barcelona city hall on the south. The parish community was moved temporarily to Santa Monica, a convent along the Ramblas, but was later moved to Holy Trinity church, which was renamed for St. James.

Originally, Holy Trinity was the parish church of Jews who had converted to Christianity but chose to remain living in the Call. It was built on top of the remains of the Lesser Synagogue, of the two that existed in Barcelona during the Middle Ages. After the expulsion of the Jews and suspected Jews in 1492, the Church of the Holy Trinity, as it was known then, was turned over to a group of nuns – from which order I have been unable to discover – who built a convent next to the church.

The beautifully decorated buildings along with the narrow alleys which we meandered through really were captivating . Its a pity but Barcelona has a huge issue with graffiti in this, and most parts of the city.. Probably not helped by the massive youth unemployment problem with 53% of youth unemployed 

We rounded off our first hours in Barcelona with Tapas for dinner and a wander down to Port Vell passing the Columbus Monument . We were in bed early at 9pm and out like a light!!