As mentioned in part 1 of my Barcelona posts, Las Ramblas, while not a very long pedestrainized road, has tons of "arteries" leading in and out. Hence, it's never a straight through shot of walking down the .8 mile street. According to my smart watch we walked approximately 8 miles the first time we stepped onto this iconic street.
Our origianl goal was to walk a straight line from Plaça de Catalunya all the way to Port Vell. But if you have been following the posts, you know that did not happen.
Naturally you can understand why I have so many photos.
The first sign indicating that we were close to Port Vell was this tall statue.
Column of Columbus, also known as the Barcelona Column was built in 1888 to honor the renowned explorer and discoverer of America. The monument is placed at the site where Christopher Columbus arrived in 1493 on his return from his discovery of America the year before.
The monument is a single column that is 197 ft. (60 meters) tall with a statue of Christopher Columbus on top. The monument is located in the center of a traffic circle that is known as Placa de la Porta de Pau which means “Square of the Gate of Peace”.
"The statue was sculpted by Rafael Atché and is said to represent Columbus pointing towards the New World with his right hand, while holding a scroll in his left hand. An amusing detail is that instead of pointing west, i.e. towards the New World, the statue points east, i.e. towards his home town of Genoa.
The statue stands on top of a pedestal, on which is inscribed the word 'Tierra' (Land).
Another interesting anecdote is that originally the statue at the top of the column was supposed to represent the Greek goddess Athena, who symbolised the city of Barcelona. However, the organisers of the World Fair eventually decided to replace the statue of Athena with a statue of Christopher Columbus, which would be more appropriate for an international exhibition. The statue was installed on top of the column in 1888."
As luck would have it there was construction going on around this monument hence, making it difficult to take photographs of the many sides of the monument.
Instead I took photos of distant buildings and sights.
Old customs house built in 1902 with lots of engraving and sculptures. Barcelona's coat of arms and the Spanish coat of arms can also be seen on the facade.
The Barcelona waterfront provides a peak at the Mediterranean Sea while keeping visitors busy with a variety of attractions.
"The port of Barcelona stands between the mouth of the river Llobregat and the Barceloneta district. Its history can be traced back to the time of the Iberians in the 5th century BC and it has been a key enclave in the history of the Mediterranean in terms of migration and as a trading and industrial hub in Catalonia. It is currently one of the most important ports in Europe.
Over the years, the port of Barcelona has undergone refurbishments that have improved its efficiency and fostered its growth. This probably prompted Einstein to request a vist to the port when he was visiting the city in 1923. In the second half of the 19th century, the inauguration of the slipway and the building of the floating dock and warehouses established Barcelona's reputation as a world-renowned port. On the morning of Wednesday 28th February 1923, Einstein visited the port of Barcelona in a canoe accompanied by the chief engineer who was overseeing the work being carried out. "
"Port Vell (literally in English "Old Harbor") was built as part of an urban renewal program prior to the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Before this, it was a run-down area of empty warehouses, railroad yards, and factories.
It is now a focal point of the city and tourist attraction, containing the Maremà gnum (a mall containing shops, a multiplex cinema, bars and restaurants), IMAX Port Vell and Europe's largest aquarium containing 8000 fish and 11 sharks contained in 22 basins filled with six million litres (1.6 million US gallons) of seawater. "
There are several small harbors on the waterfront – this one full of sail boats. In other sections, cruise ships and freight ships dock at the piers.
Two identical sulptures float along the sea here at Port Vell. The 'Miraestels', the Catalanian word for stargazer have been located in the Maremagnum area since 2005. The stargazer statues are a tribute to the Catalan poet Joan Brossa whose series of poems titled El Sartamarti which translated explains " a doll with weighted base when pushed from its vertical position, returns upright .......The People."
Plaça de l'Ictineo, a public green space named after a pioneering submarine constructed in Barcelona.
There are tons of interesting and elegant buildings runing up and down this area of the city of which the Central Post Office or Oficina de Correos as it's known in Catalan is one.
The building was designed by Josep Goday i Casals and Jaume Torres i Grau and built in 1927. The building’s design is a mixture of Catalan Modernism and Noucentism (the architectural and artistic style which immediately followed Modernism).
Entering the building through the wooden doors .....
......and through the foyer, into the main hall, one notices that not much has changed since the opening of the building in 1927.
The following few photos have nothing to do with architecture nor history. They just caught my eye therefore, a click was needed. And once they have been clicked, they needed to be included 😜
Last but not least for part 3 of the Barcelona post I am including one of the most noted structures in this city. That being the Cathedral of Barcelona which has been the holiest spot in this city for over 2000 years. The Romans built a pagan temple that was replaced in 343 a.d. by a Christian Cathedral. It gained its Gothic style seen today back in 1298. It wasn’t completed until 1450 during the glory days of a Catalan nation. A rich merchant in the 19th century added the Gothic “fire” spires to reach to the heavans.
Time to move on to one of the most awe inspiring structures in this country if not the world. If you have been to Barcelona, you know what I am referring to. If you have not been here you will see what I mean.
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