Micky Walker

Wednesday, Jan 29, 2003

早上用完早餐之後，一路往北走向 Plaza Catalunya 準備搭車，在路上買了一本書，決定仿照書本照片好好探訪這個建築藝術特別的城市。第一站來到La Pedrera (village of Gracia)，高第作品之一。高第是十九世紀末的建築師，當他完成學業時，他的教授認為他們不知道他們教出了一個天才還是瘋子! 頂樓展示了他完整的作品模型，屋頂則有各式煙囪，五樓則展示他的公寓，相當舒適與豪華。



接下來到 Parc Espanya Industrial，有好幾根lighthouse-style towers像燈塔的東西，抱歉，照錯邊，應從公園那一面照過來。接著到Plaza de Espanya，中間有一個三面的建築，代表貿易、工業、及船業。接下來的雙塔（抱歉不是魔戒中的那兩座）是國家藝術博物館的入口。下一站是Poble Espanyol，據說是一個Authentic Spanish “Town”。接著到1992奧運舉辦處，Anella Olimplica( Olymipic Stadium)。我拍了好幾張不同角度的Olympic Ring，因為天氣好，拍出來的效果奇佳。接著再到米羅博物館，不過沒入內參觀。很可惜不能搭乘纜車下山，只有週末才開。接著去 Port Olimpic，過去只是賽船處，在1992奧運後，成為本市新碼頭。

奧林匹克村附近有賭場讓你<小試手氣，兩棟摩天大樓旁有一現代建築”Fish” 由Frank O. Gehry 設計。接著到Barcelona’s Gothic Cathedral ，可惜黃昏再加上背光，效果不佳。由於今天的行程結束較早，我們決定利用時間先去考察明天的路線。於是我們就搭上最後一班19:00紅線車從頭到尾都沒下車，坐到一半只剩四人：司機、導遊、秋萍、我 ----- 真是尷尬。 經過一個多小時的考察後我們吃了西班牙時間的晚餐(21:00)。今天的午晚餐都是靠著買這觀光巴士票送的coupon 去Pan’s解決，這本coupon可以享有到許多博物館和餐廳的折扣，經濟又實惠。在吃晚餐時，順便研究一下明天的作戰計畫，因為我們必須好好利用明天這最後一天。當時我將包包放在旁邊椅子上，外套還掛在包包上，差點就被扒走，幸好掛在包包上在瑞士買的牛鈴救回我的包包，每日一課：貴重物品還是要隨身看管好! 


Thursday, Jan 29, 2003 
After the breakfast, we headed north along La Rambla toward Plaza Catalunya to take the tourist bus. Our first stop was La Pedrera (village of Gracia) which is one of Gaudi’s works. Antoni Gaudi, the architect in the 19th centuries, whose teachers had no ideas if he was a mad man or a genius while he finished his architectural study. The attic of La Pedrera is fitted out for exhibitions of scale models, photographs and videos with the aim of giving the insight of Gaudi’s works. The stunning roof is a forest of chimney stacks, and on the fifth floor is Gaudi’s splendid apartment. 
apartment

The next stop was Parc Espanya Industrial featuring lighthouse-style towers (see pictures); however, the pictures would be better if they were taken from the park not from the main road. (Sorry for that). The third stop was Plaza de Espanya where the 1929 International Exhibition was held. In the middle of the plaza stands a three-side structure representing trade, industry and shipping. The two towers (sorry-not the two in the Lord of the Rings) lead the way to the entrance of Palau Nacional, home to the Museu National d’Art de Catalunya. Following up is Poble Espanyal, an authentic Spanish town. And then we went to Anella Olimplica (Olympic Stadium, see picture above) where the 1992 Olympic Game was held. Owing to the lovely weather, the several Olympic Ring shots were absolutely perfect. 

Following up, we took pictures outside the Foundation de Miro(see picture below). It was a pity that we couldn't take a cable-car ride down to the port, because it only operates on the weekends. The tourist bus kept taking us to Port Olympic which is fitted out as a new port of the city after the 1992 Game. Around the Olympic Village is a casino for you to make a fortune-only if you are lucky enough. There is a work “Fish” by Frank O. Gehry standing beside the two skyscrapers. Later on we went to the Gothic Cathedral; however, the pictures of which weren’t good because of the dark sky.  
Tonight we got plenty of time, so we decided to “pre-view” the red route which we would take the next day. At 19:00 we took the last tourist bus and started our journey from the very first stop to the last one. It was really embarrassing-when we were on the half of the red route there were only four people on board-the driver, the tour guide, Gloria and myself. After the “pre-view” journey, it was almost 21:00. It’s time for dinner-Spanish timetable of course. Once you buy the tourist bus tickets, you’ll be given a book of coupons which give you discount to most of the museums and some restaurants. We had our lunch and dinner at Pan’s-a really ideal sandwich shop, low price but offering delicious meals. During the dinner time, we were making a detailed plan for tomorrow about where and when to go because the next day was our “last day in Barcelona.” While I was having my dinner, my handbag which was put on the chair beside me and covered by my coat was almost stolen by a pickpocket. Luckily, the cowbell hung on the handbag was ringing at the moment and drew my attention to stop the guy. Here is the lesson from Micky- keep an eye on your personal valuable belongings all the time.