Monday 5 August 2013

Part 2 of our trip to Barcelona. The Cathedral and the Defence Walls.

The Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia, also known as the Barcelona Cathedral and commonly known as La Seu, can be found not far from La Rambla.(see photo below)  This church, with its beautiful façade, should not be confused with the spectacular Sagrada Família, about which I will be writing  in Part 3!

This  Gothic style cathedral  is the seat of the Archbishop of Barcelona. The cathedral was built between the 13th and 15th centuries, most of the work being done in the 14th century.  There is a lot of information Here if you would like to read further.  It appears that opening hours are mornings and evenings only, so make sure about this if you should want to see inside!
Various views of the inside below.






Below are two photos of what remains of part of the Roman city wall and the buildings later built on top of it by the Spanish. The sign by this building below reads:- "The Roman wall and defence towers from the second enclosing wall of Barcino (4th century AD).  The buildings that are conserved on this section of the wall are the Royal Chapel of Santa Agata and the Royal Palace (14th century)"


Moving quickly on to dining out, a popular activity in the city, the seafood platter on our second night in Barcelona was a feast for the eyes before we even had one mouthful! As a coastal Mediterranean city, Barcelona offers great choices of fresh fish and seafood. There is a multiplicity of restaurants throughout the city centre specialising in all sorts of cuisine; it seems that almost every other building provides a site for a restaurant or café!

We got hooked on Cava (Spanish sparkling wine) in the three days we were there and drank little else with our evening meals. It goes so well with tapas (Spanish snacks) and with seafood.  Really  quite delicious!

We are busy redecorating at home, having just had new oak double glazed windows installed.  We have nothing standard size, so all the frames had to be hand made!  Installation has been a major exercise for our two local artisans, as the old frames were built into the walls and had to be chipped out, necessitating areas of new plasterwork.  

If I do not visit you for a bit, please understand that after attending to the house and the garden, there is little spare time left at present! 

47 comments:

  1. Wow, so much history and great food and drink. Glad you had a great time.

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    1. Horst it is a lovely town to walk around and the food was magnificent :-) Take care Diane

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  2. Trips are not only visual, and Barcelona sure is photogenic, but the food really amazing! Spanish tapas are so good and the ambiance wonderful in the streets and restaurants. What a lovely trip you had (I have to stop writing as I am running out of adjectives. Ok one more! magnifico!

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    1. Ha ha Nedege you are right there are many adjectives that could be used here. We just loved the tapas and the cava as well as the city. Have a good day. Diane

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  3. i must find some cava and try it! new windows...what fun! or not!!! i should have had the windows replaced here long ago. now i must replace them before i sell it. what a headache!

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    1. Jaz the windows will be fun when we have finished redecorating. Thought we had done with that but no such luck! Take care Diane

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  4. The gothic cathedral is simply stunning. I could really get to enjoy a variety of fish in dining places around those parts. Lucky you (?) for redecorating. I haven't gotten around to doing anything about my plans for the same.

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    1. Joyful I am sorry I only had the little supermarket camera as I did not do justice to the inside of the cathedral. We had decided not to use the Nikon while away as it was too much of a temptation to have it snatched! The redecorating now is a must because of the mess left behind with the window installation! Not a choice! Keep well Diane

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  5. Great photos! The Cathedral is impressive inside and out. The food looks delicious and I could probably get hooked on the sparkling wine too :)

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    1. Thanks Denise that cava was easy to get hooked on it and we do not normally like sparling wine :-) Have a good day. Diane

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  6. That church is superb and seems like it should be in a fairytale.

    You have been keeping very busy since returning from your travels with guests and now more remodeling. I'm sure your taking photos of the current project to share with us later.

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    1. Gaelyn quite a few photos taken, not only of the house but places we have visited around here. I want to finish the holiday first which was quite long! I have still not got through all the photos yet, thank goodness they are dated!! Take care Diane

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  7. Thanks Diane - it must be an overwhelming experience to stand inside these old buildings and 'feel' the history surrounding them ...

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    1. Graham I often imagine people walking around dressed as they would have been in those days. There is just so much history around all of Europe. Hope you are well, Diane

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  8. The church is stunningly beautiful.
    I agree about seafood in Barcelona - it's one of the great pleasures of visiting. I hate to admit it but I prefer cava to champagne. Not just because it's less expensive but I like the taste and for some reason it doesn't give me a headache.

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    1. Craig I have to agree with you about cava, neither of us is very fond of champagne, and no I had not realised it but you are right no headache! The seafood there is magnificent :-))) Hope you are both well Diane

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  9. How good to see the photographs of old Barcelona...and thanks for the link.

    I am enjoying the sheer delight of the seafood here in Spain at the moment - making the most of it before returning home!

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    1. Fly I envy you the sea food there, it really is good. Are you completely out of France now? Enjoy your stay while you can and take care Diane

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  10. Hi Diane .. I'm having a make-fish salady lunch with mango .. delicious! Strange but true ...

    Love the photos of La Seu and the old walls - spectacular ... then your fish dish - looks exceedingly tasty and that glass of Cava ..

    I hope you're going to use the cork at home somewhere ...

    Have fun with all the decorating and oak glazed windows - bet they'll make a difference in a few months ..

    Cheers Hilary

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    1. Hilary if you could see how many cork we have that is just another one to add to the boxful! I have made dozens of notice boards with corks but you can only use so many and there is not a ready market for them.

      Hope you enjoyed your fish dish sound excellent with mango. Take care, Diane

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  11. What a magnificent cathedral. The abundance of seafood and being able to sip Cava throughout the trip sounds very appealing.
    Sam

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    1. Brilliant trip Sam and we so nearly got put of going by all the stories we were told of pickpockets etc!! Have a good day Diane

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  12. It has been more years than I can remember since I was in Barcelona. Thank you for your lovely photos as time makes memories fade. Karen

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    1. Karen I love bringing back memories for people, glad that you have enjoyed this post. More to come yet :-) Have a good day Diane

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  13. Amazing photos. That cathedral is stunning! The seafood dish looks scrumptious too.

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    1. Pam it is a pretty amazing cathedral. The food was fantastic, tapas, cava, seafood..... Yum yum. Keep well Diane

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  14. What a cathedral! Barcelona sounds great and I'd love to go there. I can imagine all the good restaurants. Your dinner does look like a feast! Good luck with your windows, that's quite an undertaking with them having to be hand made. I'm back to blogging now and playing catch-up. Have a great rest of the week, Diane!

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    1. Pam I cannot imagine anyone not enjoying Barcelona it is fantastic in every respect. The windows are in it is all the repair work around them, wall paper and paint etc. Never mind we will, I hope, appreciate the double glaze in winter. Hope that all is well, glad to have you back. Diane

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  15. The façade of the cathedral is just magnificent. We got to see many of the sights when we were there last October but weren't there long enough to really explore the Barcelona food scene. So I guess we will have to return ... soon.

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    1. Michel you have to go back and enjoy the food, we just loved it and found it not that expensive. Just do not attract attention waving anything expensive around and all will be well :-) Have a good day Diane

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  16. Hi Diane, thanks for sharing . The Cathederal is one place we could not get into on our visit back in 2003 , it was closed but wow it is very very impressive ,,

    Just feast your eyes on that delightful Fish Feast ,, I ate only fish when there , love it and they cook it so brilliantly. As for Cava, that is something my mum in law got me hooked on too, love it,,

    I know you are busy , so will catch up with you later ,, take care xoxo

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    1. Anne I am sorry that I did not take the Nikon as the photos would have been much better but you still get the idea. We could both live on fish, sadly it is not cheap! Pity you can't buy cava here but they will never let it in while there id champagne on the shelf! Keep well Diane xxoxx

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  17. My house is undoubtedly not as old as yours, yet to have our windows replaced would be a massively expensive nightmare. Happily for us, the previous owner had custom storm windows built and fitted to the outside of all of our windows, so the inside windows remain solid. I'm sure you would be enjoying yourself more if you were still in Barcelona visiting those magnificent cathedrals, but it's a certainty that you will enjoy the lowered drafts which the new windows will afford you next winter!

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    1. Marjie it would have been so easy if they were standard size and not built well into the walls!! It was a job though that needed doing, the old windows rattled and you could feel the cold air coming in a round them in winter. I have no idea how many years ago the original were installed but the house is well over 200 years old. I agree I could happily spend this time in Barcelona rather than redecorating, never mind, I am sure we will enjoy the results eventually. Have a good day, Diane

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  18. Dear Diane, I am glad that you are having a nice time in Barcelona. The food looks wonderful!
    The cathedral is magnificent! It is amazing how these structures were built so long ago without modern equipment and built so well and with so much character.
    It is nice to visit with you and hope that your repairs go well and take good care. Blessings dear. Catherine xo

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    1. Catherine Barcelona was in May but I am only recalling it and posting the holiday now. At the moment we are up to our eyes with renovations - AGAIN! Thanks for the comment and |have a good weekend. Diane

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  19. Thats what the Mediterranean is all about ... seafood platters. :) This was such a great trip Diane. Thanks for sharing it all with us as it is places most of us will never see otherwise.

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    1. Joan I never thought that I was going to see these places, but our lifestyle has changed and so many of these places are now with in driving distance. The seafood though was very special yum yum :-) Have a wonderful weekend Diane

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  20. I enjoyed this trip with you too. The seafood looks delicious and the cathedral majestic. We are painting the interior of our house and spreading mulch. I understand your search for time. We just do a little each day.

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    1. diane, thanks for taking the time out to comment. My problem is I want everything done yesterday and it does not happen that way!! We are getting there but much slower than I hoped!! Have a good Sunday. Diane

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  21. Cava and tapas - that's a combination that would suit me down to the ground. I know what you mean about things in the house not being a standard size. I don't think I've ever lived anywhere with standard sizes. I suppose someone must live in a standard house somewhere. Maybe I'm just unlucky.

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    1. Phil we have never had a house quite as crooked as this one, but over two hundred years old what else can we expect! Have a good week. Diane

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  22. HEllo Diane!
    I think the seafood is my favourite pic!! LOL!
    I love Spain and spanish people, it is such a lively country... I guess from what I see that you had much fun!
    Cheerio, keep well!

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    1. Noushaka if we could eat like that every night we would, but a bit expensive I am afraid for seafood all the time here. Keep well Diane.

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  23. Thanks, it was a pleasure to visit Barcelona with you.

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  24. Tattina, thanks so much for your visit and comment. Have a good day. Diane

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  25. Barcelona is high up on the list of places I want to go to.

    That chocolate cake..... wow and yummy!

    Anyway, HaPPy BirThDaY!
    and good luck with the redecorating.

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