BROWN STONES, RED CARDS, AND LES BLEUS
We had a lot on our agenda today. Spending the morning on the beach, hitting the myriad shops in our area (seemingly all of which had massive sales), watching the two remaining quarterfinal matches, and exploring the Barri Gòtic, were our day’s plans.
Once again, the beach was perfect. Not overly populated this early in the day, too. The water was finally warm enough to do a bit of swimming in the gorgeous Mediterranean! Reading the newspapers on the beach is definetly a favorite past-time.
Back in our neighborhood, the streets were especially busy with Saturday afternoon shoppers. We popped in and out of some of the stores along the main street by the Playa Catalunya and walked along La Rambla, and then stopped off for lunch. The shopping continued for a bit, before gametime for the England v. Portugal match was approaching. Our search for a pub/restaurant with a good atmosphere and plenty of England fans did not bear fruit, with so little time to look. But we did find a nice restaurant with cheap drinks, where we were able to get the table closest to the massive plasma on the wall, and a good amount of supporters trickled in as well. Watching England go down in penalties -AGAIN- was painful to watch, and the game had a healthy dose of controversy. Since the match ended a full hour late, with extra time and penalties, we only had an hour afterwards to scout out our location for the Brazil v. France match at 9pm.
Another cracking match, France always seems to get the best of Brazil in late rounds, and the giants were toppled again. We were sitting in the France fan section, on the sidewalk café, and the Brazil fans across the way were not one bit happy about the result!
As for exploring the Barri Gòtic, fortunately we were already in the area when the match ended. AND, fortunately this area comes alive at night time! The denizens of Barcelona empty out onto the streets and plazas of the old city, which becomes so energetic when the sun goes down. This area of town had such an eclectic mix of restaraunts, tapas bars, lounges, cafés, etc. I’ve never been anywhere with such a vibrant nightlife.
Walking the streets here is such an adventure. It’s like a maze, where you can walk between dark, narrow, quiet pedestrian streets, and then happen upon a public square bustling with activity. Surprises were everywhere. I wish we had more time to spend here!
Once again, the beach was perfect. Not overly populated this early in the day, too. The water was finally warm enough to do a bit of swimming in the gorgeous Mediterranean! Reading the newspapers on the beach is definetly a favorite past-time.
Back in our neighborhood, the streets were especially busy with Saturday afternoon shoppers. We popped in and out of some of the stores along the main street by the Playa Catalunya and walked along La Rambla, and then stopped off for lunch. The shopping continued for a bit, before gametime for the England v. Portugal match was approaching. Our search for a pub/restaurant with a good atmosphere and plenty of England fans did not bear fruit, with so little time to look. But we did find a nice restaurant with cheap drinks, where we were able to get the table closest to the massive plasma on the wall, and a good amount of supporters trickled in as well. Watching England go down in penalties -AGAIN- was painful to watch, and the game had a healthy dose of controversy. Since the match ended a full hour late, with extra time and penalties, we only had an hour afterwards to scout out our location for the Brazil v. France match at 9pm.
Another cracking match, France always seems to get the best of Brazil in late rounds, and the giants were toppled again. We were sitting in the France fan section, on the sidewalk café, and the Brazil fans across the way were not one bit happy about the result!
As for exploring the Barri Gòtic, fortunately we were already in the area when the match ended. AND, fortunately this area comes alive at night time! The denizens of Barcelona empty out onto the streets and plazas of the old city, which becomes so energetic when the sun goes down. This area of town had such an eclectic mix of restaraunts, tapas bars, lounges, cafés, etc. I’ve never been anywhere with such a vibrant nightlife.
Walking the streets here is such an adventure. It’s like a maze, where you can walk between dark, narrow, quiet pedestrian streets, and then happen upon a public square bustling with activity. Surprises were everywhere. I wish we had more time to spend here!
Brennilein - 1. Jul, 19:35
