La Rambla & the Gothic Quarter | Barcelona | Spain

One of the most popular things to do in Barcelona is take a walk down La Rambla.  It is a tree lined street that connects the Catalunya Plaza (where we stayed at the Olivia Plaza Hotel) all the way to Port Vell at the statue of Christopher Columbus.

It is very busy and very touristy.  Were it not also beautiful, with the trees and gorgeous buildings, it would not have been one of my favorite things to do.

But with street lights and water fountains that look like this, I can ignore all the people peddling silly things and just take in all the beauty.

Not only is the Boqueria market on La Rambla, but the Gothic Quarter is connected to it as well.  Just head down a side street and there you are, checking out buildings like the one above.  The Gothic Quarter is the oldest part of Barcelona, dating back to Medieval times.

The kind of old where buildings have these markings on the side.  Wish I knew what it said…

I seriously considered staying in the gothic quarter since I am such a history nerd.  The thought of staying somewhere that had such history excited me.  However, I was traveling with my daughter and with streets like these above, I just didn’t feel good about us walking around at night.  I ended up loving our hotel and it’s location on the Plaza Catalunya, so I feel like I made the right choice.  The gothic quarter was awesome to explore and just get lost in (which was easy to do).  Somehow we always managed to find our way back to the hotel.

When I saw this mosaic tile fountain I knew we were getting close.  It was so strange how we always ended up on that street after exploring the gothic quarter.  It was my landmark, and a beautiful one at that.

After all that exploring a girl’s gotta eat.  Many of the restaurants in Barcelona are set up like this one.  All the different tapas (or small bites) are on display for you to pick from.  They look pretty, but I wasn’t very impressed with the taste on many of them.  Maybe I was just bad at picking out the good ones.  Speaking spanish and being able to ask questions might have come in handy.  So I’ve explored and filled my belly, now it’s time for….

Just kidding!!!  It’s just that I had never seen a whole store devoted to condoms.  I had to take a picture.  I wasn’t daring enough to go in, besides, I was traveling with my daughter, remember.

So we’ve reached the end of la Rambla with Christopher Columbus.  I know a lot of people about to embark on cruises get dropped off here for a few hours before the cruise takes off.  My advise is don’t spend all your time on la Rambla.  Head down some side streets and explore the Gothic Quarter.  There are many interesting things to discover.

This post linked to Amaze Me Monday, Mosaic Monday, Travel Photo Monday, Through My Lens, Blue Monday