The view from the bus

Barcelona, Spain - Monday 30th May 2016

This morning, for the first time in longer than I can remember, my alarm clock woke me up (granted it was 6.30am) and, as excited as I was, getting out of bed was torturous.  When we weren't expecting dad to arrive in Santiago until early June, I thought it would be fun to take a day trip to Barcelona - a city that has intrigued me for years. 

There are a couple of ways to get from Santiago (in the north west) to Barcelona (in the east). The train takes around 8 hours, and requires a change in Madrid (in the middle). Alternatively, a direct Ryanair flight takes just over 1 hour. I booked about six weeks in advance, and the flights cost less than £60.

Santiago airport is tiny, with a few shops and one cafe, with a huge queue for breakfast.  I bought a fruit salad, gluten free lemon muffins, and a strong americano, which I just about managed to inhale before running to the gate and boarding the plane.

Arriving in Barcelona airport, I got completely lost - arrivals and departures all go through the same shopping area, and there are multiples of the same shop which is very confusing. I walked past a newspaper stand five times, and I'm still not sure if it was the same one. My advice - don't faff, follow the people in front of you, and actually look for the signs to the exit. When you do eventually escape, the airport bus to the city centre takes about half an hour and is 5.90€ one way (10.40€ return). 

I really enjoy exploring new cities, but I only had six hours in Barcelona, and this city is H-U-G-E.  It is definitely not possible to see all of the sights in that little time, and I didn't fancy running all day to try. When I visit a new city, I like taking the tourist hop-on-hop-off buses to get an idea of the layout, and to work out what's where. If you have a full day, or can get a pass that lasts a couple of days, they work out more cost-effective, and can be used as an alternative to public transport.

The airport bus arrived in Placa Catalunya, and the Barcelona Bus Turistic leaves from right next to the bus stop.

Unexpectedly expensive tour bus ticket!

This bus has two route options - the blue route, covering the north of the city; and the red route, around the south (there's also a green route, but it only runs at certain times of year, and I didn't use it).  Each route takes around 2 hours, and an adult day ticket costs 28€.  Word of warning to travellers on a budget - a student ticket on the tourist bus is supposedly 16€, but apparently an international student card (ISIC) isn't recognised as a student card, so I was fairly unimpressed at having to pay nearly twice what I had budgeted.   

After queueing for 20 minutes (it was BUSY), I jumped on the first bus that came along, which turned out to be the blue route.  I'm glad I did this one first, because it took me past the few things I definitely wanted to see - Casa Batllo, La Pedrera, and La Sagrada Familia - I basically am in love with Antoni Gaudi.  

If I'm honest, the blue route was fairly blah after that.  The north of the city, after the city's famous church, is fairly modern tower blocks, and as well as a lot of traffic lights, there were roadworks seemingly on every street. This meant a lot of time spent stationary, and since the audio commentary only plays when it is approaching something interesting, there was a lot of either silence or repetitive 'lift music'. When there was something interesting to see, you weren't given a huge amount of information about it, and in some cases the bus couldn't get close enough to actually see anything, which was both frustrating and really boring. 

Probably the most exciting part of the journey was going at high speed (the only time we sped up to more than a slow crawl) down hill into a tunnel. I'm not 100% sure whether the screams from the back of the open-top bus were of fear or excitement.

I am glad I took the blue route to the end, but mainly because it gave me an opportunity to eat some lunch. If I go back to Barcelona, I probably wouldn't take the blue route again - most of the places I would like to see again were within a mile or so, and would be easily walkable - I know that now.

Views from the bus

There are a couple of places where the red route and the blue route cross, so at the first opportunity, I jumped off the blue bus and caught the next red bus (they're actually the same colour, but have different coloured signs on the front). This route is significantly more interesting, and takes you through the older parts of the city, as well as up to the 1992 Olympic Stadium, and along the coast. The views and scenery were stunning, and I wish I had more time to wander round these areas - next time perhaps!

La Sagrada Familia

After four hours on buses, it was a relief to get off and stretch my legs. The only thing I really wanted to visit before going to Barcelona was La Sagrada Familia, so I walked the kilometre or so from La Pedrera. I had been warned that there are lots of beggars and pick-pockets in Barcelona, so I was wary, but there was no point at which I felt unsafe, and I had no problems, though I did keep my passport and spare cash in my body belt, just in case.

For a church that is so huge and well-known, La Sagrada Familia was surprisingly difficult to find on the ground. There weren't many signs for pedestrians, and most roads seem to skirt round it, so I did get a little bit lost, but quickly re-found myself with the help of a map and two girls from Manchester. It was clear as we approached that this really is as popular a tourist destination as it says in all the books! It was busy, and the queue to enter the building was huge, so instead I wandered round outside (with a Starbucks iced coffee), and will save the inside for next time.

With such little time, it was nice to be able to see some of the city by foot, and after La Sagrada Familia, I walked back to La Rambla - Barcelona's main shopping street - to see what all the fuss was about. I quite enjoyed the hustle and bustle, but there were a lot of street hawkers in this area. With so many people, I was wary, so after snapping a few photos and buying a couple of postcards, I walked back to Placa Catalunya to jump on the airport bus and head back to Santiago.

Buildings and Art

Barcelona itself is a frantic collision of modernist creations, post-war apartment blocks, and older buildings, squashed together along leafy tree-lined avenues, reminiscent of somewhere across the Atlantic. It really is beautiful, but I didn't enjoy today as much as I had hoped I would.  It felt very superficial, and I didn't have enough opportunity to really explore beyond the surface. Regardless, I'd like to go back and give it a second chance.  For longer than six hours next time.