Columbus Monument

When the bus got to the Gothic Quarter, one of the oldest and most interesting parts of the city, we finally were allowed to get off. Probably the most prominent feature of the area is the old Cathedral, built 1298-1459 (with later additions) on the site of a 4th century basilica. We'd also seen that last night. The center of the quarter is the Plaza de Sant Jaume, once the walled Roman Forum. Parts of the old Roman walls are still there, as is part of a Roman aqueduct. Later the bus drove around the Las Ramblas area, filled with shops, stands and pedestrians, but didn't stop. Eventually the bus took us up a large hill for a panoramic view of the city. It may have been the same spot we’d been to the night before, but it wasn't nearly as impressive in the daylight.

Bridge in the Gothic Quarter

Plaza del Rey (14th century) Seat of the Kings of Aragon

Roman remains in Plaza de Sant Jaume

Finally, we were taken to the Pueblo Español (Spanish Village), built for an international exhibition (world’s fair) in 1929. It includes replicas of characteristic buildings from all over Spain. We really enjoyed strolling through the picturesque streets and squares. The Village also had a number of shops with great merchandise and excellent prices. I spent the last of our pesetas. [We had visited this village 1959, too, and it was the high point of our brief stop in Barcelona.]

Church in Spanish Village

Village square

Typical houses & street

At 11:30 the bus took us back to the Majestic Hotel. We finished packing, had lunch, and left for the airport at 13:15. The flight out was at 15:30, but we didn’t get to Frankfurt until 20:00 because, besides losing an hour in the change of time zones, we had to change planes in Geneva, Switzerland. We got home to Heidelberg around 21:00 and found our boys waiting for us.

Observations. It was a wonderful trip. Having someone else plan the trip and act as a guide really was nice and, for just two people anyhow, probably worth the extra cost. There was the disadvantage, though, that you have stay with the group and have very little freedom to do things on your own. There were several places where we would have stayed longer if we were on our own. Going on the tour, we also had less interaction with the local people than we otherwise would have, and we missed that.

Another drawback was the lost opportunities to take good photographs. Many attractions we just drove by in the bus and, if you weren't fast and seated on the "lucky" side of the bus, you got no picture at all. Even so, we took more pictures (over 200) on this trip than on any previous one.  [Unfortunately, they've deteriorated in the ensuing 35 years, and I've had to substitute newer ones in many cases.] It just seemed there was much more to photograph in Spain than in most other places we'd been.

Despite the disadvantages, though, we probably saw a lot more, and understood it better, with the guided tour.

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