Barcelona Walkabout (Sep 17, 2025)

I'll start off by saying how hot it is here even in mid to late September.  Each day has been around 30 C (86 F) and I don't expect things to cool off soon.  I packed short-sleeve shirts of course, but I have a hoodie and some long-sleeves that I'll be needing later on the trip.  That's the real reason for "siestas" in the afternoon--when many stores are closed.  Outside the more touristy areas, anyway.

Today though, we braved the heat and went to look around the city.  First stop was the Palau de la Música Catalana.  Built between 1905 and 1908, it's a concert hall designed by Luís Domènech i Montaner in the Catalan Modernist style. Admission was 18 EUR (21.15 USD), but I think it was worth it.

Corner sculpture

Staircase

Inside the concert hall

Closeup of the stained glass skylight

Fe amongst the columns

Carmela, a 2015 sculpture by Jaume Plensa

Next was a walk to La Concepció market, snapping some photos along the way:

Hotel Ohla

Casal de la Previsió

Casal de l'Estalvi.  Thought it was a church at first.

Casa de la Seda (House of Silk)

Lo Concepció Market.  This market is less touristy than the one on La Rambla we saw earlier.

Fruit stand

Iberian ham stall

Next up was a trek down to the Gothic Quarter to see Barcelona Cathedral.  We backtracked a good bit from where we had lunch--which was poor planning on my part, but at least we got our steps in.

Fe in front of the cathedral.

Street view

Street view of the bell tower.  I'm detecting a theme.

Fe and I in front of the cathedral.  One of these days, we'll go in.

Pont del Bisbe (Bishop's Bridge).  It looks medieval, but was built in 1928.

Courtyard of the Archdeacon's house, near the cathedral.

View from the courtyard's second floor.

"The Constant Face", 2024, by Richard Martinez Teruel.  Had to take it at an angle because of the glare, but it constantly cycled through photographs of people from the 1920s up until today.

The next two photos are from a store that sold Caganar figurines, a tradition in Catalonia.

We also stopped at La Colmena, one of the oldest cake and sweet shops in Barcelona.

Storefront

Shop window

Shop window

Display case inside

We each had a pastry and an iced coffee from here, so I'm glad I got some extra exercise getting here.  I didn't think we had done all that much today, but posting it now I realize that we saw a good bit.  Tomorrow we take the 10:15 train to Valencia, so we have to get back to our hostel and pack.

See you soon.