Barcelona Spain & its Gothic Quarter

#Gothic_Quarter_Barcelona

The Gothic Quarter is the oldest part of Barcelona dating back to the Roman times in which the streets are filled with medieval buildings, palaces of the government, museums plus churches 

KeyTip; 
 Some Local Walking Tours are free but you will need to reserve a spot for the 2.5 hour city walkabout
 Also you can do this on your own with no cost to enter;
 City History Museum, Roman City Wall and Aqueduct, Montjuic Castle, Park Guell, La Rambla Street, Picasso Museum on Sundays (3-7pm)

Finally the public transport system is one of the best and cheapest in Europe with a T-10 ticket for 10 Euros that gets you ten rides on all the modes of public transportation available within the city

 

Pont del Bisbe ( Bridge of the Bishop ) is the marble span that was built in 1929 to connect the House of Canons with the Palau de la Generalitat

The architect Joan Rubio l Bellver had his differences with the local government, so he added the eerie skull and dagger fixture as a curse on anyone who walked underneath his creation
Now today urban legend has it if you touch the figurine (located under the archway) while making a wish it will come true, so the opposite intentions 😅

Moving forward the bridge is now a visual attraction more than a functional one because of preservation reasons

Took this photo to highlight the Gothic theme of sculptures in doorways which was to maintain the religious piety, verticality plus complexity 
Since each one is carved individually no two are the same and also they are propped up along the arching lines of the structure to maintain the designs flow

Besides being very stylish to a window frame the figurines serve another purpose to push water away from the side of the building 

The Barcelona Cathedral had its groundbreaking in 1298 and was completed in the 1400s
 It is of a Catalan Gothic architectural design which means it does not create towering buildings, but to build a balance of dimensions of the whole structure

Interesting Fact;
The cathedral has a secluded Gothic cloister ( Latin for enclosure) where 13 white geese are kept to pay homage to Eulalias ( that was her age) when she was martyred during the Roman times

One of the reason i tell everyone who reads my travel blogs to just walk the streets and the cool things you will find if your looking for them

As you walk the famous narrow streets of Barcelona you will enter may different city squares like Felipe Neri, Plaza Nova or Plaza del Angel which will have a mixture of old plus new

As luck would have it i was in Barcelona for the Festival of Giants (gegants) which had its beginnings in 1424 and in those times it was for religious reasons

As time moved on;
 Each area of Spain rediscovered the tradition as a way to express local festive identity, so here i am soaking in all the fun
For Barcelona the two main giants are Jaume and Violant, which represents the historical monarchs as then they perform a three part love story dance
 ( the couple meeting, the flirtation and finally the celebration of their love for each other)
All of this is accompanied by live traditional music who play on period correct Catalan musical instruments

As i leave Barcelona here are a few fun facts;

 A) Two official languages Spanish and Catalian 
B) Its the only City to have received the Royal Gold Medal in architecture
 C) There are 20+ Michelin starred restaurants
D) There nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the city
E) Barcelona was offered the Eiffel Tower before Paris