Does the HOLA BCN card cover the Montjuic funicular and cable cars

I found this on what appears to be the product website:

"The Hola BCN! pass is a non-transferable travel card that allows you make as many journeys as you like using the metro, bus (TMB), urban railway (FGC, Zone 1), Montjuïc funicular, tram (TRAM), and regional railway (Rodalies de Catalunya, Zone 1)."

It appears that the card covers the funicular but not the cable car. Hope one of our Barcelona residents can confirm. I read elsewhere online that the funicular costs the same as a regular transit ride, so having it covered by the Hola BCN card is nice and convenient, but it doesn't save you much money.

As for whether the Hola BCN card makes financial sense for you, I am doubtful. You can buy a 10-ride Zone 1 ticket (T10) for the Metro and buses for just 10.20 euros. For the cost of the Hola BCN card you could ride the bus or Metro 30 times in 5 days. I don't see how you'll have time to take so many rides. And two people (or more) can share a single T10 by validating the card the appropriate number of times, which makes it less likely you'd end up with a mostly-unused T10 at the end of your trip.

I do like to walk a lot, and I know I use intra-city transit less that the average tourist, but still: I spent 10 nights in Barcelona in 2016 and used no more than six of the rides allowed on my T10. Barcelona is better enjoyed on foot to the maximum degree possible. It's such a visually interesting city.

Hi acraven and Bill Sinclair,

Thank you two so very much for your wise advice!

You bring up very good points about the fact the HOLA BCN card not being transferrable if it gets damaged or lost. Also the fact that 2 people can use the same T-10 card just by validating it twice.

We also like to walk alot. It would be a shame to miss out on all the marvelous sites of Barcelona!

We will follow your wise advice and buy 2 T-10's and see how it goes. Its so great that we could always buy a 2 or 3 day HOLA card after using our 2 T-10's if we would like to.

Thanks again!
Virginia

Hi Virginia...

Good thought, but I seriously doubt you'll be taking the metro that much. Do plot a rough itinerary of the places you'd like to visit on a map and you'll see you can often walk from one to the next. Many of us locals we always joke about everything "being at 10 minutes" and that's because if you plan carefully, the next thing you want to see is not farther than...err... 10' from your current location, ha! Again, this, of course, it depends a lot on your interests and sometimes it won't be the case... but hey, pretty often it will! So go ahead, make your bucket list and plot it in scribblemaps... you'll see.

As Bill suggests I'd also go for a T-10 multiperson travelcard and simply buy more when used up. You'll save money this way. The cards can be bought on any ATM on any metro station. You do want a 1-zone travelcard, which covers the whole city and some neighbouring towns. Note however these are not valid to travel to, say, Montserrat or to Sitges, two popular day escapades for many visitors.

Btw, Bill... unless things have changed, the T-10 travelcard bought during a year had always been valid until the end of February of the following year. Am I missing some new regulation ?? :))

Virginia, if you guys like to walk, you'll definitely not benefit from the Hola BCN card. If you have a centrally located hotel, you may not even fully use your first two T10s. You'll need transportation to Parc Guell and quite possibly to La Sagrada Familia and Montjuic. After that, it just depends.

Ah, thanks... you had scared me as I still have a T-10 from last year to use :))

Hi Enric,

Thank you so much for your information!

We are developing a very detailed itinerary in an attempt to see the sites that are close together on the same day. For example, we are thinking about visiting the Picasso Museum, the Chocolate Museum, Santa Caterina market, and the Palau de la Musica Catalana in one day. Another day we are thinking of touring the Casa Batillo, then taking the Metro to Parc Guell, and then going up to Mt. Tibidabo to see the Sarrià-Sant Gervasi neighborhood, the Bellesguard house, and the Temple of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which I believe is situated close to the top of Mt. Tibidabo. Another day we are planning to do many things in the Barri Gotic. As we look at these things, I believe you are right that we may have trouble using up our T-10.

We are actually staying out of the center of town, rather close to the Sants Estacio station, so we have a bit of a trip into town every day. We may be using the Metro to get into town every day. We are staying there because we are traveling with friends who have stayed at this particular hotel for years and wanted to stay there.

Do you know if the Metro ticket covers the Funicular up to Mt. Tibidabo?

Thanks again for all of your wise advice!

Virginia

Hi acraven,

THanks again for your advice.

We are actually staying away from the center of town, rather close to the Sants Estacio station, so we have a bit of a trip into town every day. We may be using the Metro to get into town every day. We are staying there because we are traveling with friends who have stayed at this particular hotel for years and wanted to stay there.

We will definitely just purchase books of T-10 tickets as needed per your advice.

THanks again,
Virginia

Hi Bill,

THanks for letting us know about the expiration date policy!

Regards,
Virginia

Hi Virginia,

1.) Your planning is well designed indeed, your grouping is correct.

2.) No, the T-10 does not cover the funicular to Tibidabo as it's run by a different company than the one running most of the public transportation elsewhere in the city (metro, regular buses and tramways), which is TMB. In fact, the traditional way to reach Tibidabo is by metro, then the Blue Tram, then the funicular. In all, it takes a while, but it's a delight and it's the "classical" way generations of Barcelonians have reached Tibidabo. HOWEVER, there are two drawbacks to that, first one is that the popular Blue Tram is decommissioned since the past two weeks and there's no date in sight as to when will re-enter service. This particular tramway line, one of the oldest in Europe, did enter into service in 1901 and still preserves the original carriages thus they require extensive works every few years. Now that part of the itinerary, for the time being, will be covered by a regular bus. Thus, you'd be missing probably the most quirky transportation means of the journey. The second drawback is cost... it may be very traditional, but it's not cheap as the funicular costs 7,70€ return trip and the Blue Tram 11€ return trip. Still, the trip via these traditional means is unforgettable :) On the cheap, you can go to Tibidabo via the Tibibus (T2A) which departs from Plaça de Catalunya straight to Tibidabo (actually, 300 yards from the church as the last bit is pedestrianised). It cost 2.95€ each way and the bus only works when the amusement park is open.

Aaanyhow, so you can have a peek, this is a journey on the Blue Tram via one of the poshest avenues in Barcelona, l'Avinguda del Tibidabo, full of astonishing private houses (and the impressive Chinese consulate!), to the doorstep of the funicular: http://infocatalonia.eu/w/45sL4

Enjoy!

Hi Bill,

Thank you very much for letting me know that the TMB tickets (T-10, Hola etc etc) are NOT valid for the funicular which runs up to Tibidabo. I really appreciate your telling me how to get up the mountain using our T-10 cards! Taking the funicular up to Vallvidrera and then switching to the Number 111 barri bus up to Tibidabo sounds like alot of fun!

I appreciate your telling me the cost of a ticket on the Tramvia Blau from Plaça John Kennedy to Plaça del Doctor Andreu and the funicular station.

I watched Enric's youtube video of the Blue Tram, and it looks like a very fun way to travel. I am hopeful that it may reopen by the time we travel there on April 18th. We will be there until April 23rd, after which we are taking the Rick Steves' 2 week tour of Spain. We will have one FINAL day in Barcelona on May 6th. I will keep my fingers crossed that we get a chance to ride this historical gem.

Thanks again,
Virginia

Hi Enric,

Thanks for letting me know that I have grouped the places to go correctly.

ALSO, thanks SO MUCH for telling us about the Blue Tram!!! WOW! This is the first I have heard of this very classic way to travel! I particularly appreciate the video you sent! My husband and I had great fun watching it together. I really hope that it will have reopened by the time travel there. We will be in Barcelona April 18th through April 23rd, after which we are taking the Rick Steves' 2 week tour of Spain. We will have one FINAL day in Barcelona on May 6th. So perhaps we will get to enjoy this great way to travel!! It reminds us of the San Francisco trolley cars. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that the Blue Tram does not operate via cables like the San Fran ones do, but the cars certainly have the look and charm of San Francisco's.

The route that the Blue Tram takes looks spectacular! I had never heard of l'Avinguda del Tibidabo before.

I really appreciate your giving me the alternative ways to get up to Tibidabo. It looks like an amazing view! The Sacred Heart church looks very interesting as well.

Thanks again,
Virginia

Hi Virginia

I am not sure I'll be back up and running in April. Keep an eye on the Transport Authority website... Still, the itinerary will be covered in the meantime by a regular bus.

Avinguda del Tibidabo is a nice area in the north of the city, where life is quieter than in the centre. It has plenty of beautiful houses, schools -in fact, I went to one located there in my secondary :)-, restaurants and even a great museum, the Science Museum, CosmoCaixa.

At the end of the avenue, by the funicular station, in Plaça del Doctor Andreu, you have a couple of great restaurants: La Venta and Mirabé, with great views over the city and also a club, for a drink afterwards, Mirablau.

Also, in the opposite side, not far from the beginning of this avenue, at 500 yards from JF Kennedy Square, you find a hidden architectural gem: Torre Bellesguard, a medieval royal residence from Catalan nobility that was later renovated by Gaudi. It's open for visits.

The Esglèsia del Sagrat Cor (Catalan for Church of the Sacred Heart) in itself is spectacular from the outside, but surprisingly small inside. This church, however, it's not popular at all among most of us Barcelonians due to its recent past history. The original site was a humble chapel located in the middle of the mountain, very popular among citizens of the city for decades, which visited on weekends as a sort of "Sunday out" thing, a sort of short distance pilgrimage if you want. Whole families spending the day in nature: picnics, mass at noon, children playing around... here a picture from 1887 during a celebration.

However, this changed later in the early 1940s, after the Spanish fascists won the war (1936-1939), instituted their military dictatorship and forced their whims all over Catalonia. They ordered the construction of the current church to "remind" us Catalans of their power. In fact, the inside is full of allegories to the Spanish conquistadores spirit imposing their will everywhere they went. As you can imagine, for us Catalans this is not a welcome scene so, as in some other sites in the city, residents just turned their back to it. These days it's seldom used by Barcelonians albeit, from time to time, weddings are celebrated there.

Still, if you happen to go to Tibidabo, a visit to the church can be worthwhile, if anything for the views. Talking about views, not far from Tibidabo you have another sort-of-attraction, the Torre Collserola. Designed by renowned British architect Norman Foster which is an impressive telecommunication tower with 360º views over the city and the Collserola Natural Park. It has an observation deck on the 11th floor. Check details here.

Enjoy!

Enric

Ah yes, I forgot to mention Asador de Aranda Tibidabo, a meat restaurant located in the Avinguda del Tibidabo, half-way up the avenue. Not only it's a great restaurant for those meat lovers, but its premises are also something, the façade as well as the interior, some halls are very rustic, like the old taverns, while others are very bourgeoisie. And, btw, it's not that expensive... as an example, they offer several set price menus ranging between 40 and 50€. p.p.

... I thought this particular restaurant would interest to a true Austinite, LOL!

Hi Enric,

Thank you very much for all of your very interesting information regarding l'Avinguda del Tibidabo!! As you suggest, we will visit the Transport Authority website to watch the progress and hopeful reopening of the Blue Tram.

After watching your utube video, my husband and I took a walk down the avenue using Google street view. It is magnificent!! The houses really are beautiful!! The picture you sent is gorgeous......which creates the question "Which if any of the houses can you tour?" Going to school there must have been great! My husband and I really like to get away from the crowds, so this looks like a great avenue to explore in depth.

Thanks so much for your restaurant suggestions! We were wondering what we might do for food around there. I got a real kick out of your pictures of the meat restaurant, Asador de Aranda Tibidabo. The interior looks exactly like so many of Austin's Bar-B-Q places. You must have visited Austin!!! Did you get to Franklin's Bar-B-Q or the Salt Lick? I would have NEVER guessed this place was a meat restaurant from its exterior....What a Contrast between the outside and interior!

So interesting that you mentioned Torre Bellesguard! We stumbled across this in our research. It certainly looks different from the other Gaudi buildings we have seen pictures of. This place seems to be all about straight lines as opposed to curvy structures and interiors of places like Casa Battlo, Parc Guell, amongst others. We aren't sure if we'll have time to check this place out. Do you think it is worth a visit? How much time would you estimate we would need to visit this place?

Thank you also for all of the background on the Catalan for Church of the Sacred Heart! I can see how Catalans would not care for it at all!!! What a hateful and possibly painful reminder of the dictatorship. It seems to have an amazing view of the city. If it is a clear day, we will most likely make the trip to see the view. It is so good to know the history of this place....we'll look out for the references to the Spanish conquistadores inside. We have also read about the tower, the Torre Collserola. We will most likely content ourselves with the view from the platform outside the church.

Thank you ONCE AGAIN for all of your amazing information!!! I love learning about a place before we visit it. It makes the trip so much more meaningful.

Regards,
Virginia

I went to Torre Bellesguard in 2016. It is worth a visit (as is Colonia Guell, but that is outside of Barcelona and takes considerably longer to reach). I timed my visit to hit a guided tour, offered in English at 11 AM on Saturdays and Sundays only. I'm not sure they had an audioguide available at the time of my visit, but they do now, so that is a simpler option. I think the tour probably lasted about an hour, but I'm not certain. I was the only person on that particular tour. Only a very few other visitors showed up while I was there. Perhaps the site had not been open to the public for very long. That they do not offer tours, even in Catalan, other than a few times on Saturday and Sunday suggests that Torre Bellesguard remains lightly visited.

Incidentally, there are other modernism-related things to see that haven't yet been mentioned in this thread:

• The small but nice Museum of Modernist Barcelona, with interesting displays of furniture and decorative arts. The 10-euro entry fee may be a bit high given the small size of the museum. As of 2016 if you took the tourist office's Modernism Tour (16 euros at that time), you got a free visit to this museum for about 15 minutes. While 15 minutes wasn't really long enough and I had to rush, I did at least lay eyes on everything. I thought 30 minutes or so would have been enough for a full visit for most people.

• The wonderful Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya has a modernism collection that's also very worthwhile. This is a huge museum and a comparative bargain at 12 euros per person, with free entry for those over 65 and under 16. In addition to the modernism collection, the paintings and the sculptures, I was very impressed by the church frescoes from the Pyrenees. I know it's hard to find time to drag oneself away from the Gaudi sights, but MNAC is very worthwhile. It's free on Saturdays after 3 PM and on the first Sunday of the month. It's closed on Mondays.

Finally, the Ruta del Modernisme folks have a very nice full-color (heavy!) guidebook covering a large number of modernist buildings in Barcelona and beyond (not just the ones open to the public). There's an accompanying map that is also useful, though standard maps of Barcelona often show a lot of modernist sites (not necessarily described well or at all). If you buy the book/map (12 euros--and the book makes a very nice souvenir), it comes with a card that confers discounts--usually modest ones--at most of the modernist sights. Additional members of your party who just need the discount card pay only 5 euros. The problem is that you can only get the discount if you buy your ticket in person at the sight, so it's not really practical for the book-in-advance places. However, it would work for MNAC, Torre Bellesguard, Sant Pau (almost 4 euros off), the modernism tour offered by the T.O., and a bunch of other sights.

As far as I know, you can only get the guidebook/map from a couple of Ruta del Modernisme offices, one of which isn't all that far from the foot of the Ramblas, but it would be worth asking about it at a branch of the tourist office if one is convenient, because at one time the materials could be obtained from the T.O.

Hi Virginia

No, haven't been to Austin, only Atlanta :)... but I know Texans a bit, LOL!

AVINGUDA TIBIDABO

Unfortunately no, there are no houses open to the public in Avinguda Tibidabo albeit some are corporate offices, hence if you happen to do business with them you'd be able to admire their interior. Still, just wandering the area, not only Avinguda Tibidabo but all the way to Carrer de Bellesguard street, it offers you a great way to see the exterior of some of these houses, and some have magnificent architecture. I found this amateur video on youtube with some exterior views of some of the houses in the avenue (my old school also is featured, briefly between minute 8:00 and 8:30, a sign says Col·legi SIL, and in more detail in minute 13:50). In minute 12:20 you can peek also the 'secretive' Chinese consulate :)

One of the houses, now the corporate HQ of a health mutual insurance company, was in the press three or four years ago because they "found" a set of secret rooms in the basement, where they have the archives, behind an unsuspected set of shelves, which hosted the bunker and the communications war room of the Soviet Union consulate in Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War. The consulate was evacuated in a hurry when the Spanish fascist troops entered Barcelona in January 1939 and it seems the existence of the rooms were forgotten. In 2014 they were rediscovered and they found everything as it was left in 1939 as if it was a time capsule. Now the artefacts have been moved to a museum and the space remains empty but, with the right connections, it can be visited. I happen to know the former Marketing Director of the company and he facilitated that I could visit it a couple of years ago. Lucky me!

Unfortunately, the guy shooting this video didn't go further up the avenue so there are quite a few more that are missing.

TORRE BELLESGUARD

Torre Bellesguard is not a Gaudi building per se, he worked upon the remains of a medieval castle adding his own flair. Having said this, the end result it's a magnificent work of art of this genius. Unfortunately, from the castle there are only a few bits and pieces left that are visible when visiting. But the add-ins of Gaudi are superb, really worth visiting. Ann (@acraven) will surely fill you in, she's passionate about this building and other Modernist sites. The house is only partially open to the public as it's still the private residence of the Guilera family, who bought it in 1944. Torre Bellesguard is an important building for the History of Catalonia and Gaudí expressed his utmost patriotism when restoring this site being respectful with many of the traits of medieval Catalan architecture, hence the reason today Torre Bellesguard resembles a bit a medieval building.

For those curious, a few bits and pieces about Bellesguard ... [I know Ann will like this ;)]

The site has been inhabited for over 2000 years, initially being an Iberian settlement, then a Roman post and later in the 13th century a proper villa, Torre Vallblanc. Its location was a key access point to Barcelona in the Via Augusta, the network of Roman cobbled roads that communicated the main cities of the Empire across Europe. It's thought it could have been a post to control access to Barcino -the old name of Barcelona in Roman times. Arabic coins dated from the 700s were also found on an excavation a few years back and this might indicate the site was used as a base by the Moors in one of their attacks to the city during the 8th and 9th centuries.

In 1408, King Marti l'Huma (the Humane) bought the plot with the remains of the old villa and erected a castle as a summer residence due to the properties of the air in the area, to improve his health. The name Bellesguard was specifically chosen by the King and it means "beautiful views" in Old Catalan -the local language here in Catalonia. After the death of the King the property was sold to a noble family and, for two centuries, it passed from one family to another until the War of the Reapers in 1640 when it was assaulted and partially destroyed. In the early 1600s, it also served as the den for a very famous and esteemed bandit, Serrallonga. Since the late 1700s until 1871, Bellesguard became the property of a religious community, the church of Sant Just i Pastor, and was used as a sort of sanatorium.

In 1900, the property was bought by Maria Sagués, a wealthy bourgeoisie widow from the city. Her late husband was Francesc Figueres, and in his honour, she named the villa Casa Figueres, which is the official name of what's known as Torre Bellesguard. Francesc Figueres is also linked to another important building in Barcelona, located in Les Rambles, the famous Modernist Escribà pâtisserie. He was a grain merchant -credited for the introduction of the Italian noodles known as tagliatelle in Catalonia and more specifically in Barcelona- who moved his store to that location in 1842. Later, his son Jaume Figueres commissioned the revamping of the store to painter Antoni Ros i Güell and a group of artisans resulting in the beautiful building (including the façade) that one can today appreciate. In 1986, the famous pastry chef Antoni Escribà bought the store and handed its management to his son, Christian, also a renowned chef. Today, this store is a must-do for two reasons, one to admire the magnificent Modernist work in the façade and the interior, and secondly to eat some delicious cakes and other desserts made by a fabulous chef.

Lastly....

OTHER SUGGESTIONS WHILE IN THE AREA

Since you might be visiting the northern neighbourhoods of the city, I wonder if you've considered dropping by the Monastery of Pedralbes. To me, it's one of the few hidden gems in the city, far from the busy centre and the hordes of tourists (no offence, you know what I mean!). It's well worth a visit as it's a beacon in the evolution of our little nation, Catalonia, having been the residence of one of our most beloved Queens, Reina Elisenda de Montcada, in the beginning of the 14th century so it's full of history.

From there, you can also walk to the beautiful gardens of Palau Real (Royal Palace), located in Diagonal Avenue, at about 20' walk.

And before reaching them, you'll pass by another work of Gaudi: Pavellons Güell, which are also visitable. Also, next to the later, you can see Torre Girona, now the Barcelona Supercomputing Center hosting the MareNostrum supercomputer -when it was inaugurated in 2012 it was the 12th most powerful computer in Europe and 36th in the world... but again, computers evolve rapidly so I don't know where it ranks these days. In the past, it had been one of the buildings of the UPC (one of the technical universities in Barcelona) for teaching science degrees. I studied there :) And before that, it was the residence of the Girona family, from the aristocracy of Barcelona, a rich bourgeoise saga of merchants and industrialists.

... while searching for the videos above I also found this documentary about Tibidabo. Albeit it's not in English, you might enjoy seeing how Tibidabo Fair was in the beginning, in 1898, when it was inaugurated.

I was in a chatty mood today, sorry for the endless posts.

Enjoy!

I found it very interesting, Enric. The guide at Torre Bellesguard provided a good bit of historical background, but you always know more!

All these posts about Barcelona make me want to go back and see those buildings again.

I am curious by nature, LOL!

Hi Ann,

Thanks very much for all of your very interesting information!

Torre Bellesguard certainly sounds interesting! Seeing as we will be in the area, we may try to go for a tour if we have some free time. We are so glad that they now have audiotours!! Their webpage says they are available Tuesday to Sunday, 10am - 3pm. If we can work it into our schedule, we will certainly check it out.

Thanks for suggesting the Museum of Modernist Barcelona, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, and the Ruta del Modernisme! We were looking for some small places to fill in small amounts of our free time, and the Museum of Modernist Barcelona looks perfect. The Ruta del Modernisme is intriguing. Their GuideBook sounds like the type of souvenier that I like to buy.....books with great pictures of places that we visit. The fact that buying this would provide discounts to some of the sights we plan to visit makes it doubly attractive.

You mentioned that you were thinking that we could get this GuideBook from only a couple of Ruta del Modernisme offices. Do you think it might be possible to buy the GuideBook online before we leave and then carry the GuideBook with us to the office to receive the free booklet of discounts?

Also, I would love to see some of the pictures that the book has....do you know of a web site that I could see a 'preview' of the book?

Thanks so much!
Virginia

P.S. I have also sent this as a private message

Here Virginia... http://barcelonabooks.com/Magento/guies-de-barcelona/ruta-del-modernisme-de-barcelona.html but note you can purchase it onsite when you arrive in Barcelona, both places you can get it from are reasonably central.

For info, the link above corresponds to the online library of the Barcelona City Hall publishing department, and they publish a number of great books that sadly don't get all the visibility the should. Equally, there's another institution publishing great books, the Diputació de Barcelona -another government body. This is its website http://www1.diba.cat/llibreria/Publicacions_Llibreria.asp La Diputació also publishes certain books in several languages, including English; and they also have some publications that you can download free of charge. You can also purchase their books in their store in Barcelona, in Diagonal Ave, 393. It's a small shop, with only a few dozens of books in display, but a great pick up point for those visiting the city. Simply write them to arrange to pick up your purchase there when you visit the city.

Both sources are a great place to find good books about any imaginable subject regarding Barcelona and Catalonia you might think of, from art to history to politics to nature.... and the great thing is that being "government publishers" their prices are very reasonable (with some exceptions though!).

Hi Enric,

Thanks so much for sending me the link to purchasing the GuideBook "Ruta del Modernisme"!! This is very helpful!

I'm not sure if we will purchase it now, I think we would have sufficient time to receive it before we leave mid-April, or wait until we arrive. My husband and I are NOT big shoppers, and would like to spend all of our time seeing sights and places rather than looking in shops of any kind.

Even saying that, the bookstore at Diagonal Ave, 393, sounds very interesting! I think we will wait to visit that bookstore to purchase anything just to be sure that we do indeed end up with an English language version of the publication that we choose. In the meantime, I am enjoying downloading some of the PDF's that I found at the bookstore's website.

Thanks again!
Virginia Hyde

Hi Enric,
Thank you so much for all of this very interesting information about Bellesguard!! I find it so interesting that it was a post to protect Barcelona in Roman times. It’s very interesting that Arabic coins dated from the 700s have been located at this site also. It’s interesting to think about this location as being far enough outside of the city to serve as a garrison of sorts. If our Tibidabo day turns out to be clouded over and rainy, we might opt to visit Bellesguard rather than travel to the top for not much of a view.

It’s also interesting to learn the connection this has to the wonderful looking pastry shop. My husband and I really enjoyed seeing the marvelous architecture AS WELL AS the yummy looking pastries in your links. Thank you so much for telling us about this!! We would have never know about it otherwise. This looks like a great place to recharge our batteries and our tummies! It is on our list of “must dos”.

Thanks also for the wonderful video of the inauguration of Tibidabo!! We love the segments of people boarding the funicular as well as the shots of the funicular making its way up the hill. We are wondering how much the entrance to the funicular has changed in all of these years. Its so fun to see the passengers so very dressed up also. The cable car that is shown….is that part of the amusement park at the top of the hill? We really got a kick out of this!!! Seeing this really whets our appetite. We can’t wait to experience this in person.

The Monastery of Pedralbes looks very interesting also. We like its Gothic architecture. And find it quite interesting that the same architects that worked on Santa Maria del Mar worked on this monastery. My husband and I took a 16 session class on Gothic Cathedrals, so we are really looking forward to seeing this Gothic masterpieces. The fact that Santa Maria del Mar was completed in such a short period of time makes it rather unique. This should have resulted in the cathedral having one uniform style. So many cathedrals took hundreds of years to build that they ended up having part Gothic, part Romanesque, etc, etc. I have placed this on our list of places to visit if we end up with some extra time.

The other places you mention sound interesting as well. The Royal Palace looks beautiful! I appreciate your giving us the link to the supercomputing center. We hear a lot about Barcelona becoming quite the place for high technology these days. With both of us being computer programmers, we would find the supercomputer very interesting.
There are so many amazing things to see in Barcelona!! I think we need 5 months rather than 5 days to even scratch the surface of great sites to visit.

Please don’t apologize for all of your posts!! We enjoy reading each and every one of them. AND we learn so much from all of them! Please do not take my delay in responding to them as an indication that I don’t find them interesting. Rather it is an indication that I got VERY busy at work, and didn’t have an opportunity to get back to you as quickly as I would have liked to.

Thanks again for all of your fantastic information!

Virginia Hyde