BARCELONA: Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu; Sant Pau del Camp; Sant Antoni Market; La Flauta Restaurant; AND Flamenco!

Hello everyone: We started our day on the sunny patio of Café Salo De Te on Placa del Pi, having coffee in the pleasant warmth and listening to a talented young man serenading us all by flute. From there we went back to Mercato Boqueria and purchased some fruit to take with us on yet a new adventure. Today - to the El Raval area. I was hoping to check out the Paella Gadget store, but unfortunately it was closed when we were there. I won't forget about it though!

We then walked to the Antic Hospital de la Santa Creu, a medieval hospital constructed in 1401. Also interesting was the fact that Antoni Gaudi died here in this hospital 1n 1926 after being hit by a tram. Apparently he was in his work clothes, when he was hit, and no one knew at the time who he actually was! You can walk through this medieval sight, which is now a library, a School of Medicine, as well an Institute for Catalan studies. We strolled down an avenue called Rambla del Raval (not to be confused with the often crowded Rambla). It was quite a peaceful area with a very different feel to it, which can be attributed by the mix of cultures in the area. It is off the beaten path, and perhaps that's also why it has a different feel to it! I strolled into a few small grocery stores along the way to check out some fabulous ingredients for cooking. At one end of the Rambla is an enormous sculpture of a cat - which is the work of Columbian artist Botero. I didn't care too much for it, but Ron loved it.

From there, we continued to a wonderful old Romanesque church, the oldest church in Barcelona, called Sant Pau del Camp. It actually means "Saint Paul of the Countryside", as this ancient structure was once in a rural setting. It has a beautiful and peaceful garden in an open arcade with forty eight paired columns. Pablo Picasso was known to have visited this sanctuary often in search of inspiration. Amazing to think they actually do weddings in this ancient here.

From here we went to a cool market called "Sant Antoni Market at the southwestern edge of the Raval area. It's definitely a market where you see more of the locals shopping. There were loads of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, hams of different varieties, etc. We purchased some cheese, a baguette, and of course jamon iberico de bellota (Spanish ham). This is said to be the finest ham because it comes from free range pigs who live on a diet of acorns during the end of their lives. The exercise and diet of the pigs, gives the meat its flavor. The ham is then cured for 36 months.

From the market we went on to Arenas de Barcelona which was at one time the bull ring in Barcelona. It opened in 1900. Bullfighting was banned in Barcelona in 2011 after more than 600 years of history. Tickets sold at eight times their original price for the final bullfight at Monumental Arena near La Sagrada Familia. The Arenas de Barcelona is a large, circular, brick, ornate and beautiful building designed by Augusto Font i Carreras. He also completed the fascade of Barcelona Cathedral. You can take an elevator to the top of the building and walk around the roof top, which gives you fantastic views of the city for picture taking. If you are a fan of Joan Miro, you can overlook Joan Miro park which is home to the famous sculpture called Dona i Ocell, (Woman and Bird), which is 22 metres high. Also, from this rooftop, you can view Placa d'Espanya and the beautiful centre fountain designed by Josep Jujol, a collaborator of Antoni Gaudi. This impressive structure is now a giant, shopping mall.

We walked to a recommended restaurant called La Flauta near the University of Barcelona. What a fantastic place to have lunch. The food was fresh, and delicious and good value. I had a green salad (salad verte), and a small onion, potato omelette. Ron had an orange salad with walnuts and a chorizo sandwich. We were lucky and were seated right away when we came, but as we left around 2:00 pm, there were a number of people lined up outside the door. On our way back to the apartment we almost walked right by a little doughnut and cookie store called Chock. What an amazing display of creatively decorated doughnuts! We ended up buying a chocolate cookie and pistachio doughnut for later.

To finish the day off, we attended a Flamenco Dance performance called Tablao Flamenco Cordobes. The performance took place on La Rambla, 35. It was more than spectacular. Amazing dancing, singing and guitar! Flamenco singing is actually called "jondo". It is a lament, a cry, a scream. The songs tell the stories of the human condition - of love, of nostalgia, of sorrow, of heartbreaks. It is an ancient culture and the artists were just incredible to watch. Everyone was mesmerized by the beauty of this performance. We were jammed packed in a small room, but it was worth it!

What a wonderful way to finish our fifth day in Barri Gotic in the apartment which has suited us so well! Tomorrow, we re-locate to another apartment in the La Ribera area. We will be there until Saturday morning. Really looking forward to new adventures there! Love to all, Karen