Chapter Eleven: Palm Trees

Barcelona is different from any other European city I've visited--and yet it's the same. It's different because it is coastal and warm and there are palm trees growing everywhere. Amidst the palm trees, however, the architecture and streets look like those of Paris and Madrid. Barcelona exists as both a tropical locale and a thriving metropolitan destination.

This building is two-tone...no idea why. Notice the palm trees growing ten feet from the building. Lovely.

Barcelona has a biking service, so there are bikers everywhere and they're usually riding the red and white Barcelona bikes. The crosswalks indicate both pedestrians and bikers on the lights...I thought that was pretty cool.

Speaking of the bikes...here they are. It's called bicing...assuming you'd abbreviate "Barcelona" as "BCN" (not sure that's how I'd do it but I'm not the expert) it makes sense to spell it that way.

We found the palm trees! We made it to Port Olimpic and were greeted by these shining symbols of light and warmth. We actually have palm trees in Ireland (biogeography teaches us that it's because Ireland is an island and coconuts can make it to the shore) but they don't compare to these. These are actual honest-to-goodness palm trees that are more fun to experience when it's warm and sunny instead of chilly and rainy.

Another welcoming sign of Port Olimpic is this smiling lobster.

There is a long walkway that leads to the harbor where all the fishing boats are docked. The path is lined with palm trees, and it makes for a very beautiful walk.

This shows how Barcelona can be both a beach town and a bustling city. On the right side, the cars would not stop long enough for me to take a decent picture...no doubt Barcelonans returning home from work. The left side, however, (the side closer to the coast) was clear.

We had more to discover in Barcelona, so we couldn't hang around the palm trees in summer bliss forever. We head off into the sunset to find another part to explore.