It's so cold even the Brass Monkey's are having a meeting about it

Scenes from my apartment balcony in snowy Dublin.

 

Las Rambles - Barcelona

While going back through some of my old posts I found a draft I had half written on Las Rambles when I lived in Barcelona. Here is is with a few snaps.

Las Rambles is by far Barcelona's most famous street. It's a bit like Grafton street come Moore street on speed. Imagine a road twice as long and twice as wide as Dublin's premier shopping street with the local fervor and edge of Moore street. Think of the countless processions of people along Istanbul's Istiklal Caddesi and all the colour and life of Copenhagen's Strøget. Colour abides, noise envelops and movement is as constant as the waves that hit Tramore bay in my home town on a cold blustery day in December.

There are two ways to access this street. One is from the impressively rejuvenated port area to the south of the city and the other is to the north off Praca Catalunya. I study in a school close to Passeig De Gracia, just off Catalyuna and often find myseld walkng down the street that way before I get the turn off for Barrio Gothica, El Borne, and home in Vila Olmpica beside the fantastic Arc De Triomf and Parc Ciuadella Vila.

The moment you stand outside Cafe Zurich, the eponymous Swiss drinking hole that faces Ramblas you can feel you are about to enter a living breathing pulsating capital thorough fair. At the top of the street is a metro stop and lots of youth loitering around the entrance waiting for friends or loved ones, or selling cheap cans of Estrella beer for 2 euros a can if they can get it or more than often 1 euro if you laugh at their original overture. Once you get past the first few meters the fun begins. On any given days as you walk down the 3km you get to see local tourism paraphernalia sellers a bit like Connolly's back home. You then get a large number of "Hola" magazine and book sellers and more than a fair share of small restaurants and beer sellers.

Fun to walk down but BEWARE it is infamous for pick pockets and DANGEROUS at night.