Friday, November 30, 2012

Hola barcelona

Aesthetic monuments, incredible architecture and friendly people... a city with one of the oldest, most unique histories blended with exquisiteness of its impressive culture... Barcelona, the second-largest city of Spain and one of the world’s most popular travel destinations has it all. In fact, Barcelona has two distinct faces. One being that of a fast-pacing metropolis and the other of a rich cultural heritage. Legend has it that the city was built by Hercules before building Rome, and later rebuilt by Carthaginian Hamilcar Barca, Hannibal’s father who named it Barcino after his family name in the 3rd century.

Nestled between the Collserola Hills to the north and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate with mild, humid winters and warm, dry summers. Barcelona has many architectural marvels dating back to the medieval times. One of them is the still unfinished church of Sagrada Familia. A work of Antoni Gaudi, it has been under construction since 1882 and is expected to be completed by 2026, the 100th death anniversary of Gaudi which makes it one of the most sought after tourist hotspots in Spain. Some other Gaudi works include Park Guell, Palau Guell and Casa Mila, all declared World Heritage sites in 1984.

Barcelona is also famous for its belief in sports, especially football, and has been host to numerous sporting events like the 1982 Football World Club. Lovers of the sport visiting FC Barcelona, a famous sports club with a seating capacity of 1,00,000 can shop for sports memorabilia of their favourite teams at the shops in and around the stadium which sell footballs autographed by noted players and t-shirts with the player’s names written across. Expectedly, the original autographed footballs and t-shirts would be rather expensive than what you might expect and there is no scope for bargaining!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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