Day trips from Barcelona by train: Vilanova i la Geltru and Castelldefels

Two Catalan towns within a short and cheap train ride from Barcelona south are Vilanova i la Geltru and Castelldefels. Both round trip train tickets from Barcelona cost less than 5 euros, and I think it would be easy to see both towns in one day.

First: Vilanova i la Geltru.
A very very quiet town, at least it was when we went in late February. There's not a whole lot to do and I think it's probably a better town to visit if you have a boat, want to stop off at the marina outside of Barcelona city and have a seafood dinner. Other than that, there are some nice old buildings to look at and not a whole lot more that we could find. We happened to come at carnaval weekend, so during the day there were some kind of parades by the schoolchildren. It was more of a kids' protest, though... we'll get to that.

A banner for carnaval hangs from a balcony.

When I look at this picture, I only remember that the old men behind me were having a conversation about the dog, and that it had been running around there for 3 days. They'll probably talk about it tomorrow, and next week, too..

Typical street in old parts of Spain.

Cool tile street signs.

This is a kind of scarf that you can find in every tourist store in Barcelona, but never never have I seen it in use outside of a flamenco show. In this town, these scarves were draped out of almost every balcony - I assume for carnaval.

tiny door

church window

Church belltower

My favorite picture from that day - there is a stone dog resting on the balcony.


Protesting?

I've noticed that, from an American perspective, Catalans protest A LOT. There is always some injustice that they feel the need to retaliate against. How many times have I gone to Plaza Cataluña, only to see it is shut off from cars and filled with hundreds of people waving banners and yelling? Honestly I have no idea why these kids are dressed as business-people, but there were different "companies" and "industries" represented. These kids pictured seemed to be the desk-job protesters. Apparently for carnaval they also throw boiled sweets at eachother, but we found the ground covered in rotten eggs instead. Maybe one type of food for each day?

Castelldefels
A small town almost immediately to the south of Barcelona. It offers many things that Barcelona has eradicated: a wide, natural beach, cheap seaside bars and restaurants, and real feeling of a seaside city. It was a quiet kind of a place, a nice break from the crowded alleys of the big city.

Carlos and Alejandro

Proof that it's not Barcelona!

I think behind that hill on the left is Sitges, a town of which I have a blog post about (last year).

One night in Gracia, wine, and 50s ads

It was a late Tuesday night. Carlos and I were out of wine and headed to Gran de Gracia to see if we could get anymore from the Opencor store, which is open later than regular grocery stores. On the way there, we came across a pile of decades-old belongings that someone had thrown out onto the sidewalk. I can tell you that because of the wine, we picked up most of it and took it back home (without more wine in hand). Now with a clear mind, I find that our late-night pickup is pretty interesting:



Old suitcase, full of books. Dates range from the 30s to the 80s, most of them from the 50s. National Geographics in English, Readers Digests in Spanish, La Hora XXV which seems to be a medical magazine, some trashy comics, catalan comics, and a few random letters, stamps, language books, etc.

The arithmetic book is from 1933.

Honestly I'm more interested in the ads and logos of the time. Here's what I found:

Reader's Digest is full of alcohol ads like this for Gran Garvey Brandy. Most are for brandy or sherry.

Guess the year! go!!

An old map with Diagonal's old name, Generalisimo Franco. Very cool because the street we live on now is included in this small section.

From Reader's Digest, the olivetti 84. Hm... modern magnetic typewriter something?

hahahaha this car is HUGE

THE BEST LIQUOR ALL THE TIME!! (or so they say)

Modern diagram for a watch

This picture for the Vespa ad could have easily been taken last week, but it's from 1954.

I just really like the logo - Jabon Maja (Soap)

"The Intellectual Capacity of a Negro."
uhm... Reader's Digest, 1954.

Minolta auto zoom 8E!

Philips sho' went all out.

Firestone logo hasn't changed much, nor have Pirelli, Special K, Del Monte, or Sherwin Williams.

Beat Anorexia!!
He did it. No worries here! This one is from a medical magazine.

The man with the... Black Pruritis!!

Panemón Forte..

!!!!
From the other side of the map.

Barcelona from the mountain of Montjuic

Montjuic is a mountain that has fabulous views of the city and the sea. In addition to a fortress at the top, there are also museums, gardens, and Olympic venues from the '92 games. In the 17th century the fortress was in use. There is a lot of history on the hill, but after being in a big city, I love to go for the views.. (click to enlarge!)

view to the north

It's not often the skies are this clear

Part of the military museum, where there are guns, spears, rapiers, crossbows, etc. from the 16th century and after.

Sailboat regatta! Cannons!

The port, which is waiting for my yachts to enter. Only a few more years...

It was a cold day, which meant there were very few tourists.

artillery in the garden. of course!

THAT thing... is called Agbar tower. We all laugh at it. But look behind it.. snowy mountains!

Castle cats!