From Bullfighting Ring to Exquisite Shopping Center

Believe it or not, Barcelona outlawed bullfighting in the city, which had always seemed to be synonymous with Spain.  Consequently, their huge bullfighting arena which originally held 16,000 bullfighting fans has been transformed to one of the most beautiful and modern shopping centers you could ever go!  Not only is the center spotless in its appearance, the stores are very high-end, with every kind of shop you would need--from clothing, to home decor, to cinemas, to food eateries, to even a grocery store! 

 

Another wonderful feature of this ring-transformed-to-a-shopping-center is the fantastic view one has from its lookout level on the outside which goes around the entire center so you can see the city in every direction including:  The Magic Fountain, the National Art Museum, the Central Fountain which was definitely influenced by Guadi, the two high towers modeled after the Bell Tower of the St. Mark's Basilica in Venice, and the communications tower (at the very left in this picture) erected for the 1992 Summer Olympics.    

 Again, my sister has put all the information and pictures we took into her wonderful blog.  Are you starting to get the idea of how fortunate we were to not only having a fantastic time with Doug and Joyce, but when we got home to having a wonderful historian who took many countless hours of doing the research and going through over 1,000 pictures we took together!

For instance, not until Joyce started doing her research when we got home did we understand what the beautiful grassy area was for.

Joyce discovered that this was originally Slaughterhouse Park where the dying bulls were slaughtered!

 To see more pictures of the inside of the center and explanations of the surrounding area, go to:

http://sixgirlsoneboy.blogspot.com/2012/02/arena-barcelona.html