Up on the top of a hill in an area called Montijuic, there is a castle that was built in in the 16th century.
We had a nice litte walk up to a gondola that took us to the top of the hill.
(sorry for bad quality iphone pics)
It is beautiful, just as any castle is, and over looks the entire city and ocean.
There are giant weapons surrounding it...
(pic stolen from my roomie Blair)
This castle is said to be one the most politically significant places in Barcelona's history. It was where many executions took place, as well as where political prisoners were kept. And is the only place you can see a statue of Franco (dictator up until his death in 1975).
We recently had a discussion with our host mother about Franco since she was around while he was in power. She obviously was not a fan since his main goal was to suppress the Cataluña culture that the people here cherish so very much (i.e. take away their Catalán language, traditions, music, etc). She told us that quickly after his death every statue was torn down, the street signs were all replaced since they said his name on them, and they got rid of the coins with his face on them.
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