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Published: April 20th 2024
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Sagrata Familia
Holy Family Basilica. View from my hotel room. April 19
Packed up and ready to go. No room service today unlike in the past so I dressed and dragged my carryon, cane and pocket book to the Lido. A packed house. Circled the dining room twice but no seat available. Sat in a random chair until I spied an empty table. Asked the server to wipe it down and that was the last I saw of her. Went to the coffee bar, no cups and when the cups arrived, no coffee. Returned to my table and another server took my order for coffee and juice. Never saw him again. Finally decided to leave. Snagged a wheelchair and proceeded smoothly through customs and immigration, snagged a porter and we three headed to the taxi stand along with about a hundred of my best friends. That is no exaggeration. We waited in line for about a half and hour before I was whisked away to my hotel. Exciting drive- heard more horns than in NYC. To say the driving was aggressive would be an understatement.
The hotel is two blocks from the Basilica. I opted for early arrival instead of waiting six hours for check in. My room overlooks a small park with a view of the Basilica, crane and all.
I don’t understand my lethargy. All I want to do is sleep so after a breakfast and coffee, thank the Lord, I settled in for a rest. That lasted until I heard the sound of fireworks. Looked out but it was still light. Really sounded like gunfire as though two opposing forces were battling. It probably was fireworks because I never heard a siren. Shortly after dark a crowd gathered in the park beneath my window. At first I thought it was a typical Friday night gathering of teenagers but it soon turned into something very different.
The crowd got bigger, musical instruments arrived, mostly brass and drums and then the crowd began chanting, the marching music began and drums sounded the beat. I still don’t know whether it was a protest, a political demonstration or a school rally but crowd disbursed around ten. No litter to be seen. Great entertainment and I didn’t even have to get dressed. Surprisingly I slept through the night.
April 20
I awoke at 8:30 dressed and went to breakfast. Started with coffee, of course, with a croissant and biscotti, then I decided on cheese slices and ham and turkey slices, followed by orange chunks and another coffee. Am I a bit backwards? It appears to be chilly out although the sun shines bright. I plan to walk to the Basilica this afternoon. Meanwhile I am enjoying the comings and goings in the park. There is a flock of pigeons, a small grey neighborhood puppy and a person sleeping on a bench,
I decided to to go out and sit on a bench. And that’s when reality set in. I missed a step fell and hit my head. The response from guests and staff was immediate, I was lifted up and sat in a chair, a bottle of water appeared and an ice pack for my head. They wanted to call an ambulance but I refused. Other than the embarrassment I am OK. The woman next to me where I was sitting offered reassurance and even held the ice pack to my head. She is from Ireland. Helen is her name and Bob is her husband. They are visiting a child who moved to Barcelona two years ago.
Like me they will be visiting the Basilica tomorrow. I decided to venture out. I am two short blocks from the Basilica but I wasn’t necessarily an easy stroll. It seemed that half the town was surrounding the church, groups of tours, people in line for tickets. It was a treat for people watching. I especially enjoyed the children who had zero interest in the church but tried to climb the fence into an anemic garden. The dogs were also a joy. From one huge all brown giant the size of a Saint Bernard to one how seemed even smaller than a Chihuahua . All were well behaved and also showed no interest in the church. Much of the crowd seemed to share the opinion of the children and dogs as they were busy taking pictures of each other.
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