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Mmm
Tucking in to some delicious Spanish foodTrudi and I finally arrived in London on Wednesday 7th May. While out on Friday night, I met John's mate JP and together they convinced me to come along for an imprompteu trip to Spain - so the next day I booked a flight to meet them there 😱 ... Why the hell not? That's why I'm in Europe after all!
Barcelona
Is amazing. Unfortunately since I was only here for one night - and most of that night and the next morning was spent in bars - I didn't get to explore much of the city! But what I did see, I liked. We stayed next to the beach and enjoyed a beautiful seafood dinner by the water. The food here is amazing.
The next morning we checked out Gaudi's monumentous Sagrada Familia. Expecting to be amazed by this famous church, I found myself instead wondering why Gaudi allowed children to design the top sections of the spires. I'm all in favour of organic architecture in the right context, but I guess I just like my churches to look like churches and not cakes. While it certainly symbolises the flamboyance of Barcelona as a city, I
Sagrada Familia
Lollypop spires crest the impressive branch-like entry space found parts of it to be far tackier in person than I had assessed from photos, especially the Vegas-like lettering on the spires. Having said that, the interior is dumbfounding and stunning with its overwhelming height and intricate detailing, and the bowerlike grand entry makes a beautiful and powerful statement. It is no surprise though, given the amount of individually crafted stone detailing, that it was begun in 1882 and may not even be finished by 2082.
The afternoon drive to Valencia was lovely, although we were baffled at the cost of tolls - three or four tolls in the first couple hours, averaging 3 Euro each, and then a
whopping 20 Euro toll for a stretch of road that passed through no mountains and couldn't have run for more than an hour! In the end it would have been cheaper to catch the train, but it was good to see some of the countryside and get a chance to stop off at a (freezing cold!) beach to dip our toes in.
Valencia
Again, having only a night here meant we could only just sample the flavour of Valencia, but it was enough to convince me
Sagrada Familia
Intricately carved entry doors to return to Spain soon. Whether cooking, dancing or playing music, the Spanish are a passionate people and that passion is contageous. In the evening we met some gorgeous Canadian girls at the hostel and headed out for drinks in town - despite it being a dead night we found a bar that stayed open late and partied until well into the morning! 😊 The next day we wandered the grounds of the City of Arts and Sciences, and were particularly impressed by the central building which, through a feat of sound engineering, clearly resonates your voice in a series of loud echoes (see video... sounded much louder in person). Very cool, and we only discovered the 'sweet spot' by accident as we were leaving!
After that we ditched the car and just wandered around town until we had to return to London. All in all a very short excursion and also a very expensive one (the Euro does us Australians no favours!), but absolutely worthwhile nonetheless 😊
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