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Background: Spain's powerful world empire of the 16th and 17th centuries ultimately yielded command of the seas to England. Subsequent failure to embrace the mercantile and industrial revolutions caused the country to fall behind Britain, France, and Germany in economic and political power. Spain remained neutral in World Wars I and II, but suffered through a devastating civil war (1936-39). In the second half of the 20th century, Spain has played a catch-up role in the western international community; it joined the EU in 1986. Continuing challenges include Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA) terrorism and further reductions in unemployment.

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By SarahBoo
October 8th 2008

Barcelona

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

So Barcelona was very nice. A bit too much Gaudi for my taste. His stuff is kind of a let down when you finally see it up close. But I got to see the Barcelona Pavilion which is the most awesome flippen thing ever. And some other cool stuff. All in all im a very happy person. Im leaving for Cinque Terre tonight for... well i dont know how long and I still dont know after that. But I miss you all and Ill put some more pictures up on myspace when I can. [View Full Entry]

By Lauralee
October 8th 2008

Stinky cheese and Catalun sausage

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

bakeries galore

Unfortunately, most of our actual time spent in Spain consisted of shopping (for shoes). Both Keely and I had made previous trips here so our tourist content was kept to one day. Our hotel room was in a central area of town (El Raval) but the room was an utter shoebox with it being easier to hop over the bed to get to the bathroom and vice versa (our shower was conveniently located in the corner between the sink and bidet... no shower curtain necessary). First shopping stop was the outlets La Roca Village. We had high expectations for this place [View Full Entry]

By looking for bernard
October 3rd 2008

adios Barcelona

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

stain glass in Sagrada

This city definitely needs more time, but Italy is calling rather loudly. So loudly in fact that I´m skipping Stockholm even though I´ve already paid for airfare there and back. For some reason, accomodations are very difficult to find in Stockholm, and I will actually be paying about 1/3 of the cost to for 3 nights in Florence. A couple days back I went on the free walking tour. We only had about 7 people, so it was almost like a private tour and very intimate. Tour guide was from Modesto, just traveling around picking up odd jobs here and there. [View Full Entry]

By Erin and Jason
October 1st 2008

Barcelona!

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

The sign says it all

When I said the 11 days we stayed in Paris would probably be the longest we stayed in any one city, I spoke too soon. We're staying in Barcelona for 12. It's been such a nice relaxing visit! Lucky for us, Asaf (Jason)'s brother, Gilad, lives in the Gracia neighborhood of Barcelona and we've been staying at his place instead of a hotel. He's in a great location, with a market two blocks away, restaurants and bars on every corner, and walking distance to everything. We've hardly had to use the Metro at all. We've taken in the sites of Gaudi, [View Full Entry]

By looking for bernard
September 30th 2008

Shoulda brought shorts

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Alps from the plane

I thought I had missed my chance at getting some pics of the Alps, but about 15min after taking off from Zurich I saw them in the distance. Still too far to photograph, but a pretty good view. Then all, of a sudden, clouds!!! Damned clouds again! Turbulence forced the pilot to climb above the clouds so the Alps disappeared. It´s like the half hendl in Germany*. Luckily, a short while later the clouds cleared and I got some good shots. I have a lot more shots, but I´ll probably need to tweak them a little in Photoshop once I get [View Full Entry]

By bel in barca
September 29th 2008

La Merce

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

How could we resist?

La Merce Typically, the term “national holiday” refers to ONE day of the year where a country or region celebrates its heritage and culture… but apparently Catalonia didn’t get the memo and needed nine more to efficiently celebrate. The festival of La Merce takes place every year over a span of 10 days and is named after the Virgin of La Merce, who became the patron saint of Barcelona after a plague in the 17th century. According to my Spanish teacher, every year it rains during La Merce because the former patron saint of Barcelona, Eulalia, cries over he [View Full Entry]

By Mexico RVC
September 29th 2008

Mediteranean Cruise

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

Cruise Itinerary
Here is a visual map of where we will be on our cruise

Here is the cruise itinerary including a map for those that require a visual view like I do. Day 1 Barcelona, Spain Day 2 Provence(Marseilles), France Day 3 Nice (Villefranche), France Day 4 Florence, Italy Docked Day 5 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Day 6 Ajaccio, Corsica Day 7 At Sea Day 8 Gibraltar, United Kingdom Day 9 Casablanca, Morocco Day 10 Tangier, Morocco Day 11 At Sea Day 12 Barcelona, Spain [View Full Entry]

By Mexico RVC
September 28th 2008

Day 11, 12 - Bus Tour - Barcelona

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

We are on our own in Barcelona for 4 nights, and then we board the cruise ship on Day 12. Bailey will be flying home on Day 11 and Brian will be arriving the morning of Day 12 just in time to board the ship. [View Full Entry]

By Ash Bond
September 28th 2008

Barcelona.

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

View from Hostel Kabul.
Plaza Real

Barcelona, baby As we departed our RyanAir flight in the somewhat out of the way Girona airport roughly located about an hour away from the city (Barcelona) centre, we were greeted with a sense of jubliation in the knowledge that we'd arrived in a town where the late september evenings are hotter than any day we'd encountered thus far in the shambolic season we like to think is called summer. This pleasurable blanket of warmth was further intensified by the thick acrid smell of manure that swilled in the nostrils and mouth like a mushroom broth. After the Coach transfer from [View Full Entry]

By Jackercrackie
September 28th 2008

Wine Lunch

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona

As the culmination of my experience in La Llacuna, I was recruited to help serve at a Wine tasting/luncheon with Anthony. As part of his work, he sets up wine-related events for a club that he runs. It turns out, none of the club members were signed up for this particular luncheon; rather, a different club of Barcelonians (Barcelonans) filled all the spots. It was a club for divorced single folk, who do things together when other people might be out as couples. Sounds like a firecracker waiting to be lit, but also a rather nice idea. One of them later [View Full Entry]

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