Gaudi rules!

Spain is a country that is famous throughout the world, whose language and culture have branched out to dominate Latin America. But that does not lessen the excitement of visiting the country for the first time. Barcelona and Madrid are the two most famous cities in Spain, and the focus of my first week travelling in this wonderful country.

The train journey to get from southern France into Spain hugged the mediterranean coast, and was an interesting experience. Right on the border we entered a long tunnel, and magically re-entered the light to be in a Spanish speaking country. Voila, that was pretty easy! There were no border signs, no customs and no officials. The train travellers all waited in a terminal cafe for two hours in a congenial atmosphere before our connecting train arrived to take us on to Barcelona. I shared the journey with an interesting mish-mash of nationalities, then farewelled them on arrival at Barcelona station before jumping on a local train to my wonderful hostel.

I had been looking forward to visiting Spain for some time, especially after spending six months during the last few years in Latin America, but Barcelona still managed to take me by surprise. It is a truly wonderful city and one of my favourite world cities to visit. There was an explosion of artistic endeavour and creative talent in Catalonia at the end of the 19th century stretching through to the start of the 20th century, and Barcelona was at the centre of it all. An astonishing legacy has been left by Picasso, Salvador Dali and of course the legendary architect Antoni Gaudi, which all adds to the mystique of this glorious city on the mediterranean coast. Featuring four kilometres of beach, having recently hosted the Olympic games and also the home of the legendary FC Barcelona, you can also add Las Ramblas which is the most famous street in Spain, and the Gothic quarter to the attractions on offer in Barcelona. Barcelona is a city that really does have it all!

But when it comes to architecture, there is Gaudi and there is the rest. I can´t recall an architect anywhere in the world who has left such a profound impression on me. The bloke´s style of work just blows my mind ... he´s a champion, a legend, a bonza geezer, he´s true blue mate. OK, enough already of the Aussie hyperbole but he really is a little ripper ... oops, sorry!!! La Sagrada Familia is his world famous masterpiece with construction commencing in 1882, and the great man spent forty years working on the temple prior to his death. The massive temple has been a work in progress ever since and surely must qualify as the world´s most extraordinary construction site. The lead architect has highly ambitious plans for several more towers including the final tower at 170 metres, all built in the spirit of Gaudi´s unique style. The building is an incredible triumph of modernist architecture.

But that´s not all on offer from the great man in Barcelona, he has other famous buildings around the city centre and also designed the freaky Park Guell on a hill overlooking the city. Gaudi´s design concepts seem very alien at first glance, but the crazy shapes and angles all seem to have a strange symmetry when you look at his designs holistically. I just love Gaudi, and this is definately the coolest park I´ve ever visited. When checking out of the great hostel a friendly staff member asked if I enjoyed my stay and whether they´d see me again. Absolutely, I smiled and said I´d come back in 2020 for a second look when La Sagrada Familia is finally completed, as another girl laughed and said in Spanish ... or later!

Then it was time to catch the train on to Madrid, the Spanish capital and home to over three million people. Madrid is the real deal and a true world city. My hostel was again right in the heart of the city which is always a plus, and I´ve had four days to explore the charms of fabulous Madrid. A visit to the world famous Prado museum was top of my agenda, and Spanish greats such as Goya, Velazquez and El Greco are heavily featured in the museum alongside an abundance of great art by a wealth of famous Europeans artists from over the centuries. The vast Prado is truly one of the world´s great museums.

The weather has been quite rainy during the course of my trip, but generally the weather has been quite bearable, so far at least! Madrid is a great city to stroll around even when it's raining, and the Puerta del Sol in the city centre is ground zero in Spain from where all distances are measured. Tapas bars abound in the city and the locals get out and about for an evening meal far later than what we are accustomed to in Australia. I went for a stroll in the centre of the city around 10pm on a friday night, and it was as crowded as during the middle of a working day. There were people everywhere! The Palazio Real is quite impressive, and I particularly enjoyed going for a stroll in Parque Del Buen Retira despite the rain being quite heavy yesterday. Madrid is also home to the most famous football club in the world, the legendary Real Madrid. I love the hostel where I´m staying, which is in a protected Spanish building that has been extensively refitted internally. The hostel provides all the creature comforts you would expect from quality accomodation in Spain, and I´ve met many interesting travellers during my visit.

As week one of my travels in Spain draws to a close my enthusiasm for this wonderful country continues to grow. Life seems pretty relaxed here, and the locals get on with their lives with a minimum of fuss. Travellers do need to be aware of their belongings in the two major cities as you would expect, but to visit Spain is to come to the realisation that,........... basically all of you should be here now!

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment." Henry David Thoreau

Top 3 Hotels/Restaurants
Centric Point Hostel - Barcelona, Spain
Cat´s Hostel - Madrid, Spain
La Musa restaurant - Madrid, Spain


Top 3 Sights/Activities
La Sagrada Familia - Barcelona, Spain
Park Guell - Barcelona, Spain
Prado Museum - Madrid, Spain

Book of the month - The Chamber by John Grisham

As I continue my travels, until next time it´s signing off for now

Tom

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