Barcelona and home

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We finally returned from our most amazing trip late this past Thursday night. We finally got unpacked today and will have several days of laundry ahead of us. But before calling my updates to an end, I must talk about our last two days which were in the beautiful city of Barcelona, Spain.

Our cruise arrived in the Port of Barcelona early on Tuesday morning and we were taken to our hotel in the middle of the city. While we waited for our room to be ready, we began with a walking tour of the city which included the Rambla, the heart of the city. The architecture in this city is truly amazing and while I had been to Barcelona 20 years ago, I had not noticed (or maybe forgotten) how beautiful it is. At the end of the day we toured the Picasso museum which does not have many of his most famous pieces, but has a very large collection of mostly his early work up until the time he became very famous. I was truly amazed at the size of the collection and the natural development of his talent from the time he began his work at age 11. We were also able to see many of the revolutionary buildings designed by Antoni Gaudi, which make the city scape so special.

On Wednesday we toured the Basilica Sagrada Familia, the awe inspiring cathedral designed by Gaudi, begun in 1882 and expected to be completed in 2026 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gaudi’s death. Words cannot describe this place. I personally became emotional upon entering, being overcome by the beauty, creativity, symbolism and the feeling of a closeness to God. This was Gaudi’s intention.

What a trip this was. Two weeks in Germany and Austria, two days in Athens, 17 days on a cruise around the bottom of Italy and finally two days in Barcelona. I would say it was a trip of a lifetime - but I hope to have more.

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