Some Guy Called Gaudi, Embracing the Siesta and the Joys of Drinking Cold Sangrias on a Warm Sunny Day

Europe » Spain » Catalonia » Barcelona
April 6th 2008

Published: April 14th 2008

Hola! Well folks, summer is here!!! Finally. For us it has been a looooonnggg, cold and grey winter and with a combination of heading further south, hitting April and starting daylight savings Summer has arrived. It was so lovely to be able to stroll around at 7 in the evening without a big jacket on and it still be light. Not to mention how wonderful it is to be warmed by sunshine. We flew out o... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

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More of the unknown Festival in Barcelona

Place of Government behind festivities

Human Pyramid

Middle of nowhere

between Valencia and Madrid where the ATM ripped us off 50 euro!! Not happy Jan! Maybe it was karma for falsely getting into sites at student or under 26 prices....

Cathedral in Toledo

Puerta de Bisagra (New Bisagra Gate) in Toledo

Once was an entrance to the fortified city of Toledo. The gate dates back to the 13th century.

A Tiled Sign advertising Marzipan - a Toledo specialty

Madrid and Toledo both had these cute little street signs made from tiles. This is a bigger version advertising the local specialty.

Toledo Cathedral

Had to put the camera on a slight angle to get it all in. Said to be one of the "greatest Gothic structures in Europe". She certainly was massive!

Toldeo Cathedral

Without the angle and without the top of the tower. This Cathedral is Gothic but has a magnificent Baroque sunlight and alterpiece thingo. To let more light into the cathedral they decided to cut a hole in the roof and build a skylight. They decorated this in fancy full on Baroque detail. We weren't allowed any photos of it and unfortunately couldn't find a nice postcard of it either.

Palacio Real - Madrid

The Royal Palace, is no longer the official residence of the Spanish royal family but is still used for official ceremonies. It has sumptuously decorated rooms and was loads easier to walk through than bloody Versailles!

Cathedral of Almudena in Madrid

from the Royal Palace's courtyard. This is a fairly new Cathedral (1883 - 1993) but is built on the site that the first Mosque in Madrid stood.

Governor's Building in Madrid

The guards of this building have hats that are flat at the back. Why? So they can lean against the wall when they enjoy their cigarette. Quite seriously!

Kilometre Zero Madrid

Everything in Madrid is measured from this point, just outside the Governor's Building.

Plaza dell Major

This is the main square in Madrid and was built in 1619 as a uniformly square, traffic free part of Madrid. During the Inquisition people were tried and executed here. Recently the whole square was repainted. In true democratic style, different walls were painted different colours and the locals voted on which one they wanted.

Monument to those killed in a bomb attach in 1907

An anarchist threw a bomb disguised as flowers from a balcony across the street from this statue into the wedding parade of King Alfonso and his wife in an attempt to assasinate the King. The King survived but many didn't.

15th April 2008

Jo & Ben
non-member comment

Keep enjoying
It is so great to hear about your adventures and see all the wonderful photos. We did start to worry about you when we had heard nothing but others reassured us that you had not scrubbed us from your contact list!!!! Take care and keep enjoying it all. We really couldn't have two better people bringing the world right to our doors. Are you sure you don't want to become overseas correspondents!!!!

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Some Guy Called Gaudi, Embracing the Siesta and the Joys of Drinking Cold Sangrias on a Warm Sunny Day

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