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Saved: September 6th 2013
The Rhone River flows through Avignon then branches into a 'Y' shape. The area between these rivers is the Camargue and is famous for its white horses. Those who play Farmville will know of these horses. The day was very hot and this causes reflections on the coach windows so I was unable to get a photo of them for you to see. They are bred by 'good' Gypsies - which I assume means the ones who dont thieve off strangers.
Also flamingos live here but again I didn't spot any of these pink birds as the road wasn't close enough to the Mediterranean ocean. We did however get our first glimpes of the sea which was exciting.
We arrived in Barcelona early afternoon and headed straight into the city centre to collect our local tour guide Cesear. He explained the Gaudi Cathedral to us and even though it is very symbolic and unfinished to me it was very ugly. Psst Dont tell the Catalonians. Barcelona is Catalonian and once was an independent nation with it's own language and this pride is still present today.
The designer Gaudi has passed away and as the design was in his head, (I am
told) they have had to interpret a more sedate version of his design on one side of the Cathedral which was more to my taste. Many love the artworks of Gaudi. Google it and decide for yourselves.
The old city of Barcelona and its wall was pulled down and it was rebuilt much in the same as the Parisian style of apartments with balconies and a wide avenue punctuated by a huge Arc De Triomf. It was built for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona (1888) in a Moorish style.
They have an area named the Ramblas which has many stall owners selling souvenirs and knick knacks, this leads down towards the harbour. Due to the hot weather strutting down the Ramblas is the 'thing to do' At the end of the Ramblas is a tall (60m) column topped with a status of Christopher Columbus. Whilst he was Italian it was the Spanish Queen who funded his expedition to discover the Americas and Barcelona is where he reported his discoveries to Queen Isabella.
Most of the populations live in the surrounding suburbs and commute into work as city centre prices are beyond their means. Again pick pockets are
a problem here.
Once we settled into our hotel a small group of us set off to find some Tapas before dinner. It was yummy. 😊
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Elliott
non-member comment
THE GAUDI CATHEDRAL IS AMAZING, MOTHER