Barcelona 1, John and Courtney 0

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Spain! this is a country I've looked forward to for a long time and I'm so happy to be here. For the next 16 days I'll be seeing a good portion of the country. The whole trip is centered around La Tomatina. But to start off...it's Barcelona!!! For the first 1/2 of the trip my brother is with me. This is the first time we're traveling together and I'm excited! We both flew into Bacelona on Saturday morning and have been on the move since.



Taking the bus into the city you immediately feel overloaded. There are so many things to look at! The old buildings and history and culture...so much to take in. The bus dropped us off in Placa de Catalunya. It's a beautiful square bubbling with people, vendors and fountains. We make our thru around the square and down to the opposite corner where our hotel is. We opted for location over luxury and ended up in a quaint place with the nicest staff - hotel Medium Monagal. We are right at the end of La Rambla and it's perfect. We have to walk thru a small watch store to find the front desk but this is just part of the charm. Two staff operate out of a desk the size of a small closetWell load onto the tiny elevator and ride up to our room. It's small but very clean and has two twin beds. What more do we need! We immediately drop off our stuff, change clothes and head out. It's around lunch time and we've decided to do a walking tour of the city thru the old part of town. We start at thebeginning of La Rambla.



La Rambla is a street the has a wide pedestrian walkway in the center and is lined with large overhanging trees on the both sides. It's beautiful. The are vendors selling snacks and these strange men selling this small noise makers. We walked quite far before we figured out what it was. It'absolutely the most annoying sounds I've ever heard. Our first stop was the market! Mercat de la Boqueria. So many fun things to look at and eat!Man inlay a produce market the sites were so colorful! All types of fresh fruit and vegetables. Candy stalls with candy designed and reflecting other types of food...like watermelon slices and pumpkins and mushrooms. It was like looking at a Dr Suess book! Then you had the fresh fish stall...here lobster and crab were not only on display in the ice but still moving around. Then all Of the meats. Barcelona is known for their dried hams and the market showcased it well. All over you saw pig legs hanging, hoof and all. The meat stalls that were hard we're the ones with whole skinned chickens, still with there heads on, and then someanother small animal that neither of us could figure out. I always love markets but my brother has never really ventured into them. He loved it. I grabbed a fresh fruit drink of mango and kiwi and then we sat in a stall for lunch. We had olives and then sandwiches. I love ham and so I of course started with the country specialty. It was great and very filling. After lunch we headed back out onto La Rambla and continued on our way. Being theold part of the city, the architecture along this street was amazing. And all the little side streets were a new explosion in beauty. I wanted to veer off and down each street. Every building has balconies and flower boxes and fabric riding in the breeze. All the buildings are roughly the same height so the sun is able to come through and illuminate the street. I was hooked! I could live here!



Our next stop was Palau Guell which is an old mansion and one of the first things Gaudi created. The house was magnificent. We didn't realize going in how cool it was actually going to be. When you enter through the large black iron gates you come into the landing area which is where the horses and carriages came in. The coolest thing was this built in side stair podium thing which is what the women used to mount the horses or get I to a carriage. What makes Guadi amazing is how he didn't just design the building but created so much art within it. So many built in benches and sea closet closets and fireplaces...itwasn't just stuffmin the house it was functional art. The house was four or five stories and each room brought something new. The play on light and use of windows with build in shutters was incredible. The organ in the housewass huge and the rooms built acoustically perfect. The basement still had the stalls where the horses were kept and it blew my mind how the breeze moved through the space. On the roof were 12 chimneys each decorated in mosaic colorful tiles and designed to look like different objects. I think my love for all of this comes fromChe colorful mosaics. The tile work is so intricate that I just couldn't get enough. From the roof you can also see all around the city and out to the Mediterranean Sea. This was my first glimpse of it ever! it was so blue!!!!



After leaving the mansion we moved on along La Rambla. We crossed through and then into a large square surrounded by buildings. There were cafes and restaurants and more performer groups. We soaked it all in. From here we crossed onto one of the narrow side streets and made oseaway deep into the Barri Gotic district. How incredible! Each building with the balconies and flowere boxes. I wanted to live in all of them. Every once in a while you could look up into the the opens windows and see the exposed wooden beams in the ceilings. The next stop was the Catedral. Built in 1298, it was a stunner! We entered through the side where a courtyard held a large fountain and several crypts dedicated to different saints. The church itself was incredible. It is the standard design with flying buttresses and the rose window but what really struck me in this church was the row of special seats for the clergy and wealthy. The wood used was extremely dark and then the decor around it was done in gold and red. It gave a very dramatic effect and was stunning. We loaded a small elevator and road up to the roof for a peek at the bell tower. To see the tower and the stain glass and the roof up close was fun. And the views of the city from here were great to. When we walked out the front of the church that's when it was really stunning. The intricate stone work and arches of the facade were amazing.



The next stop was the remains of the old roman wall. It dates back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. It had surrounded the whole city when Roman ruled it. Now it's impressive to see how much is left and how good it looked.



After this, it was time for a little break. Jet lagged and thirsty we found and outdoor cafe and had a glass of wine (me), a beer (John) and some tapas. What fun! We followed this up with gelato and then carried on our way! The other little thing I'm in love with are all the water spickets every where. After finishing our gelato you can use this to clean your hands and then drink as well. Each one is slightly different but for the most part you have a large bronze faucet with a handle you have to squeeze. Lovely! The US should put these in!



The next stop was the Santa Maria del Mar catholic church. I actually liked this one better. This church was dramatic in terms of height and arches inside but it was very plain. There was nothing blocking your view of the alter. Everything was minimal and clean. Down each side of the church were red candles lit for the different saints and prayer areas. It was later in the day sothese candles gave the church a very special glow. It was peaceful.



From here we continued on winding thru the narrow streets. Many of them were pedestrian only. It seemed we opened out into little squares all the time. Our next stop was the site of old medieval monastery. Today it's a produce market. Our final stop was at the Palau de la Musica Catalana. This was my favorite building. It's nestled in between buildings on a very narrow street and houses a concert hall. The entireexterior is done in a mosaic. Breathtaking!



After we finished up seeing this we headed back to the hotel. John suggested a nap prior to going out for dinner. I agreed. After sleeping an hour I felt like new. Our hotel guy suggested a great local Catalonian style restaurant for dinner. This was not a tourist place and it was wonderful. We had a bottle of local wine suggested by out waiter. Even the father at the table next to us motioned to John indicating the wine is good. Then we had a plate of meats and cheeses. Three different kinds of hams and sausage. I loved it. I got a roasted chicken dinner and John got a skewer of chicken, avacodo and steak. The best part of the meal though was the bread with this tomato/garlic/olive oil type sauce/spread. So yummy!!!! I could have just eaten that. After dinner we were on the hunt for another bar. We kept striking out so we finally headed back to La Ramla. We ended up in a where here the dj was playing old school hip hop, people were dancing and with every beer we ordered we got afree shot. Our one beer stop quickly turned into 3! The best part though were the two guys slumped over on each other passed out. Hilarious!!! By 2 am we were ready to throw in the towel. Day and night one was a blast!



Day two started off much slower. We slept in and by the time we got moving it was past lunch. We decided to head to La Sagrada Familia. This is the famous church started by Gaudi. We ate a quick meal, boarded the metro and made our way to the church. It did not fail to impress! As you come out of the underground you're silenced by its sheer size and beauty. And to think...the tallest towers have yet to be built. After starring for a few moments in awe we finally made our way arou d the side of the church to get into line. We had to wait about 30 minutes to buy tickets but it was well worth it. We ended up spending three hours in the church. It's hard to put the experience I to words. On the outside there are several different facades and themes. Each one is completely hand carved in stone with huge statues and symbols and scenes from the bible. None of the walls are straight. Everything Gaudi did was not the standard. As you enter the church it's breath taking the way the light filters through from specifically placed circles in the ceiling to the strategic stained glass windows and then just plain windows. Everything was intricately thought out and placed just right. All the columnsaware rounded somehow and resembled tree trunks with branches going into the ceiling. The entire church was designed with perfect acoustics. The doors were made out of green bronze. It was a striking combo next to the clean grey of the stone. My favorite part was the ceiling. In the stone he mixed in all sorts of mosaics. For example behind the alter was a large circle letting in light and he used gold mosaics to make it look like the glow from heaven. It's this use of color and light that I found so amazing. Out on the front side of the church the oldest part of the facade, the detail was insane. You could look at things for hours and continue to find something you had not seen yet. We also went up in the bell towers. The views of the city were awesome. Also seeing some of thecolorful mosaics up close was cool too. This church is all stone and then there are these pops of color everywhere! The towers and coming down the narrow whinding staircase was definitely worth it.



The weather was not great today so from here we decided to try to hit the Picasso museum. When we got there it seemed that everyone had that idea. So, dinner it was! We ended up in a small cafe sitting at a table that was an old sewing machine. The walls were linedplates decorative plates and the owner was behind the bar mixing cocktails. Why yes we would love a litre of the cava sangria. Seafood paella followed and dinner was good. At the end of the meal the owner comes over and tries to tell us we have to hurry up. He only spoke Spanish but we got the idea. Turns out a large group reserved the entire place for dinner and a party. As we were throwing back the rest of our sangria he comes back over with shots toapologize for yelling at us. Hilarious! With quite the buzz, we made our way over to Parc de la Ciutadella. This was one of those sprawling parks that makes you feel like you've left the city. At the far end was aluge arch. We came up on as the sun was mostly set so the photos are a little dark and we may have missed some detail but it was still impressive. With a quick cab ride back to the hotel we changed and headed back out.



We wanted to find this bar that supposedly Hemingway used to drink at. Turns out its closed but the prostitutes still hang around in the area. We quickly found another bar and enjoyed good conversation with the bartenders, a Spanish beer and then treated us to a large free sample of their homemade vermouth. It was yummy! Side note...Barcelona has the largest ice cubes I've ever seen! Next stop was an are we had heard had lots of bars. We didn't seem to fin lots but we found one...Betty Ford. Perfect! The bar is owned by an Aussie and they carried my favorite Aussie beer, Coopers. We made friends with the waitress. Settled in for some great beer and had a blast! We ended up at the barfor longer than we intended but we made great new friends and enjoyed every minute of it into the wee hours of the morning!



Our party on Sunday night made for a very slow moving Monday. We decided to skip Andorra and stay in the city. We ventured over to the waterfront and walked along the paths. The marina was huge and lined with sail boats. We made our way into another neighborhood and wandered down a great street of apt homes. Then we made it to the beach. And my first up close encounter with the Mediterranean Sea. How lovely and rough it was! We settled into aspot on the beach for a snack. It was quite cold and rainy today so I decided not to put my toes in the water. We did take a great stroll along the boardwalk. Watched the surfers. Took in some of barcelona's modern architecture. It was a great walk.

For our last dinner we went to another place recommended by our hotel person. This meal was amazing!!! All local foods. Super fresh. I wanted to eat and eat. Now it's off to bed. Early start tomorrow as we make our way to valencia. Thank you Barcelona!

Let the road trip portion of this trip begin!



*note: i´m having trouble with uploading photos. those will come later.

*note: i´m several days behind and hope to get a couple of these out very quickly. 6 days left out of 16 total, spain is amazing!

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Photos

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candys at the market

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one of the awesome squares along our walk

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details at Gaudi´s early stages of work

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the colorful tiled chimney tops

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this one is for mom. John and I on the roof

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The Cathedral. WOW

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original Roman Wall. What a site to see. Still standing after all this time.

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my favorite building in Barcelona. it´s all tile mosaic

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at la sagrad familia. the height in the church was incredible.

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la sagrada familia. light streaming in from the stained glass Windows.

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la sagrada familia

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mosaic tile Works near the top

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the letters around the window are all small tiles.

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the front entrance. la sagrada familia

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it was cold and raining so we didn´t go in the wáter, but these surfers were brave enough to enter. bacelona beach!

Comments

[Rachel]

Lohmann Squared - Watch out Spain!
Hi! Glad to read of your newest adventures! Sounds like you and John are having a great time! BTW, FSU beat Pitt 41-13 and the new QB looks good