We’re back! I still need to update the blog about Ripken’s *fantastic* first birthday party, but first here is the first installment from Spain. We have SO many pictures (525 to be exact) that I will not upload anywhere near most of them. I’ll opt for the daily collage instead--or at least one collage per destination. And if I could blog by pensieve this would be done already, but between jet lag the first few days and going to bed very early, and now Ripken having a hard time teething, this is going to be a three part blog.
Ripken helping us pack:
Day 1: Thursday 5/7Travel from RDU to Atlanta to Barcelona
Before we left, we had several whirl-wind days of trip preparation. We had to do the usual packing, plus wrapping up final assignments for the semester, packing up the kids to go to Austin’s parents’ house (a huge thank you for making our trip possible!), and leaving the house spotless since we still had showings while we were away. To add a little more excitement, Austin had an interview at 10:00 a.m. the day we left. Whew! Needless to say, we didn’t open any of our tour books until we were on the plane.
Day 2: Friday 5/8
We didn’t really sleep on the flight over, so this was a very long day. We stayed just north of Placa Cataluna--which turned out to be a fantastic location for being able to walk to any section of the city. After dropping off our luggage we went to the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter--the oldest section of Barcelona), walked around, and visited the Museu de Historia de la Ciutat . Underground there is an archaeological site displaying Roman ruins from the first century B.C. through the 8th century A.D. These are the world’s largest subterranean Roman ruins. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to take pictures inside the museum, so these are one of a kind (top row: middle and right).
(Click each collage to enlarge)
We were doing OK until about half-way through the museum when we made the mistake of sitting down on a bench and nearly fell asleep.After the museum, we continued to walk through the Gothic District, and made our way over to La Rambla and the Mercado de la Boqueria, where we had some very nice fruit. The displays are gorgeous. Can't get this at Super Wal-Mart:
Finally we went back to the hostel and went to sleep. It was at this point that I realized how much longer the sun stays up in Spain; it reminded me of trying to fall asleep on our trip to Sweden and Norway when the sun was still up.
Day 3: Saturday 5/9
The next day we walked in the opposite direction and saw many of Gaudi’s architectural contributions to the city, including Casa Battlo, which was right next to where we stayed (top left), and also La Pedrera (bottom left). We continued on to Barcelona’s main attraction, La Sagrada Familia. It was begun in 1882, Gaudi took over in 1883, he was still working on it the day he died in 1926 (he was run over by a trolley), and it is still under construction today.
There was a very nice area inside that explained Gaudi’s inspiration (predominately nature) and how he figured out the mathematics necessary to construct his vision (which has subsequently been confirmed by computer modeling). The integration of mathematics and architecture made this very absorbing for me.The nativity façade:
The passion façade:
Interior: The columns are supposed to look like trees, with the ceiling being like unto a canopy. The circles will be skylights. There was a great quote from Gaudi about the parallel he saw between the way trees shelter us and the way a church shelters us, which now I cannot track down.
Continuing our Gaudi day, next we went to Park Guell. This was originally conceived of as a housing community, but it never really got off the ground. In the pictures of some of the vistas you can see that it was smoggy; otherwise in the top left picture we would have seen the Mediterranean Sea. 
Later in the evening, we walked along the beach near the Olympic Harbor. The two towers were the Olympic Village. This was Tracy’s first encounter with the Mediterranean Sea. We had dinner down by the water.
Barcelona Cathedral: This was extensively under scaffolding. The wall (top row) is an original part of the Roman aqueduct. There are always 13 geese in the cathedral's central courtyard. Each goose represents one year in the life of the martyr Santa Eulalia, a young girl tortured to death in the 4th century by the Romans for her religion.
Arc de Triumf and Parc de la Ciutadella, where we ate lunch:
Next we went to San Maria del Mar. Although the main tourist stop is the Barcelona Cathedral, we much preferred this one because it was, well, let's say less adorned on the inside. In fact, other than Sagrada Familia this was our favorite cathedral of the entire trip. The Catalan Gothic architectural style is also different, resulting in more open space compared to the more closed in traditional Gothic architecture. The stained glass was gorgeous, but it didn't photograph very well. My favorite window had a fantastic image of a ship at sea. Another interesting story about San Maria del Mar is that the royal family has requested holding weddings there, but they have been denied access to the cathedral because they are not Catalan. There's no shortage of regional pride around here.
That evening, I was flipping through a tour guide I picked up and found a column on a restaurant that served dinner for 1 Euro each night at 8 PM. We figured we had nothing to lose, so we headed over there and had quite an experience as it was in the middle of a Barcelona soccer game so everything was packed and very, well, festive. You’ll have to have Austin tell you the full story, but we really did each have dinner for 1 Euro, and we made it home before the end of the game. So if you're ever in Barcelona, check out the Travel Bar in the Gothic Quarter at 8 PM for your 1 Euro dinner!
That evening, we took the train south along the coast to Alicante--which will be the subject of the next post!
Day 4: Sunday 5/10
Today we we moved to a different hotel on the West side of town. In the morning, we walked down La Rambla again. This is the main foot path for both tourists and locals and a good place to go for people watching and street performers. There are stands along both sides where you can buy flowers, food, and even pets. The market is along La Rambla, as well. We walked to the end of La Rambla to La Rambla de Mar--the other side of the waterfront from where we were the previous night and another harbor. While we were there, they opened the bridge (by pivoting the middle section to be perpendicular to its original position) and a flotilla of sailboats headed out for the day.
Today we we moved to a different hotel on the West side of town. In the morning, we walked down La Rambla again. This is the main foot path for both tourists and locals and a good place to go for people watching and street performers. There are stands along both sides where you can buy flowers, food, and even pets. The market is along La Rambla, as well. We walked to the end of La Rambla to La Rambla de Mar--the other side of the waterfront from where we were the previous night and another harbor. While we were there, they opened the bridge (by pivoting the middle section to be perpendicular to its original position) and a flotilla of sailboats headed out for the day.
Barcelona Cathedral: This was extensively under scaffolding. The wall (top row) is an original part of the Roman aqueduct. There are always 13 geese in the cathedral's central courtyard. Each goose represents one year in the life of the martyr Santa Eulalia, a young girl tortured to death in the 4th century by the Romans for her religion.
Arc de Triumf and Parc de la Ciutadella, where we ate lunch:
Next we went to San Maria del Mar. Although the main tourist stop is the Barcelona Cathedral, we much preferred this one because it was, well, let's say less adorned on the inside. In fact, other than Sagrada Familia this was our favorite cathedral of the entire trip. The Catalan Gothic architectural style is also different, resulting in more open space compared to the more closed in traditional Gothic architecture. The stained glass was gorgeous, but it didn't photograph very well. My favorite window had a fantastic image of a ship at sea. Another interesting story about San Maria del Mar is that the royal family has requested holding weddings there, but they have been denied access to the cathedral because they are not Catalan. There's no shortage of regional pride around here.
That evening, I was flipping through a tour guide I picked up and found a column on a restaurant that served dinner for 1 Euro each night at 8 PM. We figured we had nothing to lose, so we headed over there and had quite an experience as it was in the middle of a Barcelona soccer game so everything was packed and very, well, festive. You’ll have to have Austin tell you the full story, but we really did each have dinner for 1 Euro, and we made it home before the end of the game. So if you're ever in Barcelona, check out the Travel Bar in the Gothic Quarter at 8 PM for your 1 Euro dinner!
Day 5: Monday 5/11
Monday we had a bit of a disappointing morning. I should start by explaining that between Medio Dia (when many things close for 2-4 hours in the afternoon), some things being closed Sunday, and some being closed Monday, we really had to plan our outings so that we could see everything we wanted. Monday was our last day, and the last thing we wanted to do was go to the Olympic Sport Museum on the southeast side of the city. We had checked our tour book, the museum’s own brochure, as well as their website, and should have been all set. However, when we arrived they were closed. We still got to see the stadium, but we’ll have to catch the museum on the next trip (if we can ever figure out when they are open). The building in the bottom left is the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. By all accounts the outside trumps its contents, so we didn't go in.
Monday we had a bit of a disappointing morning. I should start by explaining that between Medio Dia (when many things close for 2-4 hours in the afternoon), some things being closed Sunday, and some being closed Monday, we really had to plan our outings so that we could see everything we wanted. Monday was our last day, and the last thing we wanted to do was go to the Olympic Sport Museum on the southeast side of the city. We had checked our tour book, the museum’s own brochure, as well as their website, and should have been all set. However, when we arrived they were closed. We still got to see the stadium, but we’ll have to catch the museum on the next trip (if we can ever figure out when they are open). The building in the bottom left is the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. By all accounts the outside trumps its contents, so we didn't go in.
That evening, we took the train south along the coast to Alicante--which will be the subject of the next post! 
1 comment:
Wow! That looks incredible! Can't wait to see more!
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