Monday, May 28, 2018

May 28, 1969 Barcelona, Spain

Whirlwind.  Let me assure you that I no longer travel in this whirlwind fashion.  I am amazed when I read this diary that I actually did this.  So, on we go.

Having spent all day yesterday catching up on my sleep, I now have a day to see Barcelona.  We start by walking down the Ramblas, a long pedestrian mall.
La Rambla - panoramio (1)
Jens Cederskjold [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons

I am pretty sure it was not nearly that crowded.  We visited the Plaza de Cataluna (too many licenses to attach for photo).  We also walked down the Via Laietana.
Via Laietana, 18th April 2009
By Stavros1 [CC BY 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons
This street was chosen since we needed to buy our tickets for an upcoming trip.  It's a surprise.

From here we went to the Cathedral of Barcelona.  This cathedral was finished in the 15th century.
Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia

By Mromanchenko [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

This is the original facade of the church that was changed in the late 19th century from this
Cathedral of Barcelona 1850 Villaamil
to this:
150 Catedral de Barcelona
By Enfo [CC BY-SA 3.0], from Wikimedia Commons

I previously mentioned Dan Brown's "Origin" as my inspiration for revisiting this trip.  The basilica mentioned in the novel is Sagrada Familia and is a 20th century unfinished work.  We did not visit it. Like many things in Spain it seems to be rather controversial.  Ya think?
Σαγράδα Φαμίλια 2941

By C messier [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons

Now, have you ever had a meal you will never forget?  Well, this was the day for me.  I even recorded it in the diary.  We had paella for lunch along with a wonderful white wine.  Nowadays, a lunch of paella and wine and I would be out for the count.  Nap time!  But I was 50 years younger then.  So....

We walked off the calories by climbing up to Montjuic Park.  We spent most of our time in the Spanish Village on the west side of the mountain.

I spent $10.28 including the cost of the tickets for our upcoming excursion.

Let me now say that until a few years ago when I went to Montreaux, I had no idea who Freddie Mercury was.  Ask me to sing a song from the Big Band era of the 40's and I have no problem.  Pick anything after 1960 and I can often give you a strange look.  But once I heard Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballe sing together, I bought the CD.  This is one of the songs: "Barcelona".




14 comments:

  1. A whirlwind tour indeed. We spent three days in Barcelona many years ago and we loved it, apart from being chased by a waiter because I left the wrong amount of money after a meal. We did visit the Sagrada Familia and if it's ever finished it will surely be one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.
    Have a great week.

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    1. Gaudi has a unique talent and I would love to see that church.

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  2. That's one heck of a church to be left unfinished. What a shame. No doubt the money ran out and nobody has the wherewithall to complete it. You sure got around with this trip. Wonder where your mystery trip is going to?

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    1. It is a work in progress. Visitor fees cover construction costs. It should be finished in 2026.

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  3. Paella in Spain, I'm sure it was delicious!

    betty

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    1. And the more I talk abut it the more I want to make it.

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  4. When I think of Barcalona I think of Antonio Gaudi. His fabulous mosaics, his wacky buildings and of course the Sagrada Familia which for me, even in its unfinished state, has to be the most beautiful building in the world. I like paella to, infact I made one last night!

    Click to visit Keith's Ramblings!

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    1. I am going to have to search for some videos of the Sagrada Familia. Not sure why we didn't visit it when we were there.
      As for you eating paella while were were having hamburgers and potato salad for our holiday..... where was our invitation???

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  5. This city is on my bucket list because of its beauty and I love Gaudi. That one piece of architecture captured my heart when I was a kid looking at a book about this Spain. It reminded me of an epic sand castle. Love watching that video about this walled town in a town all for an expo. I couldn't watch the Freddie Mercury video here-not compatible so I hope I can see it on youtube.

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    1. I've encountered the same video issue at times. Frustrating.

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    2. I had the same issue, but found an equivalent:
      Freddy Mercury, Barcelona

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  6. That cathedral is amazing. It seems to defy gravity the way they were built. I didn't know who FM was or is, either!

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    1. I replied to this and it disappeared. He was the lead singer of Queen. We will, we will rock you.

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  7. Thanks for the tour of Barcelona. I'm so excited to be going there this fall! It all looks amazing and what's better than eating Paella in Spain? ☺ I hope we'll have time to visit the Spanish Village.

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