Barcelona

The late Freddie Mercury had a song called “Barcelona,” which included these lyrics:

Barcelona! It was the first time that we met
Barcelona! How can I forget
The moment that you stepped into the room
You took my breath away

While Barcelona has not necessarily taken my breath away, some of the sights that Tony and I have experienced the past few days have definitely blown me away.  Our first full day here, we toured the Basilica of the Sacrada Familia (the Basilica of the Holy Family).  The fantastical building has been under construction since 1882, and it is not expected to be completed until 2026.  The Basilica was designed by Antoni Gaudi, and there are no words to adequately describe it.  When it is completed, it will have 18 towers – 12 for the apostles, 4 for the evangelists, 1 for the Virgin Mary and 1 for Jesus.  Currently, there are only 8 towers.

Tony and I spent much of yesterday in the Las Ramblas area.  Despite its reputation for being full of pickpockets and gypsies trying to scam tourists, we never saw even a hint of trouble.  We visited the Cathedral of Barcelona, which is an amazing Gothic church.

After the Cathedral, we spent several hours in the Museu de Frederic Mares.  Frederic Mares was a wealthy Catalan sculptor who lived to be almost 100 years old.  He once claimed that he created sculptures so that he would have the money to collect sculptures.  That said, however, he collected far more.  He collected sculptures, paintings, pipes, bed warmers, armor, guns, eyewear, binoculars, photography equipment, time pieces, table silver, tobacco jars, boxes, books, life-sized Crucifixes, and more!  Even after hours in the museum of his collections, we never saw everything.  It was fascinating.   

We also visited the section of Las Ramblas where George Orwell once lived.  We found it ironic that the the area where Orwell (the author of 1984, among other books) once lived is now monitored 24/7 by a security camera.  Very rich, indeed.

 Then we finally broke down and went to lunch at a place where I could eat an American hamburger.  I will confess that I am normally pretty culinarily adventurous (something I learned from my friend, Ginny Love), but I was seriously craving a good old American hamburger yesterday.  I was able to get one (with excellent onion rings!), and I was one happy girl!  We also found a Metro stop with my name on it!!!

Today, we started the day with a visit to the Museu de le Xocolata (Museum of Chocolate).  This place tells about the history of chocolate.  Chocolate came to be revered in Mesoamerican culture. According to ancient Aztec legend, the cacao tree was brought to Earth by the god Quetzalcoatl, who descended from heaven on the beam of a morning star after stealing the precious plant from paradise. It’s no wonder that the spicy beverage made from its beans was called the ‘Drink of the Emperor.’ It is said that this xocoatl or chocolatl was so revered that it was served in golden goblets that were thrown away after one use.

Chocolate was served during religious rites and celebrations. It was often mixed with flavorings such as vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, chilis, hueinacaztli—a spicy flower from the custard apple tree—and anchiote, which turns the mouth bright red. The Aztec also believed that cacao possessed strong medicinal properties—indeed, warriors were issued solid cacao wafers to fortify their strength and endurance for long marches and the rigors of battle.

There were lots of amazing things in the museum built out of chocolate.  The museum is pretty effective, though, because one walks through and looks at all of these things built out of chocolate, then one craves chocolate, and the exit pours into a store filled with CHOCOLATES!!! Tony and I played right into their hands.  It was delightful.

After we made our selections of chocolates (which was no easy task!), we ambled back to Las Ramblas.  We stopped for a quick bite, and I had a tapas dish of Iberian ham while Tony had apple pie and wine.  During our lunch we watched a group (perhaps a labor group?) engage in some sort of very loud protest right outside of our restaurant.  We are seeing a lot of protests pretty much everywhere we go.  

Once we finished eating, we headed down to Museu de l’Erotica (Museum of Erotica).  Tony had more desire to sit out in the sun than to go into the Museum, so I went alone.  It was interesting, and actually humorous at moments.  They showed a vintage porn film from about 90 years ago.  I am NOT into porn and never have been, but I admit I was curious about porn from 90 years ago.  I watched a few minutes of it, and it was hilarious.  Everything that happened occurred with clothes on, and would probably be considered PG-13 by today’s standards.  But, it was porn 90 years ago.  Priceless.  Many of the rooms in the museum illustrated the history of erotica in other cultures – China, Japan, Egypt, India, Europe, Russia – and included artwork and manuscripts of historic value. 

 Tony and I have not managed to do as much “touristy” stuff as many of the others on the trip because we have had to come back to the room most days and do some work.  For us, this is sort of working trip, and we are both having to keep in touch with work.  So be it. We are terribly excited that we will see our babies  -- Ella and Red – in less than 36 hours.  We miss them so much.

As for a short summary of our impressions of Spain, I will try and share them here.

What we like about Spain:

1.      I love that so many public spaces (esp. subway stations) have random people playing music.

2.      The people here are generally very friendly.  Even my Italian husband says the people here are very nice and “not jerks like the people in Italy and Greece.” So, there you go.

3.      Tony likes the cheap wine and the tapas.

4.      I think the subway in Barcelona is one of the best I have seen.

5.      I love that there is so much Catholic culture in Spain, and especially Barcelona.

What I don’t love so much about Spain:

1.      While Tony likes the tapas, I do not care too much for the food. 

2.      The Madrid Airport is dreadful.  This trip involved my third experience with the Madrid Airport, and I have hated it every time.

3.      Tony has found it virtually impossible to find American-style coffee unless he goes to a Starbucks.  Even at breakfast, he is stuck with espresso or cappuccino.

4.      Heaven forbid a Western tourist should want to eat dinner at any time before 9pm because many places won’t open for dinner until freakin’ 9pm!  What the hell??? I mean, I totally get that Spaniards don’t eat dinner until 9pm, but in areas where there are loads of tourists, why don’t places bother to open a little earlier?  I am flummoxed as to why this is.

5.      As a wife, it blows my mind that so many Spanish women don’t wear underpants.  They get on the subway in their tiny little dresses, and when trains BLOW into the stations, their dresses blow up, and they flash their naked butts to my husband.  I wish you could have seen Tony’s face the first time it happened.  I almost fell over laughing, but it doesn’t mean I like it.

6.      When you go to restaurants, you often have to choose between sitting inside where the temperature is equivalent to one of my hot flashes, or sit outside where everyone is smoking.  Either choice sucks, IMHO.

So, in summary, I am glad we have had the chance to see Spain, but having made two trips to Spain in my lifetime, I am not sure I would ever want to return.  If Brittain, Alex, Melody, Kayla and all my other friends who LOVE Spain read this and hate me for not loving Spain, I sincerely apologize. I swear I came with an open mind, but I guess Spain’s charms are lost on me. 

Joanie

Cordoba and Granada

We left Sevilla at 8am for a short drive to Cordoba where we toured The Great Mezquita (The Great Mosque) – Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady.  If you are confused, that is understandable.  Groundbreaking for the original mosque (most of which is still standing) was in 784, and it was completed in 987 – just over 200 years.  The building was originally a medieval mosque with a rectangular hall that had aisles that were perpendicular to the normal direction in which Muslims were accustomed to praying.  The Muslims who led the construction of the mosque were said to be very conciliatory towards the Christians of Cordoba.  They used and valued the skills, crafts and artwork of many Christians in the construction of the mosque.  

When King Ferdinand III of Castille conquered Cordoba in 1236, the mosque was consecrated as a Catholic Cathedral.  Future kings added other Catholic additions including a Cathedral nave (main body of the church which provides a central approach to the high altar), and multiple chapels (including chapels honoring my confirmation saint, St. Theresa and Tony’s patron saint, St. Anthony).  Nothing I could write here cold do this place justice.  Essentially, this is an enormous Catholic Cathedral built within a ginormous Muslim Mosque.  Just fantastic to experience.  Truly.

After our tour, we encountered some protesters.  Apparently, for the past 14 years, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the Cathedral of the Assumption of Our Lady.  This Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, by both Spanish Catholic authorities, and the Vatican.  Nevertheless, the protests continue.

Then we had lunch at a local restaurant.  I am still not sure what our first course was.  It was some sort of cold soup.  I suspect it was some sort of vegetable puree in which we put small bits of chopped cucumbers, chopped scallions and croutons.  The soup was red, but it was not tomato.   It was tasty, but I am still not sure what it was.  Next we got some fried things served with mayonnaise.  Some in the group think it was fried potatoes.  Again, I am not convinced.  I think it might have been fried eggplant.  I declined the pie, but Tony says it tasted “fruity.”  Who knows?

Then we left Cordoba for Granada. 

When we arrived in Granada, it was blessedly cooler.  Of course, we got into the hotel, and it was filled with obnoxious children who were obviously high on sugar and caffeine blowing whistles and being as annoying as possible while their parents got drunk.  Nice.

This morning we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast for heading out to visit to the Alhambra.  The Alhambra’s Islamic Palaces were built for the last Muslim emirs (princes) in Spain. I have tried to include some photos of the palace and the gardens, but nothing here shows the true splendor of this place.  

 

 

Tomorrow, we leave Granada for Barcelona, the final city on our trip.  I will do my best to keep you all posted.

Joanie

Our Last Day in Sevilla

We had free time for our last day here in Sevilla.  I confess, after a late night and lots of sun, Tony and I slept in.  We even missed breakfast.  So once we arose and dressed for the day, we decided we should visit the Archivo de Indias (the Archives of the Indies).  This museum celebrates Sevilla’s important role in the colonization and exploitation of the New World.  It contains letters from Columbus, Cervantes, and George Washington.  Despite our extensive research on the place and how to get there, we never found the damned place.  Nevertheless, we ended up enjoying our leisurely stroll through the center of Sevilla.  We stumbled upon some flamenco dancers performing in the street, and we found some performance artists who were scaring the hell out of people walking past them.  I have video of much of this, but the Internet is so slow at our hotel that I cannot get the video to upload to Facebook.  I will try again when we get to Granada.  

Tony and I figured out the underground train system today.  What is most interesting is that once you buy your tickets and travel to your destination and back, you can put your card into a machine when you return, and by turning your card back in, you get one euro.  Clearly, this is one more way Sevilla helps stay “green” by giving folks an incentive to turn in their used cards instead of throwing them away.  I used my euro to buy some water on the way back to the hotel!  Win!

While we were in the center of town, we ran into Mary Beth Shults and Katie Taylor.  Then, as we were entering the train station, we ran into Stephanie Windle and Hannah Raines.  Crazy!  Then, while waiting on our train, we saw Darris Saylors sitting on a train going in the opposite direction.  It is just wild running into so many people we know in a city this size.  

So, tomorrow, we check out at 7:45 am and head for Cordoba, and then Granada.  I hope we are also heading for cooler weather.  I won’t lie.  I am NOT a hot-weather girl.  I love the cool weather, so this heat is killing me.  

Joanie