Barcelona, Spain, May 15, 16, 17 and 18, 2013

We had three days in this huge, beautiful city and we could have used ten more. Hell, I could live there! I loved the people, the sites, the sounds, the language, although I could only understand about 1%, and that's being generous. I'm no fan of crowds, but somehow visiting Barcelona was one of the highlights of my life. We've been home now for over five months and I'm still dazed by the experience of visiting a new country and a new culture. Yeah, I'm sounding way too sentimental and 'new-age', but it was like my eyes have been opened for the first time. I can never look at Utah and the United States in the same way. It's a big, bold, diverse world out there, and my tiny corner in Utah is very sheltered. Spain had a mind-altering effect on me, it was my was my first trip to Europe, and could very well be my last simply due to the economics of life, but what an experience! Viva Espana!    

Our hotel, really an apartment, was just around the corner from the Basilica of the Sagrada Familia (Holy Family Church), designed by Antoni Gaudi.  The metro (subway) stop was at the corner just beyond the archway seen over Trevor's shoulder so we passed the Sagrada each morning and evening. 

Sagrada Familia . . .

Sagrada Familia exteriors . .  

Gauid's school next to the Sagrada Familia. Nothing he designed had a 90-degree corner, except maybe the doors and windows. 

Views from the Sagrada's tower.

Inside one of the towers. 

More exterior shots . . .

 

View from our apartment. The metro ran under our building and we could feel it shake the ground all night long, even from our fourth floor room. 

 

Interior of the Temple of Santa Maria del Mar. The only pick-pocketing we saw in Spain occurred while we were inside this Cathedral, not to us but an elderly man standing nearby. The thief did not succeed, that old man was a bad-ass and he fought off a kid about 60 years younger.    

Interior of the Temple of Santa Maria del Mar.

Corridor shot while waiting in line for the Pablo Picasso museum.

No photo's were allowed inside, but I caught this one while exiting the museum. Pablo Picasso: love him or hate him, but he changed the world.

Barcelona's harbor and a replica of one of Christopher Columbus' ship (not sure which one). Not very big for crossing the huge, unknown Atlantic.

Monument of Columbus, located at the north end of the Rambla.

Selling counterfeit sunglasses while watching for the law. I knew they were fake but bought a pair anyway ($10). But how stupid am I? I got all the way home, used them running all summer and just recently saw they aren't Ray Bans, they are Ray Beris. Small print and bad eyes are a bad combination.   

Pedestrian street one over fro m the Rambla, this one much better for crowds than the Rambla. 

La Boqueria,  Barcelona's version of a farmers market, just off the Rambla.

I see pigs feet, brains and stomachs, what else could one want?

Monjuic



My high-tech security system. A lot of hype over nothing. Other than one encounter we witnessed, the people of Spain seemed as honest as anyone in Utah (perhaps an insult to Spaniards?). Mind your own business, don't be stupid (keep bags closed and wallets near to the chest) and you'll have no problems.    

Camp Nou. Home of the mighty FC Barcelona futbol team.

I never went to the ground for a shot. This guy was obviously more obsessed than me.

Closest I got to the pitch,  a telephoto shot through the gates. 



Championship banners? The year I was born must have been a great year.

The longest escalator I've ever seen, taking us to the Gaudi designed Park Guell.

View of Barcelona from Park Guell.

How many Christians can fit on a hill? No pushing back there!

Guadi!

Random, I know, it made me laugh.

The metro of Barcelona, gets you anywhere in 20 minutes, car not necessary.

Our apartment.

Sad, sad day. Leaving Spain for home, work and the real world.