Adios Barcelona

 Adios Barcelona.

Last night Ali and  Emily left for Greece and points beyond.  At 4:00 this morning Jon and Jeanne left for Portugal.  Thanks to the internet we know that they all made it safely (but tired) to their destinations.  The near empty apartment allowed Cathy and me to have a second cup of coffee and a little alone time with Kathleen which is always wonderful.  

Our empty apartment

Alas, our 11:00 check out time arrived and we pulled our bags to a local grocery store that Jon, Cathy and Jeanne had discovered the previous day with a baggage hold area.  We left a backpack and four suitcases.  We once again headed to Sagrada Familia.  However this time it was just to catch a Hop-On Hop-Off tour of Barcelona.  We rode on the top deck of the double decker bus from one end of the city to the other.    

Locking up our luggage

We finished in time to reclaim our luggage and find a sidewalk cafe for lunch.  We shared a Cabify with Kathleen to the airport and Cathy and I continued to our airport hotel in preparation for a Monday morning departure.  

Today we are choosing to be grateful for doing something that was probably pretty stupid but getting away with it.  While we were reclaiming our luggage at the grocery store we realized how very insecure it had been for the previous four hours.  Indeed the suitcases were “chained” to the wall but anybody with a small wire cutters could have snapped the chain like a twig.  Further, the suitcases were not locked so they could have been opened, ransacked and left hanging on the security chain, all in plain view of passersby as the “secure area was in the storefront window.  Thank you God.   

Note the heavy duty “chains”

It’s always fun to learn of the different Christmas customs of other countries.  Spain, specifically the Catalan area, has “El Cagner”.

The Caganer (literally "the pooper") is a traditional figurine secretly placed in Catalan nativity scenes. A traditional Catalan peasant wearing a barretina (red cap), crouching down with his trousers dropped to defecate. He is never placed in the main manger. Instead, he is tucked away in a corner, often behind a tree or building, "fertilizing the earth".  Artisans may also craft Caganers in the likeness of famous celebrities, politicians, athletes, and pop-culture icons.  We saw many of them in stores and souvenir shops.   

Time is winding down

Our days in Spain are winding down and today was expected to be pretty low key - but it wasn’t. 

We had a nice morning (thanks Ali for a delicious breakfast).  We decided to take a cab to the Cathedral.  There is a large plaza in front of the cathedral with lots of entertainment.

The Cathedral boarders the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.  The ancient streets are tiny and the buildings are very close together.  There was street entertainment around every corner ranging from a classical cellist to street dancers. 

 We made a brief stop at the Barcelona Historical Records building which afforded some great views of the cathedral.

After even more walking and a little shopping we stopped in a neighborhood outdoor cafe for sangria, chips and guac.

At this point our little troupe split up.  Some went home and some of us went to the Picasso Museum.  I gotta say Picasso’s early works were wonderful and then there are all of his works that you normally attribute to Picasso.  

We gathered back at the apartment for a final dinner.  Shortly afterward, Emily and Ali left to continue their travels.  They are planning on hitting five more countries in the next two weeks.  Jeanne and Jon leave very early tomorrow morning for Portugal and Kathleen leaves tomorrow afternoon New York. So Cathy and I head for home on Monday morning. 

Last Large Group Photo

Barcelona with the Blaneys

Greetings again from Barcelona, 

Because she was not with us yesterday, Kathleen and I took a tour of Sagrada Familia today.  I enjoyed it just as much today as yesterday.  I’ve had the good fortune of seeing other grand churches but I don’t think I have ever been at a loss for words to describe one.  It’s bizarre for the amount of carvings on the outside of the building but they are wonderfully done.  The light and the stained class inside of the church is mind blowing.  The size is hard to comprehend.  Here are a few more photos from todays visit. 

Some other members of our group of seven walked to a vintage market called dels encants this morning for some shopping but we all gathered back at the house for lunch around two. 

After lunch it was off to Casa Batllo in the heart of Barcelona, a home designed by Gaudi. The man certainly had a vision.  Truthfully when I see some of the things he has created I’m reminded of Whoville when the Grinch stole Christmas.  Here is a photo. 

From Casa Batllo we walked to La Ramblas.  La Ramblas is an iconic walkway in central Barcelona, stretching about three quarters of a mile from Plaza Cataluña to the water.  Along our stroll we stopped in at the famous La Boqueria market.  

Our timing was perfect as we ducked into a roofed cafe for two pitchers of sangria the rain began.  When the sun came out we continued down to the water. 

We returned to our apartment and Ali made us a wonderfully delicious pasta dinner.  It was another good day. 

More From Barcelona

 Greetings again from Barcelona, 

Today Cathy and I slept in and did some wash as the four others adventured out without us.  They took a 4 mile round trip walk to the Magic Fountain of Montjuic.  Sadly it was not operating but we hope to see it tonight.  

This Afternoon we walked to one of the most famous churches in the world, Sagrada Familia.  Sagrada Familia is the tallest church in the world and the one of largest Catholic churches in the world.  The architecture is credited to Antoni Gaudí who died in 1926 when the church was only 25% completed.  He is buried in the crypt of the church.  The pope is due to visit in a couple of weeks.  It has been under construction for 146 years.  

There are no words that can describe this church but these come close, luminous, transcendental, kaleidoscope-like, gothic and art nouveau.  Even pictures don’t do it justice but here are a few that we took. 

We got back to the apartment just in time to welcome Kathleen!  It’s great to have her join our little band.

After regrouping we took a packed city bus to Park Güell.  It’s a large city park up in the hills of Barcelona.  It offered great panoramic views also unique and whimsical architecture featuring a great deal of mosaic tiles.  The tiles were on homes, benches, walls and art installations.  

We stopped at an outdoor cafe for tapas and decided we wanted to see the Magic Light Show at Montjuic.  It was fairy long cab driver but a pretty good deal in that all 7 oof us get into one group cab. 

The fountain show was tremendous!  It was a coordinated show with lights and music and lasted for 30 minutes.   Several thousand people were watching, many of them on a grand hill leading up to the Catalan Museum which look like it was built as a castle.  

We got home, exhausted but we still had enough energy to seek out a late night gelato shop.  Jon won the walking contest today for the most steps with 25,769, only slightly more than Jean, Ali and Emily.   

Today was a good day and thanks to Ali for some of these photos.  

Barcelona

 Greetings from Barcelona, 

Last night about 11:00 these fine young men thought it was a good idea to serenade our neighborhood just below the balcony of our rental.  It really was pretty neat and one of those experiences that make the traveling problems worth it.  

Today was another moving day for us as we said adios to Madrid and headed to Barcelona.  We had a few hiccups with the Cabify but we had plenty of time to make it to the train station to catch our 3 hour train ride.  I guess planning for mistakes and adapting is what traveling is in 2026.

Yesterday, shortly after our visit with the queen, Cathy and I were walking home when Kathleen faced timed us.  Somehow Kathleen remembered that Cathy was wearing the same top in the same place in 2023! Shortly thereafter she sent us photos proving she was right! Speaking of Cathy’ clothing, we are approaching laundry day.  Here is the outfit that Cathy wore the other day.  To be fair, she had her black jacket on the entire day! She explained it was cool and it was her only long sleeved shirt.

Because we have been in Spain for a week now I feel very confident in giving my opinion on race relations.  We’ve been in a couple of large cities and it’s noticeable that we have seen very few black people.  The ones we have seen are young men hawking “football” jerseys on the street corners.  Their display area consists of a sheet covering the cement.  The jerseys are neatly displayed and some are in clear plastic bags.  Often times the corners of the sheet have cords tied to them so the seller can quickly pull the cords and move on.

We arrived in Barcelona today and after off loading our bags and figuring out how to get in and out of our new apartment, we headed out to explore the neighborhood.  After walking a short way we came across this building called “Casa Mila”.    Casa Milà is known as "the stone quarry" and is a modern looking building designed by Antoni Gaudí.  Tomorrow we’ll see Sagrada Familia, the church Gaudi designed.

  We’re very excited because tomorrow, our group of six becomes a group of seven when Kathleen Joins us!

Prado, Retirio Park, Cookies and The Queen

 Hola, 

Today’s adventure started with a walk to the Prado Museum, one of the world’s leading Art Museum’s.  We had a time consuming glitch with the audio tour but that was solved by Jon buying the audio tour for 5 euros each - money well spent.  There is no photography allowed n the Prado so today’s blog is a little lacking for photos.  

Jon did sneak photo of the painting “The Immaculate Conception”.  

Taking the photo took great courage on Jon’s part as earlier his wings had been clipped when he touched an almost 200 year marble carving titled “woman with veil”.  (This photo is off the internet).  It’s hard to understand how someone could carve this bust out of a single piece of marble including the veil.

We walked to Retirio Park - think Central Park in New York and had a pleasant lunch overlooking the little lake.  

While retuning to our apartment we stopped to photograph the Covid 19 memorial in Puerto del Sol.   I reads:  “The Town of Madrid In Memory To The Victims Of Covid-19 and Especially To Those Who Died In Solitude”.

After a brief respite we journeyed out to find the Holy Grail, cookies made by cloistered nuns.  The process truly is unique.  The buyer rings an outside door bell.  When the nun answers, you say “are there any sweets today? (in Spanish).  The nun pushes a button and the door unlocks.  The customer then follows a hallway until we come upon the lazy Susan device.  We told the sister what kind of cookies we wanted, placed the money on the lazy Susan and spun it around.  Shortly there after it spun back with our cookies and change.   

At this point our little group of 6 split up. Cathy and I headed home and the other four decided to do a little shopping.  As Cathy and I walked through a crowded Puerto del Sol there were barricades and armed police.  When we asked the police who they were waiting for he told me “la reina’ (the queen).   We waited about five minutes and we were able to take these photos.  She was too far away for me to hear clearly but I think she was asking me about the ice bowl. 

I wonder what tomorrow will bring?  

More from Madrid

Greetings from Madrid, 

Today’s touring started with a walk to the Royal Palace.  It was about a one mile walk from our apartment. The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish royal family and  is used primarily for state ceremonies. It has 1,450,000 sq ft of floor space and 3,418 rooms.  The Royal Palace is one of the largest palaces in the world.  

While we were downloading the app before the tour, I had the opportunity to explain to my nieces what a cathedral was and the difference between a cathedral and a basilica, knowledge I know they appreciated.  In an unrelated note they showed me the exercise called an eye roll.  Apparently you have to do it often for it to be effective.  To say the palace was ostentatious would be a huge understatement.  We’ll post some photos but we finished the tour wondering how people could became so wealthy and so powerful just by being lucky at birth.   

After a needed lunch we set out to find the cloistered nunnery that sells cookies.   Rick Steves wrote about it so it’s become quite an attraction.  The door is unremarkable and after ringing the door bell, the door opens.  The customer walks down a hallway to a lazy Susan type device.  You place your order and supply the money and the lazy Susan is spun around.  The customer’s order is filled and his/her change is returned.  There is no conversation and you never see the nun.  Sadly, it was closed but we’ll try again tomorrow.   

Cathy’s cousins, Debbie Kolb and Lisa Maas were passing through Madrid today on their way to their starting point of the 500 mile trail of St. James.  The walk starts in France and takes them across Spain and is called El Camino.  We were only a long walk away from the train station so met them and had just enough time for a short visit.  We were grateful we had the chance to wish them well on their journey.  After the visit they left to begin their 500 mile walk and we chose to take a cab back to our rental - don’t tell Lisa and Debbie.