Spain

Joanne & Richard with Betty and Richard at Sagrada Familia, a trip highlight

Barcelona ... a dream destination of mine (Joanne).  Why?  Many years ago I saw a segment on the TV program, 60 Minutes, about the Sagrada Familia, a wondrous unfinished cathedral by the Spanish architect, Gaudi.  It caught my interest and imagination.  Finally, for my 70th birthday, we decided to travel here with our good friends and travel buddies, Betty and Richard Armstrong.

Gaudi began construction in 1883 and worked on it until his death in 1926.  It is supposed to be completed in 2026!  It is funded completely by donations and entry fees.  What makes it so very special is Gaudi's religious vision of NATURE.  He said, "Nothing is invented. It's written in nature."  The pillars are unique, like branches of trees and the windows filter light like the canopy of a rain forest.  Right now, there is construction on the huge central spire - when complete

Sagrada Familia all lit up at night - Breathtaking!

there should be 18 towers!  It did not disappoint.  We all loved touring it and consider it a highlight of our trip.

We found a wonderful Air B&B in a centrally located spot.  We each had our own comfortable bedrooms with separate baths.  The kitchen was great, too, for breakfast and some nice dinner meals.  We went to the local market and bought some fresh fish (not sure what it was!), cooked it up with lots of butter and garlic and boy, was it good!

Cable Car ride to Montserrat

We used our Rick Steves Guidebook and saw the major sites.  We rambled down the Ramblas, a great walking jaunt from the medieval city down to the harbor.  On my birthday, we hiked around Parc Guell, had dinner at a super restaurant called Carmen Carmen and visited the Picasso Museum.  The next day we took a train to Montserrat, a great viewpoint and monastery with La Moreneta, a statue of the Black Madonna that was discovered in a Sacred Cove.  We enjoyed riding the cable cars, hearing the young boy's choir and most of all, the spectacular scenery.

Joanne's 70th Birthday Celebration

On the way home, we took a crowded train.  Unfortunately, our friend, Richard, was pick-pocketed and he lost his wallet containing money and credit cards.  This was after he caught a stomach virus (the day before).  After many phone calls and electronic transmissions, he was able to cancel them.  Fortunately, his wife, Betty, had her own card, so they were OK with their finances.  What an inconvenience for them!

Casa Mila rooftop sculpture

Our last day was really fun.  We took a taxi to Montjuic, saw the Castle, ate a lovely dinner and visited Casa Mila, one of Gaudi's famous modernista wonders.  We loved the ice-cream cone structures on the roof - 30 of them - that you can view up close.  This place was exceptional!  We watched the sunset from there and reflected on how much we enjoyed being with our friends, once again, and how fortunate we were to have such great weather and explore together this fabulous city.  Tomorrow, our friends are heading to France, while we fly to Grenada to start a tour of Spain's southern cities.

Grenada

Columbus receives his orders
from Queen Isabella

Up at 6:45 a.m. to catch a ride to the airport to catch a discount flight to Grenada.  The plane was  new and the trip easy.  It was approximately a 1-1/2 hour ride with beautiful scenery of the Mediterranean coastline. It was cloudy and lightly raining as we touch-downed around 12 noon.  Our hotel is centrally located, the Hotel AnaCapri and we have a comfortable room.  Today we explored the ancient city and had a nice lunch close by.  We toured the Royal Chapel and caught up on our history of Queen Isabel and King Ferdinand.  They are buried here in an ornate chapel.  Their marriage united the Aragon and Castile kingdoms.  Isabel decided to make Grenada the capital of Spain and thus showed the world at the time that Christianity had overcome Islam in Europe.  She sponsored Christopher Columbus and there is a large statue in the square showing her with him as she signs the paperwork to send him to discover what was out there!

Joanne poses by Lions Fountain

 Most of the next day we spent in The Alhambra, which is the last and greatest Moorish palace and one of Europe's top sights.  We bought a ticket on-line prior to the tour, a necessity if you want to get in.  However, we did not allow enough time to get to the entrance gate, which is quite a confusing walk from the parking lot.  Even with a 10:30 a.m. entrance time, we ran to get there on time!  (We were told that we'd lose our chance of entering if we were late!)  All worked out well and we even had time to purchase audio guides, which were very helpful in explaining what we were seeing.  There were many rooms decorated ornately with colors galore, scalloped windows and gorgeous gardens.  I was impressed with the Moorish designs and bought some place-mats containing them to remember.  I'll remember the water features in the palace with the Courtyard of Lions surrounding the fountain.   

The Alhambra at sunset with Sierra Nevada mountains in the distance

After a full day touring, we enjoyed dinner and took a taxi to check out San Nicolas Viewpoint, a breathtaking vista over the Alhambra.  It was gorgeous lit up at night (sandstone orange colors) and there was quite a crowd looking at the sunset.

Sevilla

At home we purchased train tickets on the Spanish railway.  It was to be about 2 hours to reach Sevilla.  The only issue was the railway was under construction.  Apparently, they are building a high speed line; therefore, they bused us on 2 different buses until we finally reached a train.  Upon arrival, we took a taxi to the most beautiful hotel of the trip - Hotel Amadeus, a little gem of a place with a music motif and a modern glass elevator that takes you to a roof-top terrace with a wonderful hot tub.  We loved the place!  Such nice staff and accommodations.  

Tomb of Columbus with clock

Joanne holding up Rick Steve's SPAIN book

After resting a bit, we took off to visit the Cathedral, the 3rd-largest in Europe.  We followed the Rick Steve's Spain Guidebook, and The Tomb of Columbus was interesting to us.  Can you believe that Columbus was transported to Sevilla from the Dominican Republic, then to Cuba and finally here?  They recently did a DNA test to assure it is him buried in the Cathedral.  It was quite a monument with a high clock ticking above it and a mural of St Christopher, patron saint of travelers.

Joanne & Richard on Gibraltar overlooking Atlantic meeting Mediterranean Sea

UP EARLY to take a tour to the Rock of Gibraltar!  This was on Joanne's Bucket List since reading about it as a child.  It was interesting in that we had to go through British Customs and then walk through an airfield before reaching the little town.  We enjoyed great views, learned some of the history, visited St Michael's Cave (containing stalagmites and stalactites), enjoyed delicious fish & chips, and visited with the tailless Barbary apes.  It was extremely windy and we appreciated the beauty of the Atlantic meeting the Mediterranean Sea.

The Rock may leave the EU soon

The Brits still control The Rock

Rock of Gibraltar from distance

Barbary monkey poses for us

Beautiful gardens of the Alcazar

King Peter and his Queen memorialized in decorative stone painting in the Alcazar

The next day we took a self-guided walk around the Barrio Santa Cruz.  It was fun wandering around the alley ways, window shopping and checking out the courtyards.  We visited Alcazar, a Moorish 10th century palace turned into a Christian ruler's place (Peter the Cruel or Peter the just), depending upon your viewpoint.  That night we attended a Flamingo music and dance performance - Ole!

Our Flamingo Dancers - Ole!

Cordoba

The next day it was a short 1 hour train ride to Cordoba located on the Guadalquivir River.  The taxi delivered us to our hotel Mezquita located across the street from the famous mosque. Richard had visited here 50 years ago as a young man on leave from the Air Force.  He was most excited to see it again after all this time.  He could not believe his eyes that this was the same little place he visited!

Inside The Mezquita, note the stripped arches of the beautiful mosque

After lunch and walking down to the famous Roman Bridge, we toured The Mezquita.   It is a massive former mosque with a 16th century Catholic Church build in the middle of it.  The Muslims would like it returned to them, but the Catholic Bishop excavated the property and found that the mosque was built over a 6th century church!  It has ancient  stripped earth-tone arches and it is HUGE.  We looked at

Altar of Our Lady of Antigua

the Mihrab, the mosque equivalent of a church's high altar.  We were also fascinated by the Cathedral rising up through the ancient mosque columns.  It was very ornate, covered with gold.  The idea was to show the masses of the triumph of Christianity over Islam.  There were a multitude of side altars each enclosed with ancient metal art work screens.  My favorite was Our Lady of Antigua, the patron saint of sailors.

Madrid

High speed trains

Richard in front of our hotel

Today's agenda was another taxi ride to the train station for a high speed train ride to the capital city of Spain, Madrid.  Our Only You Hotel was located across the street from the train station - great location and nice accommodations!  

My Matador

Me a Senorita - not so much!

Since it was a beautiful day, we decided to visit the Royal Palace of the king and queen.  After waiting on line, we snagged audio guides for the romp through the palace. One room after another was decorated ornately, grandly, over-the-top sumptuous full of royal antiques!  Spain's royalty is much like the UK in that the King & Queen are figureheads.  The government is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy based upon the Spanish Constitution.

Outside the Spanish Royal Palace - Inside is beyond description - sumptuous royal antiques and splendor

Delicious gazpacho

In Madrid Airport - our sentiments exactly!

Picasso sculpture in Reina Sofia

The next day we visited Reina Sofia modern art museum and saw Picasso's masterpiece Guernica, depicting the horrors of war.  Weather had turned rainy, there was a demonstration on the street.  We decided to tour the Prado on Sunday afternoon (free admission!)  The lines were long but we finally got in.  It is one of the world's great museums loaded with masterpieces and displayed beautifully.  

In summary, what a great trip! 

Sign in New York's Kennedy Airport - I agree!

Richard's top favorites are:

• Sagrada Familia, especially viewing it at night
• Gaudi's Casa Mila
• Cordoba's La Mezquita. Observing the incredible difference in Cordoba today and Cordoba 50 years ago
• Traveling through Spain witnessing its prosperity, nice trains, metro, and friendliness of its people. Pretty girls on Barcelona streets.
• Sevilla's Alahambra
• Hotel Amadeus in Sevilla       

Joanne's top favorites are:

• Sagrada Familia at night and tour
• Touring Gaudi's Casa Mila
• 70th birthday lunch at Carmen Carmen and evening celebration when Spanish people were giving me Happy Birthday wishes
• Cable car ride to Monsarrat
• Shopping in Barcelona  market, buying and preparing fish for dinner and spending time with our friends, Betty & Richard
• Touring Cordoba's La Mesquita
• Touring fabulous museums - Picasso, Prado and Reina Sofia
• Enjoying the country of Spain - its nice people, cleanliness, well run, prosperous county

70th Birthday Surprise!

Sue leading the Happy Birthday song

What a surprise I had for my birthday!  Cousin Constance and my friend, Sue, planned it before our big trip to Spain.  Sue asked me to come over for a "keto" dinner before our trip.  She said that she was really busy and didn't have time to invite our other friends.  So, off we went.  I remember mentioning to Richard that it would be great if we could play some games after dinner - maybe Pegs and Jokers, one of our favorites?

The guests

More guests

The spread

When we walked into Sue & Rob's house, everyone yelled "surprise" and our friend, Gary, gave me a big hug.  There must have been 30+ people there!  Constance had a huge spread of appetizers and there were nice drinks, too.  I had 2 birthday cakes - one said "Still 69" and the other was a delicious angel food cake with chocolate icing.  Yum!  MOM was there, too, Constance had picked her up and she was "in" on it!  Sue asked people to tell their favorite "Joanne" story - there were some good ones!  I was so touched by everyone's generosity.  Constance suggested our friends give a contribution to my favorite charity, St Vincent de Paul.  So many people gave generous gifts.  I am so blessed!