Thanks for your patience in receiving the final few installations of our Spain trip blog. Even though the next couple of postings are after the fact, no thanks to the exhorbitant wi-fi charges our hotel was asking for, we hope you'll still enjoy the pics and stories we have for you!
Checking out the last one-on-one assignments
Jonty looking none the worse for wear after our long party the night before
Receiving certificates of completion
Heading to the bus at the end of the program
DAY ONE IN BARCELONA:
After many hugs and goodbyes from the Vaughan group back in Madrid on Friday, October 5, JD and I were off to the airport and off to Barcelona. We landed close to midnight and didn't get to our hotel until near 1 am. Aparthotel Silver is a pretty nice hotel in the Gracia district of the city - a charming neighborhood north of the main areas of Barcelona.
The next day, after a late start (I went back to bed after breakfast), we headed out to the famous Gaudi masterpiece La Sagrada Familia. You see pictures of this church every time you look up Barcelona, but really, nothing can prepare you for seeing it in person. It's just crazy ridiculous and crazy amazing. I don't know how to describe it. We literally spent over two hours here just looking at the little details inside and out.
Outside the Sagrada Familia
The amount of detail on this cathedral is staggering. Not too mention that the archetectual and artistic styles vary from the front of the cathedral to the back so drastically, you'd be hard pressed to believe it was the same building. It is also very confusing to be inside the cathedral, walking on the bare concrete floor, with modern building materials strewn about coming to grips with the notion that the cathedral is over 100 years old and is still being built.
Looking skyward
Later in the afternoon we took a detour to El Corte Ingles so that JD could buy some clothing, got some more rest in the afternoon, and then went to this indescribably outstanding restaurant called Espai Sucre ("Sugar Space" in Catalan). It's a "gastro-chemistry" concept restaurant that specializes in dessert-only tasting menus.
The plates at Espai Sucre consist of tiny portions - a small grouping of ecclectic modes of delivering flavor and texture. Concentrated foams, ice creams, candied ingredients, syrups, sauces, and 'soups' are carefully combined to create a 'travelling' culinary experience. I have to use unusual adjectives and descriptions for this food because no ordinary food-adjectives can adequately describe it. Nothing tastes even remotely like chicken...
One of our small plates: "Flower Flavors" - Raspberry sorbet, Hibiscus wafers, Rose Ice Cream, Vanilla Granita, Tomato Foam, Red Wine syrup and red berries.
Inside Espai Sucre
Afterwards, we begrudgingly turned in early for the night (we were still getting over the intensity of the Vaughan program).
Not to mention that Espai Sucre literally exhausted us via pure sensory overload. Look, we're not kidding about that place. The food is not to be trifled with!
DAY TWO IN BARCELONA:
We did an iJourneys walking tour of the Barri Gotic, El Call, and Las Ramblas. The narrator for iJourneys Barcelona was pretty annoying, but the tour overall was extremely interesting and worth what little money we paid to download it to our iPods.
The iJourneys tour had some good historical facts and trivia. We did learn a lot via this tour, and it was a great walk. We covered miles upon miles of the city. But this woman... it was saddening because she was pronouncing all the Spanish words with plain English phoenetics. I get why she did it (at least I hope this is why); because she needs Anglos to be able to understand what kind of spelling to look for on the street placards. But if anyone were to ask a local for directions referring to something like Placa de la Seu as "Plassa day laa Say-yooo" they would come off as ignorant and get a lot of silly stares.
The Barri Gotic, or "Gothic Quarter", within the Ciutat Vella, or "old city" is one of the largest and most well-preserved areas of western medieval-period buildings/architecture in the world. Pictures below.
Looking out from the cloister of the Cathedral de la Seu
Part of the old Roman aqueduct is incorporated into the Cathedral
Spanish sounds and sights by the Cathedral
The steps where Christopher Columbus was received by Ferdinand and Isabella after returning from the New World - at the Placa del Rei, location of the old royal palace.
El Call is the location of the old Jewish neighborhood in medieval Barcelona. Very historic, claustrophobic, and labyrinthian. And oh, so cool. Check out the video below.
El Call in mid-afternoon
Las Ramblas is the famous mile-long pedestrian street that starts at Plaza de Catalunya and stretches all the way down to the harbor.
Across the street shot of Casa Batllo, Gaudi's contribution to the Block of Discord - 3 separate apartment buildings designed by 3 different architects on the same side of the street.Video of us walking Las Ramblas
