Barcelona- Luxury Living, Beach Bumming, and Partying Until Sunrise.

The whole gang flew into meet us in Barcelona for 10 days. It was great to see the family/ familiar faces  and have a spacious home base to cook and lounge in rather than a cramped hostel.  It was a week and half of family dinners, fine dining, raucous nightlife, beach bumming and city wandering.  Barcelona turned out to be a perfect break from our fast paced Europe tour.  

The view from our 19^th story beach front abode. Thanks Graham’s Mom and Dad.

One of Barcelona’s many crowded beaches

The whole Barcelona gang, Clockwise:  Ian, Colin (Ian’s girlfriend) Patrick (friend of younger brother Colin), Colin, Marv, Sue, Graham and Fran. Confusing we know.

Just like every other city in Spain, Barcelona had its own tent city full of protesters. The inhabitants of this particular one showed extra resourcefulness, building tree houses (complete with mattresses)  in the main square.

By chance we found ourselves in the middle of a major protest march….we just sort happened to be going the same way and the crowd kept getting bigger and bigger.

 The roof of La Pedrera – An apartment building designed by famed and progressive architect Antoni Gaudi in 1910. 

Front gate and entry way of La Pedera.

Parc Güell, another famouse Gaudi piece, is a large park built atop one of the tallest hills behind Barcelona city.

 Tile mosaic tile domes in the ceiling and pillars supporting the courtyard of Parc Güell

Father’s Day outing, We rode cable cars over harbor and visited the Olympic park (Barcelona hosted in 1992) though much of the park dated back to the 1930-60’s. 

What at first appeared to be a giant work of art actually turned out to be a telecommunications tower. Sort of reminded us of the Space needle….sort of.

Marv in front of Museum Nacional  d’Art de Catalunya

Fruit and juice stalls at Mercat de la Boqueria, which claims to be Europe's oldest outdoor market.

Sue in the jaws of a gigantic alligator sculpture that doubled as a slide

An interesting sculpture on the way to the Salvador Dali Museum in the town of Figueres (just outside Barcelona). The mess of a face painted on the ground only becomes clear when seen through the curved reflection of the shiny pillar, and is in fact a portrait of the surrealist artist (the droopy clock guy) 

One of Dali’s famous paintings. Up close it is a painting of the backside of Dali’s wife, Gala, looking out to sea with a sort of Cubist background. From far away, and especially through the lens of a camera, it appears to be an outline of Abraham Lincoln. Yes, Dali was a very strange fellow. 

Segrada Familia, The Catherderal’s construction began in 1882, and the project was soon taken over by Gaudi who worked on it until his sudden death in 1926. Construction continues to this day, following detailed modles left by Gaudi. Current estimates have it being completed in 2026. (The Spanish like to do things slow….) The 18 towers will represent the 12 apostles, 4 evangelists , Mother Mary, and the tallest tower standing 170 Meters for Jesus.

The Passion facade on the west side of the building

The Nativity façade on the east side

Gaudi took his architectural inspiration from nature.  Here you can see the columns resemble trees, branching out at the top and increasing the load bearing capacity

Looking straight up at the ceiling of the Cathedral

Throughout our 10 day stay the night sky was periodically punctuated by fireworks, usually set off by locals and at least one professional show

June 23 Is Saint John’s day in Barcelona, also celebrating mid summer’s eve/solstice .  Thousands of people flocked to the beach to light off fireworks (occasionally accidentally into the crowds of people), and drink and dance until the sun came up (or pass out on the beach trying). We made it until 5 a.m. before heading back to the condo.

We left Barcelona and headed to the south of France for two quick stops in Marseilles and Lyon. After that we're headed to the Alps!   

Marrakesh- Manic Markets and Luxury Lounging.

For several months before we departed on our trip, Sue diligently checked about a dozen groupon websites for cities/countries we’d be visiting during our travels. When a great deal on a resort in Morocco appeared on the Italian website, we decided a quick jaunt into North Africa would be an interesting addition to our itinerary..

We spent 3 nights in Marrakesh, one of the ancient cultural and trade hubs of Morocco. While the area has seen a boom in tourists in recent years, with the addition of many resort complexes on the outskirts, the city center remains a whirlwind market awash in street vendors, Arabic writing, veiled women, and Mosques giving the city a very Middle Eastern appearance. We wandered the streets in the 105 degree heat before retreating to our oasis resort for massages and buffet meals. It was quite a mix.

Our Groupon sponsored resort.  The opulent oasis was a stark contrast to the busy and sweltering streets of Marrakesh

Sue relaxing in one of the many posh areas of the resort

Koutoubia Mosque, served as a point of orientation when emerging from the winding narrow market streets

The one Arabic word we knew how to read

We bought fresh squeezed orange juice in Dhenaa el-Fna Square  for 4 Durhams, or about $0.50

The rows and rows of stalls selling everything from fruits and nuts to henna tattoos and local Moroccan oils

The streets branching out from the square were a winding hub of souqs, little hole in the wall stalls, aggressively selling clothes, touristy souvenirs and as well as local painting, spices and leather goods. Most streets were fairly crowded with pedestrians but motor scooters and bicycles would regularly speed by withing inches of you. No such thing as a sidewalk.  

Dhenaa el-Fna Square also had a wide variety of entertaining acts including snake charmers

At dusk carts flow into the square full of metal scaffolding and grills which are used to erect temporary restaurants. All serve a wide mix of local favorites including roast lamb (a variety of parts including the 

head) couscous and tajines and grilled vegetables

Our dinner at one of the street restaurants. So tasty (and we didn’t get sick, yay!)

We're currently in Barcelona spending 10 days with Graham's family who flew in for a visit. Might be a little while before the next post.

Sevilla- Mosque, Cathedrals and Spanish Birthday Parties

We spent 3 days in Sevilla, Spain.  The city is known for being too hot with temperatures near 100 F, but we got lucky and it was only 85-90 F.  The city is the heart of the Andulcia region with it’s fascinating history of both Arabic and European rule over thousands of years.  The architecture is a mix of gothic cathedrals and ornate Arabic palaces.

The first night we were lucky (and charming) enough to meet some locals at our hostel’s rooftop barbeque.  The two ladies were there to practice their English and after a night of socializing were invited to one of their birthday parties the next night.  So we went and had a blast with 20 Spaniards at a bar in the middle of a park.  It was fun to experience some local birthday customs and take a break from the hostel social scene. 

Seville Cathedral, built in the 1400’s on the site of a Mosque dating back to 1184.  The large bell tower was built on the original minaret of the Mosque.  The Cathedral is the third largest in the world. This is also the final resting place of Christopher Columbus.  

The maximum height of the cathedral is 37 meters high giving it an enormous feeling inside . 

The waterway that made Sevilla the ancient trade capital of Spain. 

Plaza de Americas, part of a huge park complex featuring fountains and gardens.

Plaza de Espana, a gorgeous and immense semi circle building currently serving as Seville's town hall. 

One off the towers of Plaza de Espana.

We rented a little boat at Plaza de Espana to row the mote that runs the length of the building.

The Reales Alcazares, originally built by an arabic king in the 1100's and is an exquisite example of mudejar architecture featuring intricate  plaster designs and tile mosaics.

Terrace area on top of our hostel.