Aaahhh, Barcelona

From Valencia we decided to head north to Barcelona. We were here early on, about 10 years ago and thought it was time to revisit one of our favorite places.
Barcelona with it's aliveness, history, art, music, vibrance, and playfulness...Yes, if there is one word to describe it, it would be "playfulness"! And that is probably why we love it so.
They have remodeled and updated Port Vell and we are happy to be here right in the heart of the old city. We decided to do something different this summer so we are staying a month here in Barcelona.
It will be the longest we have ever been in one port. And Barcelona is worthy of the time we feel it will take to really get to know it.

As we came into port we were happy to see the boat "Open Arms" again.

As we were walking along the beachfront promenade, we also came across this sign:

It is telling the statistics of this years (2018) migrant deaths (1504) up till now. And this is what it reads below:

We are happy to be in a city of compassion, unlike the country that we are from...

Soon after settling in, we met another American on his boat "No Regrets" just down the dock from us. And he invited us to go see the opera Carmen with him. Well....those of you who know us, realize that we are not the opera-going-kind-of-people, but we are also "Hell Yes" kind-of-people--so yeah, we went to the opera! We thought it would be "good" for us to stretch ourselves a little and gain a little culture along the way. It was playing in the Palau de Music, which by itself is something to see.
The building was inspired by Gaudi and was whimsical and playful, as well as a beautiful setting for the opera.

Pictures of the outside of Palau de Musica--It looks like a decorated wedding cake:

The stained glass ceiling inside:

The stage for the opera:

And the cast at the end of Carmen:

We found that we truly enjoyed the opera...you never know! Thank you Rick!!!

The weirdest, yet most intriguing statue ever--it was 3-D any which way you looked at it:

As you walk down any street there are statues and art everywhere. for no reason at all...
Art just for art's sake.
This statue is called the Face of Barcelona. It was inspired by  Gaudi (as everything in this town was) but it is not his fun creation:

Now coming from Arizona, we kept calling this statue over the sidewalk a scorpion, until someone pointed out to us that it really is a lobster. Duh...see the claws:

At the entrance to Las Ramblas is the statue of Christopher Columbus. He was supposed to be pointing to the new world, but it was realized that would be the same as pointing to Madrid, so instead he is pointing to India. Go figure that one out!

One of the most special evenings we had was going to the Magic Fountains in the Plaza Espanya.
The water show happened just below this monumental building;

And here below the Venetian Towers you can see the thousands of people gathering for the water show:

Now we were expecting a nice show but nothing we thought could compare to the water fountains at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We were soooo wrong--this 1 hour water show with changing colors, music, water sprays and jets, put the Bellagio to shame!!! It was beyond the physical realm with it's mystical magic and we loved it.

The Magic Fountains happen every night throughout the summer and best of all it is free. Locals gather as well as all of us tourists to enjoy.

And then of course, the most famous of all creations in Barcelona is the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi.
This temple is considered his greatest work and still is not completed. He devoted himself completely to this project until his death and the project is still under construction following the plans and models he left behind. We were most impressed with his regard, inspiration, and devotion to nature, and all of his work displays this aspect completely. Needless to say, pictures cannot even begin to give justice to his awe inspiring creations, but here are a few of the Sagrada Familia:

One of the outside entrances:

Another entrance:

The altar:

The stained glass windows. Notice that the pillars throughout are meant to look like trees with the branches at the top to support:

The different colors of glass depict different times of Christ's life:

We were able to go up into one of the towers that is complete (many of the others are still under construction), and of course the view of the city is spectacular from there. Our friend Rick went with us for this tour and here is a fun picture of us from the tower:

We have seen  many Cathedrals throughout our time here in Europe, but nothing compares to the Sagrada Familia and it is a must for anyone visiting Barcelona.

Now if you are weary of reading this really, really long blog post, know that I am weary of writing it...
There was so much to see and do in Barcelona that it is hard to condense it and pick out just a few pictures from so many. And we were there a month. Sooo, I am doing my best and want to wrap it up soon!

Then there is the Arc de Triomf which was built  as the entrance to the Universal Exhibition of 1888:

Another fun occurrence here in Barcelona was that our friend and astrologer Susie Cox was here from Tucson.

 She lived 2 months here in Barcelona and was a great help for us maneuvering through the city. We learned the bus and metro system so that we felt more like a local and less like a tourist. It was also wonderful that she was here for the full moon eclipse on July 27th. She had a little full moon party on the beach to watch and it was awesome. And pictures could not capture it so we quite trying.

And the last "sightseeing/touristy" thing we did was go and see the Pedrera. This was the apartment building that Gaudi constructed between 1906 and 1910. The stone facade suggests the movement of waves and the wrought iron represents seaweed:

The tour started on the rooftop where you could see the whole city as well as the ongoing construction of the Sagrada Familia:

The rooftop is dedicated to the four elements of earth, air, fire and water with it's outrageous chimneys:

The next level down was the attic with it's masonry arches resembling being inside the ribs of a whale:

And then the next floor down with it's apartments. The playful colorful stairways, arches and ceilings caught our attention with all of it's detail:

It was said that Gaudi was either a genius or a madman, but either way he was way ahead of his time and we, as well as everyone in the world loves his creations!

Luckily for us, Port Vell had a great workout area and we were able to get a good routine going. Otherwise we would be in trouble as we ate out every night at another fantastic tapa restaurant. So we were really diligent which is not a strong trait for either of us:

And another fun thing we did for ourselves was buy 2 bikes. We have thought about it through the years but finally saw the value in a town such as Barcelona. They are actually small bikes that can be folded in half and stored easily when not in use. And biking was really fun here along the beach and through old town, and was good exercise for us too:

Now we feel that we "own" Barcelona after so much time there. It was fun, playful, and rejuvenating with all of it's energy. It was experiencing an unusual heat wave (as all of Europe has this summer) which kept us often in Ecstasea with the air conditioning on. Which had it's upside also as we spent good time in meditation during the day. We ventured out every night till late just like the locals having wonderful food and drinks every night. We found a great Mexican joint with the best margaritas and tacos that we have found with our time in the Med. So of course we became their best customers. We also had more than our share of Irish coffee and espresso martinis.

And now it is time to leave city life and move on to islands of crystal clear waters and the lazy days of the rest of our summer......

The Ancient Walled Cities of Salamanca, Avila, and Toledo

Here is a question we have recently asked ourselves...
How did we ever live without a selfie stick, and how did we ever find our way anywhere without the bossy woman on our phone telling us where to go???
So this trip to the ancient walled cities has been greatly enhanced by our new selfie stick and the maps (and bossy lady) on our cell phones. Who knew???

Our first old walled city after leaving the wine region was Salamanca. It is called the "Golden City" as the sandstone buildings appear to glow. It is a vibrant, lively little city with much history and culture.
We stayed in a great little boutique hotel just outside the city walls. This is the view of old town across the street from our hotel and it was just a quick walk up the cobblestone street to the center of town and all of the action:

Salamanca is home to the first University in Spain and is the 4th oldest university in the world. The students are in large part what keeps it such a vital, vibrant city. It is packed with great restaurants and bars as well.

The Plaza Mayor is known to be one of the most beautiful Plazas in all of Europe:

And of course, the Cathedral such as we see in the heart of every European city.

There were storks with their nests everywhere high, especially on the Cathedral towers:     

 

Fullish moon the night before full moon. Notice the bird flying by it:

Old Roman Bridge near our hotel:

The best street performer yet and definitely deserved the donation we made to his cause. His little puppets were playing music and dancing:

We went out for a full moon meal near the square the next night:

Now we are not usually the kind of people who photographs their food but, this was the most creative and elegant salad ever:

And now for the main event---the full moon rising over the town as we are walking back to the hotel.

So we took one of the bottles of our wine and walked to the roman bridge to really celebrate Mother Moon.
We had a lone guitarist playing for us as we basked in the magical, mysterious Moonbeams on the bridge:

Toasting the Light within and without:

Salamanca was very, very good to us...

Then we left for an afternoon stop in the town of Avila. Avila is a World Heritage City with intact formidable walls, forming a fortress around the entire city:

It looks like something out of a story book:

From inside the city looking at the fortified walls:

Then we drove on to the walled city of Toledo...
The hotel had rose petals waiting for us on our bed:

And looking out of our balcony window the next morning:

Toledo is a historic city high up on a hill and surrounded by the River Tagus on 3 sides. Synagogues, mosques and churches in the old town are a testament to the diversity in times past. It is called the "City of Three Cultures", and is one of the most visited cities in Spain.

It was bigger than the other two old towns we had visited and so it seemed a little overwhelming. So we wandered the winding cobblestone streets and tried to take it all in...

The cloister in one of the many beautiful monastery's...

Little pink baskets hanging on the street lights in the old city:

And of course, one of our favorite finds in old town...

Down one of the many streets we got lost on...

An old Roman bridge outside of the city crossing the Tagus River:

And then in the evening we drove out of the city to a high lookout called Mirador del Valle. We could look back on a whole panoramic view of the city, and found another opportunity to open a bottle of wine and just take it all in:

And now that we are in sensory-overload of so much history and culture, it is time to go back home to Ecstasea waiting for us in Valencia.
Aaaaahhhhh...too much fun!!!