Today began as a coach bus tour through Barcelona's different districts, and we learned the histories of several wars, an Olympian event, and the architects of this beautiful city. We centered our focus on Antonio Gaudi's designs and love for Barcelona. An extremely pious man, his work is as religious as it is ingenious. We went to Parc Guell, his homage to his Lord's creations in the form of a free park for the citizens of Barcelona and his patron, who purchased a mountain and wanted a man with Gaudi's vision to make it lovely in its planning. So. Gaudi turned a wild stone mountain into a park with meandering paths--two story paths--one for walking in the sun, and the other, under it, for walking in the rain, set in a palm-tree and tropical flower background. The pictures don't really do justice to the careful planning and meaning behind all his work--the paths are dotted with spherical balls, for example, that are rosaries; one can meditatively, literally, walk a path to forgiveness and peace here, and every time you see a palm tree sculpted into the mountain, a real palm tree mirrors it on this path.
And then there is the mosaic design in every monument there. Colorful and sparkly, the mosaic tiles draw the eyes at every turn. There is an open area, meant for sitting and relaxing, that is surrounded on all sides by a curved running bench--all curvy and colorful. When you sit down, though, your body is curved into the perfect shape for relaxing--Gaudi designed maybe the first seating specifically made to support the lumbar and encourage a long look at the mountains around this city. The breeze and the chance to rest our weary backs made this place perfect--plus, it provided a perfect place for selfies . . . .
Then, we boarded our (new) bus with (actual) air conditioning to look at another mountain--Montjuic--to check out THE most stunning views of the city of Barcelona and the harbor here. The city view we saw had a "magic" fountain at the bottom that performs to music and changes color, while the harbor featured areas for industry, cruise ships, and sailing, and both views offered cool breezes and more chance for selfies . . . . This same area also boasted the Olympic arenas from 1992 (which I remembered watching) and the International Expo of 1929 (which I do not remember). Pics at the bottom reveal these views.
After the park, we returned to the hotel for a quick lunch (a baguette with a kind of tomato spread and cheese with a lemon ice drink) and a change of clothes for our day at the beach! The kids were superexcited to go to the Mediterranean Sea for a cool swim, which is good, because it took some effort to get there--seven subway stops and a "quick walk" (a word here about "quick walks." The kids are getting used to the pace of walking five or six city blocks to get to a metro station, and their hiking along with no complaints tells me they are game to try just about anything we put on their agenda. They are CHAMPS at touring and city living now!). The heat of the day was pretty sultry until we came out of the subway near the harbor, where we found the breezes strong and the air a good ten degrees cooler. The sun shone down on our midwestern shoulders, and the cool salt water and pebbly beach sand under our feet were restorative in the way only beaches can be. Also!! Maria was here!! How lovely to see our friend! We spent a refreshing afternoon in the salt and sand, and then came home to have a quick shower and a quick walk to dinner.
Dinner was a bit of an adventure! Perfectly in keeping with the beach day, our starters included a tuna dish and a seaweed salad and some fishy hush-puppies, and then the tomato bread with egg toppings, and THEN fries with some spicy sauce on top. Whew. So much food! So much STRANGE food for our tourists--but the kids are getting brave about trying new food--and this makes us happy. We did not travel eight hours by plane only to eat what's in the fridge at home! The entree was a tortilla of our choosing, which turned out to be more of an omelette, and was pretty yummy. I, for one, always come back from a beach RAVENOUS, so everything is pretty yummy to me . . . .
Back home now! Here are some pics so you can see what we were up to!
P.S. You will find the adventurous Cole Shelton and Matt Warren pointing the way to new horizons.
P.P.S. Adam Blake was a winner today, as I spied him enjoying a lovely book after touring all day! Yay, readers!
P.P.S. Happy, happy birthday to Adam Restivo, who spent his b'day in Barcelona!! Welcome to adulthood!!
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