Sagrada Familia

Our last night in Barcelona we have tickets to visit the inside of Sagrada Familia.

We listen to an audio guide which explains a lot about the design by Gaudi.



I never expected so much colour on the inside.  The use of stained glass is wonderful.

And it’s still not complete.  It’s an ongoing project and will probably not be completed in my life time.

Montserrat

We take an optional tour to Montserrat.  Located high in the mountains it takes approximately one hour to get there.

Some people trek to this location as a type of pilgrimage.  There is simple accommodation for them to rest before paying their respects and then returning.



This is what everyone is coming to see.  It’s a black virgin Mary with a black Jesus.

Lots of candles.  No cash?  No problem.  They’ll take a credit card.  You can even pay online if you can’t make it and someone will light a candle on your behalf.

Down we go!

We head back down via a gondola.

Barcelona

We then arrive in Barcelona.  This is the last city on our Gate 1 tour. We have 3 nights here. 

Beautiful cathedral. 

Bev and I have dinner in the plaza by the cathedral.  Bev has roast piglet and I have lamb shoulder however it doesn’t look like lamb shoulder. As the waiter said it looks more like a dinosaur bone.  They were delicious.

Strolling down Las Ramblas.  So much to see.

Fantastic marketplace.  Closed Sunday however we were able to experience it yesterday.  Anything you’d want to eat is here.

Even Marilyn was there!

Wandering the narrow streets you can find some colourful murals.

Such interesting buildings. 

Creations of Gaudi

Beautiful, shaded avenue by the Arc de Triumph.

Street lights designed by Gaudi.  Either you love it or you don’t!

Olives, olives, olives!

View from the National Palace on the hill looking down at Barcelona.  Buildings from the Olympics were located here.  You can see Sagrada Familia in the distance.

And of course gelato!  Always finish the day with gelato!

Peñíscola

The next morning we are on the road again heading to Barcelona.  We stop at a hilltop village of Peñíscola.

It’s fairly early and most shops and cafes are not yet open.  

Next we drive along to the Ilopart winery.  Family run for five generations it is 100% organic.  They are very proud of this small winery.

The gang from Gate 1

Valencia, the Garden City

We finally arrive in Valencia.

There are miles of clean beaches.



IMAX theatre and Science centre in the Arts and Science City.  An outstanding scientific and cultural complex with futuristic architecture, designed by local architect Santiago Calatrava.



The Gates of the City

Valencia is a beautiful city.  Lots of history but also modern. This is the Catalan flag.

There are so many beautiful buildings.  I’ve only posted a fraction of all the photos I took.

If you look into the water you can see ruins from Roman times which are preserved in the museum below.

I love the doors and gates on so many of the buildings.

This bridge reminds me of the Bridge of Tears in Venice.



Two part gate.  They could open a smaller door for people and only open the full doors for horses and carriages.

Colourful streets

A very clever mime.

Lots of colourful flower stalls around the plaza.

As bull fighting has been illegal for a while they are repurposing the bull rings.  One is used for special events and the other is a department store.

This is the North train station.

Lunch of tapas.  The rings are calamari.  It was very good.

Colourful Jacaranda trees.  Back in 1957 they decided to reroute the river.  The River had caused severe floods in the past so they rerouted it and made the old river bed into a park.  It’s 8 miles long and consists of bike paths, soccer fields, playgrounds and many other uses.  It provides shade and is lovely.

Bev and I rented bikes and rode the park down to the Science and Art buildings.

A gargoyle on the bridge.

Interesting fountain.  They have been experiencing drought in Spain so a lot of fountains are not running.

In the evening we attended a class on making paella, a Spanish omelette and a sponge cake.

Our paella was a success and fed everyone with lots left over which we gave to Havi, our bus driver.

Here is our group including chef Luis.  We’re proudly holding our successful baking before we sat down and ate.