Back to a relatively normal existence again, though an existence plagued with jetlag. I thought we would all be fine. We arrived home at 8 PM Saturday night, and were asleep by 10 PM. This was a perfect setup to completely skip jet lag. Our son was the first to break rank by waking at midnight and refusing to sleep again until 2 AM. Sunday, we went to bed at 10 PM (after celebrating my birthday) and I was up for good at 1:30 AM. On Monday, we made it a family affair when our son woke us up at 11:30 PM, my daughter woke at midnight, and we decided to watch Shrek until we fell asleep again.
Hopefully, jetlag is done now. So, my first conclusion: you cannot avoid jetlag.
Here are the rest:
In Europe, everything is closed on Sundays. We visited four very Catholic nations. Everything was closed on Sundays, except those business that catered to tourists. Restaurants, transportation, hotels were open - shopping centers and stores were not. In France, this is by law. In the other nations, this is by custom.
Landscape is the same everywhere, only the architecture changes. The meadows of France look like the Midwest. Austria remind me of Colorado. Spain was like Southern California and Italy looks like Napa Valley. Nature has Her patterns and she repeats them all over the globe. The only thing that changes is how man interacts with Her.
Everyone smokes. Smokers were difficult to avoid in Europe. In Austria, the smoking section is right when you walk in the door! There were a lot of non-smoking hotels, restaurants, etc, but they all had ashtrays directly in front of their entrance.
Skype rocks! I had a few incidents in Italy that required me to phone my banks in the US. Without Skype, that would have meant using an international phone card. With Skype, I called the 800 number with no charge to me. Can't be technology like that!
Disney likes money. They charged exorbitant prices for everything. It was the only hotel on our trip that charged for internet. They charged per minute for local phone calls. To launder clothes at the hotel was $11 for a shirt. Unbelievable.
Facebook is everywhere. Every time we would walk by a public computer in the airport, the hotel lobby, or on a laptop in a restaurant, the person was on Facebook. Didn't matter which country we were in or how old the person is. It is no surprise that Facebook is the largest nation in the world, by population.
More people means more work. Bringing extra people on vacation means more work, no matter who they are. It's more people to consider when selecting activities. More people to keep track of. More luggage to carry. Sometimes, like in Spain, it also means multiple taxis to go anywhere.
Transportation is expensive. Even if you eliminate the airline tickets, we spent more on transportation than on any other single expense on the trip. More than on hotels, more than on food. Our one day trip to Rome cost more in transportation than the hotel did for the entire four days. When I planned vacations in the past, I accounted for transportation to and from, food, and lodging. I will now have to also start budgeting for onsite transportation....unless we take a cruise.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Italy, Te Adoro
Italy is awesome!
We arrived in Florence around 6:30 Monday evening. I'm glad this was the last stop on our trip because if it was the first, we would never have left. I told everyone in my travel party that the hotel accomodations would improve with each stop. Our two room suite at a villa located on an olive plantation just over the hill from Florence did not disappoint! The views are spectacular, the room itself is something I could live in forever, and the grounds are well worth the expense. Anyone traveling to Florence should stay at this hotel.
The villa serves a continental breakfast, but lacks a restaurant. After we checked in and unpacked, we walked down the hill for about a mile to eat at a local trattoria. The pesto ravioli was so good we ordered seconds! And you can't beat the price - four meals (plus a fifth), a bottle of wine, three bottles of water, and three desserts was under $50. We were told that wine in Italy is cheaper than diet coke.
Tuesday we spent the morning at San Gimignano, a medievel town in Tuscany built a mere 1,700 years ago. The village walls still stand, as do many of the interior buildings, though they now contain present-day services, including a hotel and a pharmacy. Most important for us, it has a shop that twice one the World's Best Gelato competition. Everyone but my wife had three scoops.
From there, we visited a local winery for a quick tour and wine tasting. The Tuscany region is famous for Chianti. The winery served us beans in olive oil, tomato, bread, and several types of pork, with a different glass of wine for each of the six course meal. I ended up buying a case each of the Chianti Classico and their Merlot. They would never have cleared Indonesian customs, so they will be a delightful present awaiting us when we return to the US.
After the winery, we stumbled back to the car, then back to the village of Scandicci, which is down the hill from our villa. This trip into town made us 4 for 4 on grocery store visits on our vacation. We now know how to buy lemons (for tequila) and baby food in four different countries and languages.
Wednesday was our trip to Rome. For me, this was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to. I wanted to see the Coliseum and St. Peter's Basilica. We were able to see those and much more. We started at St. Peter's, where we ate lunch and walked a bit around Vatican City. The pope was unavailable to see me, so we moved on to the Coliseum where there is a neighboring architectural dig uncovering more parts of ancient Rome. (NOTE: To bypass the lines, pay the extra 4 Euros for an audio-guide or a guided tour - if you make more than $8/hr, the time/cost trade-off is in your favor). From the Coliseum, we visited the Trevi Fountain, then moved on to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. We ended our day at the Spanish Steps.
St. Peters:
Coliseum:
Ancient Ruins:
Trevi Fountain:
Spanish Steps:
Driving around Rome is like driving in a museum. Every corner you turn reveals another splendor for the eyes. If you plan to drive, make sure you call ahead. The inner portions of Rome are closed to private vehicles unless you call ahead, pay a fee, and register with the local traffic police. Rome experiences so many visitors every day, they have to do this to keep traffic from becoming ridiculous.
We left our villa at 9 AM and returned at 11:30 PM. It was a long day with lots of walking, but well worth it...though, things do get quite redundant after a while. By the time we got to the steps, we were thinking: "is that it?"
Our last full day in Italy is today. I am watching the kids sleep while my wife and niece are spending the rest of our vacation money in Florence. I never actually set foot in the city of Florence. Tomorrow, my niece leaves on a noon flight for Chicago and we leave at 7 PM. We leave Europe with great memories and a long list of places we must return to in the future.
We arrived in Florence around 6:30 Monday evening. I'm glad this was the last stop on our trip because if it was the first, we would never have left. I told everyone in my travel party that the hotel accomodations would improve with each stop. Our two room suite at a villa located on an olive plantation just over the hill from Florence did not disappoint! The views are spectacular, the room itself is something I could live in forever, and the grounds are well worth the expense. Anyone traveling to Florence should stay at this hotel.
The villa serves a continental breakfast, but lacks a restaurant. After we checked in and unpacked, we walked down the hill for about a mile to eat at a local trattoria. The pesto ravioli was so good we ordered seconds! And you can't beat the price - four meals (plus a fifth), a bottle of wine, three bottles of water, and three desserts was under $50. We were told that wine in Italy is cheaper than diet coke.
Tuesday we spent the morning at San Gimignano, a medievel town in Tuscany built a mere 1,700 years ago. The village walls still stand, as do many of the interior buildings, though they now contain present-day services, including a hotel and a pharmacy. Most important for us, it has a shop that twice one the World's Best Gelato competition. Everyone but my wife had three scoops.
From there, we visited a local winery for a quick tour and wine tasting. The Tuscany region is famous for Chianti. The winery served us beans in olive oil, tomato, bread, and several types of pork, with a different glass of wine for each of the six course meal. I ended up buying a case each of the Chianti Classico and their Merlot. They would never have cleared Indonesian customs, so they will be a delightful present awaiting us when we return to the US.
After the winery, we stumbled back to the car, then back to the village of Scandicci, which is down the hill from our villa. This trip into town made us 4 for 4 on grocery store visits on our vacation. We now know how to buy lemons (for tequila) and baby food in four different countries and languages.
Wednesday was our trip to Rome. For me, this was the part of the trip I was most looking forward to. I wanted to see the Coliseum and St. Peter's Basilica. We were able to see those and much more. We started at St. Peter's, where we ate lunch and walked a bit around Vatican City. The pope was unavailable to see me, so we moved on to the Coliseum where there is a neighboring architectural dig uncovering more parts of ancient Rome. (NOTE: To bypass the lines, pay the extra 4 Euros for an audio-guide or a guided tour - if you make more than $8/hr, the time/cost trade-off is in your favor). From the Coliseum, we visited the Trevi Fountain, then moved on to Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. We ended our day at the Spanish Steps.
St. Peters:
Trevi Fountain:
Pantheon:
Spanish Steps:
Driving around Rome is like driving in a museum. Every corner you turn reveals another splendor for the eyes. If you plan to drive, make sure you call ahead. The inner portions of Rome are closed to private vehicles unless you call ahead, pay a fee, and register with the local traffic police. Rome experiences so many visitors every day, they have to do this to keep traffic from becoming ridiculous.
We left our villa at 9 AM and returned at 11:30 PM. It was a long day with lots of walking, but well worth it...though, things do get quite redundant after a while. By the time we got to the steps, we were thinking: "is that it?"
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Adios Barcelona, Guten Tag Austria!
Where to begin! The Austria leg of our trip was a whirlwind of extreme fun and ended far too soon. We had a total of 60 hours in Austria, but only one full day. The hours flew by like money out of the US Treasury.
We left our hotel in Barcelona around 9:30 AM for a noon flight. Nearly $100 and thirty minutes later we were at the airport only to stand in line for an hour. The Barcelona airport was a perfect example of what happens when German efficiency meets southern European laissez-faire attitude - the laissez-faire attitude wins. Our flight to Munich probably held 200 people. To check everyone onto the flight, they had one agent. I can't imagine what the line would have been like if there were more than one flight on Lufthansa around the same time.
We arrived in Munich shortly after 2:30 PM and were in the car headed to our friend's house by 3 PM. Our friend's daughter was one of our daughter's closest friends when we both lived in Arizona. They were still there when we left and had no intention of leaving. A few months ago, he was offered a promotion at his job that brought him back to his home country. When they told us, we decided we had to include them in our European vacation. Given our daughter's ages, we had concerns that they would not relate to each other very quickly, maybe requiring a full day to get over their shyness. This would mean that they would really have just one day to play together. Luckily, they were laughing and talking as if they had last seen each other just the day before.
Our friends live in Hopfgarten, about ninety minutes south of Munich in the Austrian Alps. This particular area of central Bavaria has high historical importance. It is one of the major valleys that connect northern and southern Europe and was the location of many battles of warring empires. Castles, lookout towers, and villages dot the beautiful mountainous landscape. Hopfgarten, specifically, was first recognized as a village in the 1300's. Many of the buildings, including the house we stayed in, are older than our nation. Some of them are over 1,000 years hold.
By the time we arrived at their home, unpacked, let the kids play and take bio-breaks, it was after 6 PM and time for dinner. They took us to a mountaintop restaurant that, had it not been raining, would have had great views as far as Italy to the south, including the Alpine glacier. We gorged ourselves on traditional Austrian fare which included a variety of dishes made of pork, cheese and beef. I consumed more meat in that one sitting than I have in the last several months - probably more calories, too, but it was all worth it. Austrian food is delicious! After dinner I learned the digestive palliative effects of Schnapps (the key is to not drink 13).
On Sunday we would have our only full day in Austria and we intended to make the most of it. We started the day at a medieval castle built high in the mountains. This was a hunting castle hundreds of years ago and is currently privately held by a family who still lives in it. They allow visitors to tour a small portion of the palace and maintain it as a museum. Because of the constant risk of invading war parties, all of the bedchambers had secret escape routes that led directly to the forest beyond. My favorite room was the Queen's chambers which boasted an elaborate wood carved ceiling. It took several master woodscraftsmen seven years of isolation and confinement to complete the ceiling, which is held together without a single nail. If the owners allowed people to take pictures of the castle's interior, you could see just how amazing this ceiling was, especially without the use of a single nail.
After the castle, we decided the girls would have more fun if they could stay at the house and play. So my wife, our son, myself and our niece left with the husband and did more site seeing. Our daughters returned to the house with the wife so they could play together. From the castle, those of us on the site seeing expedition visited Crystal World. I was hoping for a demonstration of how they mine and/or produce the crystals. Instead, Crystal World is a museum for art made from Swarovski crystals. I'm not a fan of abstract art. I end up visiting a lot of these places because my wife really likes them. This was no exception. My wife and niece really liked the museum.
We finished at the museum and rushed over to a silver mine that, in its prime, was responsible for 85% of the world's silver production. The castle we visited earlier in the day was a result of the wealth generated by this mine. The mine closed at 5 PM. We arrived at 4:55 PM and were able to make the last tour of the day. They had us all don hard hats and rain jackets. Only my son was exempted from the hard hat requirement because they didn't have any that small. He still wore the jacket. The tour begins with a ride on a mining cart train 900 meters into the hill through a tunnel about 4 feet wide. We then travel through the various tunnels built over nearly 1,000 years of mining for silver and other minerals. At the conclusion of the tour, we walked down stone steps originally carved 400 years ago. Steps older than the United States. I'm glad they had a hand rail.
Our day finished with another elaborate, delicious, authentic Austrian meal - this time, prepared by our hosts.
For our final day, our flight for Italy did not leave until nearly 5 PM. This meant we had until roughly 2 PM to see more in the village of Hopfgarten. This time, it was just my wife, myself, and the husband. We took a ten minute walk into the village. Hopfgarten is one of the largest ski resort towns in all of Europe. There are enough trails there that you can ski every day for a week and never ski the same slope. The hills surrounding our host's house are amazing. Our hike took us to the village church. When you admire the pictures, keep in mind this is a church in a village of 5,500 people.
Our trip to Austria was wonderful and too short. When our daughters said goodbye, they both cried. To console our daughter, we shared with her our expat philosophy: "Don't cry because we are leaving, be happy because we were here". Austria is definitely a place we need to return to for a much longer period of time. There was only one thing that could have made our visit better: sunshine. It rained all day, every day. According to our hosts, in the 400 years this village has kept records of the weather, they've never had a colder, wetter spring. It was cold enough while we were here that the tops of the mountains - a mere 3500 feet - had snow on them from the weather we experienced. Other than that, our visit was absolutely perfect.
We left our hotel in Barcelona around 9:30 AM for a noon flight. Nearly $100 and thirty minutes later we were at the airport only to stand in line for an hour. The Barcelona airport was a perfect example of what happens when German efficiency meets southern European laissez-faire attitude - the laissez-faire attitude wins. Our flight to Munich probably held 200 people. To check everyone onto the flight, they had one agent. I can't imagine what the line would have been like if there were more than one flight on Lufthansa around the same time.
We arrived in Munich shortly after 2:30 PM and were in the car headed to our friend's house by 3 PM. Our friend's daughter was one of our daughter's closest friends when we both lived in Arizona. They were still there when we left and had no intention of leaving. A few months ago, he was offered a promotion at his job that brought him back to his home country. When they told us, we decided we had to include them in our European vacation. Given our daughter's ages, we had concerns that they would not relate to each other very quickly, maybe requiring a full day to get over their shyness. This would mean that they would really have just one day to play together. Luckily, they were laughing and talking as if they had last seen each other just the day before.
Our friends live in Hopfgarten, about ninety minutes south of Munich in the Austrian Alps. This particular area of central Bavaria has high historical importance. It is one of the major valleys that connect northern and southern Europe and was the location of many battles of warring empires. Castles, lookout towers, and villages dot the beautiful mountainous landscape. Hopfgarten, specifically, was first recognized as a village in the 1300's. Many of the buildings, including the house we stayed in, are older than our nation. Some of them are over 1,000 years hold.
By the time we arrived at their home, unpacked, let the kids play and take bio-breaks, it was after 6 PM and time for dinner. They took us to a mountaintop restaurant that, had it not been raining, would have had great views as far as Italy to the south, including the Alpine glacier. We gorged ourselves on traditional Austrian fare which included a variety of dishes made of pork, cheese and beef. I consumed more meat in that one sitting than I have in the last several months - probably more calories, too, but it was all worth it. Austrian food is delicious! After dinner I learned the digestive palliative effects of Schnapps (the key is to not drink 13).
On Sunday we would have our only full day in Austria and we intended to make the most of it. We started the day at a medieval castle built high in the mountains. This was a hunting castle hundreds of years ago and is currently privately held by a family who still lives in it. They allow visitors to tour a small portion of the palace and maintain it as a museum. Because of the constant risk of invading war parties, all of the bedchambers had secret escape routes that led directly to the forest beyond. My favorite room was the Queen's chambers which boasted an elaborate wood carved ceiling. It took several master woodscraftsmen seven years of isolation and confinement to complete the ceiling, which is held together without a single nail. If the owners allowed people to take pictures of the castle's interior, you could see just how amazing this ceiling was, especially without the use of a single nail.
After the castle, we decided the girls would have more fun if they could stay at the house and play. So my wife, our son, myself and our niece left with the husband and did more site seeing. Our daughters returned to the house with the wife so they could play together. From the castle, those of us on the site seeing expedition visited Crystal World. I was hoping for a demonstration of how they mine and/or produce the crystals. Instead, Crystal World is a museum for art made from Swarovski crystals. I'm not a fan of abstract art. I end up visiting a lot of these places because my wife really likes them. This was no exception. My wife and niece really liked the museum.
We finished at the museum and rushed over to a silver mine that, in its prime, was responsible for 85% of the world's silver production. The castle we visited earlier in the day was a result of the wealth generated by this mine. The mine closed at 5 PM. We arrived at 4:55 PM and were able to make the last tour of the day. They had us all don hard hats and rain jackets. Only my son was exempted from the hard hat requirement because they didn't have any that small. He still wore the jacket. The tour begins with a ride on a mining cart train 900 meters into the hill through a tunnel about 4 feet wide. We then travel through the various tunnels built over nearly 1,000 years of mining for silver and other minerals. At the conclusion of the tour, we walked down stone steps originally carved 400 years ago. Steps older than the United States. I'm glad they had a hand rail.
Our day finished with another elaborate, delicious, authentic Austrian meal - this time, prepared by our hosts.
For our final day, our flight for Italy did not leave until nearly 5 PM. This meant we had until roughly 2 PM to see more in the village of Hopfgarten. This time, it was just my wife, myself, and the husband. We took a ten minute walk into the village. Hopfgarten is one of the largest ski resort towns in all of Europe. There are enough trails there that you can ski every day for a week and never ski the same slope. The hills surrounding our host's house are amazing. Our hike took us to the village church. When you admire the pictures, keep in mind this is a church in a village of 5,500 people.
Our trip to Austria was wonderful and too short. When our daughters said goodbye, they both cried. To console our daughter, we shared with her our expat philosophy: "Don't cry because we are leaving, be happy because we were here". Austria is definitely a place we need to return to for a much longer period of time. There was only one thing that could have made our visit better: sunshine. It rained all day, every day. According to our hosts, in the 400 years this village has kept records of the weather, they've never had a colder, wetter spring. It was cold enough while we were here that the tops of the mountains - a mere 3500 feet - had snow on them from the weather we experienced. Other than that, our visit was absolutely perfect.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Touring Barcelona
The weather forecast for our last two days in Barcelona was sunny, low 70's, with some clouds. Absolutely perfect weather to close out the relaxing leg of our vacation by laying on the beach drinking sangria. We made use of the beautiful weather by walking the streets of Barcelona, not once stepping foot on the beaches.
The activity my daughter most anticipated for Barcelona was a visit to the zoo. On Thursday, we took the short, four block walk from our hotel to the Parc de la Ciutadella. Like many top attractions in Barcelona, Gaudi had a hand in its design and contributed the fountain. We started at the north end of the park and walked past the Gaudi fountain down to the parliamentary buildings and then over to the zoo, taking pictures along the way.
The zoo itself is deceptively large. The animals are no more or less spectacular than you find in most zoos throughout the world. We have visited enough zoos in the last year that the Barcelona zoo didn't leave us feeling enriched. Besides, it is hard to top the animal interactions possible at safari park in near Jakarta. I think people who enjoy zoos, however, would also enjoy the Barcelona Zoo. The dolphin show was pretty nice.
From the park, we made our way to the Gothic district of Barcelona, passing by the Picasso Museum on the way. We kept wondering where Barcelona's old world charm was, and we found it in the Gothic district. This is where we found all of the historic buildings, the narrow alleyways that one imagines from old pirate tales and books like Shadow of the Wind.
We made our way to Ramblas street where old and new truly emeet. Inside buildings hundreds of years old you'll find Starbucks, Burger King, and Subway. You'll also find shops that, coupled with the buildings, transport you back to the days of Don Quixote riding a donkey and fighting windmill dragons. On Carrer de Princessa the rich aroma of a chocolate confectionary was so overwhelming and enticing we each bought a chocolate treat to hold us over until our late lunch.
When mealtime finally arrived, we selected a local restaurant and each sampled a different version of paella (a rice dish, for those of you unfamiliar). We ordered the obligatory liter of sangria to share, and also a liter of Sangria de Cava, which is a local variation using Spanish sparkling wine instead of red wine. The two liters proved a challenge for three people to complete after such a long walk, and, when combined with the heavy meals and full day of walking, had us all exhausted and ready to return to the hotel.
On Friday, we walked to the Sagrada Familia. My wife says of all the architectural wonders we've ever seen - things ranging from Mayan temples, to Borobudur, to the Sacre Coeur - Sagrada Familia is by far her favorite. This cathedral was Gaudi's final project and has been under construction since 1882 and is not likely to complete for another 20-30 years (take that Boston's Big Dig!). This visually indulgent building is the most visited location in Barcelona and we were not going to leave Barcelona without seeing it (though I was the only one who knew it existed).
Exterior:
From Sagrada Familia, we walked down Calle de Mallorca to Rambla de Catalunya (which becomes the Ramblas street we were on the day before). My wife and niece wanted to visit some of the shops they had seen the prior day and buy some souvenirs.
Rambla de Catalunya, like many of the large streets in Barcelona, has a large promenade splitting the two directions of traffic. On Thursday, we had walked the sides of the streets with the shops and restaurants. Friday, we walked down the central promenade. This is where artisans and performance artists congregate to sell their crafts and to do their performances. Most of these "performances" are people standing "statuesque" in elaborate costumes. If you take your picture with them, or just of them, they ask you for a donation. The only one that drew a substantial crowd is pictured below. If you can't figure out how he accomplishes the levitation trick, send me an email and I'll explain it to you.
Walking from the hotel, to Sagrada Familia, to Rambla Catlunya, and then back to the hotel consumed our whole day - our last in Barcelona. The total walk was 6 miles. Here was the route:
There is much in Barcelona we did not get to see or experience due to our short time: castles, palaces, cemetaries, more parks, or any of the many beaches near Barcelona but outside the city. Unlike Paris, I'm sure my wife and I will return at some point in the near future and spend two weeks just in Barcelona.
Some additional pictures of Barcelona:
The activity my daughter most anticipated for Barcelona was a visit to the zoo. On Thursday, we took the short, four block walk from our hotel to the Parc de la Ciutadella. Like many top attractions in Barcelona, Gaudi had a hand in its design and contributed the fountain. We started at the north end of the park and walked past the Gaudi fountain down to the parliamentary buildings and then over to the zoo, taking pictures along the way.
The zoo itself is deceptively large. The animals are no more or less spectacular than you find in most zoos throughout the world. We have visited enough zoos in the last year that the Barcelona zoo didn't leave us feeling enriched. Besides, it is hard to top the animal interactions possible at safari park in near Jakarta. I think people who enjoy zoos, however, would also enjoy the Barcelona Zoo. The dolphin show was pretty nice.
From the park, we made our way to the Gothic district of Barcelona, passing by the Picasso Museum on the way. We kept wondering where Barcelona's old world charm was, and we found it in the Gothic district. This is where we found all of the historic buildings, the narrow alleyways that one imagines from old pirate tales and books like Shadow of the Wind.
We made our way to Ramblas street where old and new truly emeet. Inside buildings hundreds of years old you'll find Starbucks, Burger King, and Subway. You'll also find shops that, coupled with the buildings, transport you back to the days of Don Quixote riding a donkey and fighting windmill dragons. On Carrer de Princessa the rich aroma of a chocolate confectionary was so overwhelming and enticing we each bought a chocolate treat to hold us over until our late lunch.
When mealtime finally arrived, we selected a local restaurant and each sampled a different version of paella (a rice dish, for those of you unfamiliar). We ordered the obligatory liter of sangria to share, and also a liter of Sangria de Cava, which is a local variation using Spanish sparkling wine instead of red wine. The two liters proved a challenge for three people to complete after such a long walk, and, when combined with the heavy meals and full day of walking, had us all exhausted and ready to return to the hotel.
On Friday, we walked to the Sagrada Familia. My wife says of all the architectural wonders we've ever seen - things ranging from Mayan temples, to Borobudur, to the Sacre Coeur - Sagrada Familia is by far her favorite. This cathedral was Gaudi's final project and has been under construction since 1882 and is not likely to complete for another 20-30 years (take that Boston's Big Dig!). This visually indulgent building is the most visited location in Barcelona and we were not going to leave Barcelona without seeing it (though I was the only one who knew it existed).
Exterior:
Interior (designed to look like a forest):
From Sagrada Familia, we walked down Calle de Mallorca to Rambla de Catalunya (which becomes the Ramblas street we were on the day before). My wife and niece wanted to visit some of the shops they had seen the prior day and buy some souvenirs.
Rambla de Catalunya, like many of the large streets in Barcelona, has a large promenade splitting the two directions of traffic. On Thursday, we had walked the sides of the streets with the shops and restaurants. Friday, we walked down the central promenade. This is where artisans and performance artists congregate to sell their crafts and to do their performances. Most of these "performances" are people standing "statuesque" in elaborate costumes. If you take your picture with them, or just of them, they ask you for a donation. The only one that drew a substantial crowd is pictured below. If you can't figure out how he accomplishes the levitation trick, send me an email and I'll explain it to you.
Walking from the hotel, to Sagrada Familia, to Rambla Catlunya, and then back to the hotel consumed our whole day - our last in Barcelona. The total walk was 6 miles. Here was the route:
There is much in Barcelona we did not get to see or experience due to our short time: castles, palaces, cemetaries, more parks, or any of the many beaches near Barcelona but outside the city. Unlike Paris, I'm sure my wife and I will return at some point in the near future and spend two weeks just in Barcelona.
Some additional pictures of Barcelona:
I'm pretty sure this was a hotel:
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