Sea Day and Back to Barcelona!

We were pretty tickled to finally have a sea day!

We did NOTHING

but

Enjoyed the view off our balcony!

We headed back to Avenida Palace once we returned to Barcelona.

The same driver picked us up.

We really enjoyed being pampered that's for sure.

There is just something about a prebooked driver 

who

 shows up with your name on a board!

Pampered...that's for sure! 

We got a kick out of our key for the room. 

 

It weighed about 5 pounds.

You were to drop it off at the desk when ever you went out

and

get it again when you came back!

It was too heavy to put in your pocket! 

Good way to never lose their keys! 

We were headed for the Hop On Bus when I spied this cute bag!

This lady was kind enough to fashion her bag for me! 

Our last tour started at Palau Moja

The street signs were on sides of buildings 

so

 you really had to keep an eye out to figure your way around.

The size of some of these door knockers was crazy! 

I think you would hear this knock in the stone building! 

This was a small group walking tour of La Rambla in Barcelona .

Our guide was from Columbia but came for a visit and never left! 

This mural was across the street. 

It was from the early 1800's 

and

was over the drinking station for horses.

It depicted the wall that used to be here 

showing people who came to market their goods on the other side of the wall. 

The new Mercat(Market) was in the same area! 

The food was incredible. 

It all looked so good I would love to have made something with it! 

Candies

Churros

Seafood of  EVERY kind

Macaroons

Flowers

Iberian Hams and meats

So much selection! 

We continued on as our destination was Montjuic

This made me giggle every time we saw one...

The odd bike that was nothing but a frame left but still chained to a post!

This brass cat was one of Fernando Botero's Fat Animal collections 

through out the city.

This one is in Raval

We visited Barcelona's first Hospital which is now a library

We took the subway to the cable car up to Mountjuic Castle.

This was fortress started in 1640

It served as a prison and even had a firing squad court at one time.

It was built on Montjuic hill which is 173 Meters about sea level! 

 

The city and the sea can be seen from all sides.

I thought this was interesting! 

Barcelona is part of the history of the metric system and specifically the history of the metre. 

On 16th March 1794 French astronomers Jean Baptiste Joseph Delambre and Pierre François André Méchain measured the meridian arc distance from Dunkirk in France to Barcelona in Spain using the tower on Montjuic castle as the reference point in Barcelona. 

Using this measurement, they defined the distance of 1m for the first time.

I remember being in grade 3 

and

 Canada changing over to the Metric System!

I guess we were slow to come to the table!!

They even had sundials for the summer and the winter! 

After the tour,

 we hopped on the bus and toured around looking for a quilt/fabric shops.

The only shop we stumbled on was a knife and scissor shop.

Many shops in Spain only open up after 4pm.

We toured these streets earlier 

and

 all the little graffitti doors were closed.

Now they were open for business and there was so much color! 

Look at this rubber duckie store! 

Every kind you could want! 

This was in a art gallery...

I know I have seen this as a quilt in Houston at Festival! 

I am sure it won some awards too! 

We sat on the street for our last drink....

Moscow Mule in Barcelona...lol

Literally on the street!! 

We watched as a bus tried to make it's way around a corner and ran over a scooter. 

The driver got out...propped it back up and drove away! 

We found a fabulous little pasta restaurant right across the street

Good thing it was our last day or we would have rolled home! 

It was spectacular!!

I wish they made this DAMN Lemon beer in Canada! 

It was so refreshing! 

I tried it every chance I got! 

Christa 

Barcelona…. Baby!

Wow... I can't believe it's been months since I last blogged.

To say our summer was crazy busy is an understatement!!

Haying was amazing 

and

harvest was one of our best year's with the prices of grain still good! 

A couple weeks before harvest was over,

 we decided to join Arnold's sister, Anita and Bill on a trip to Italy! 

We left on October 10th and had a full day of layover in Toronto, Ontario.

Our friends, Terri and Bill Poll came to pick us up and tour Niagara Falls

The US and Canadian side...

The Fall colors were just starting! 

Thought this shot was pretty cool as we were landing! 

We got on our next plane at 9:30 pm 

and

were off to Barcelona, Spain! 

I can't even start to tell you how many times I said WOW.

WOW.. 2 million people in one city! 

All of Saskatchewan has a little over 1 million in all of our province!! 

This circle building was the last used Bull fighting ring in Barcelona

and 

is now a shopping mall with a walking track on top. 

The last bull fighting was in the 1990's

I loved all the textural cobblestone

(not walking on it...just looking at it)

So much pattern inspiration for me! 

The buildings were INCREDIBLE! 

Churches, 

Cathedrals...

Our guide was disgusted with the advertising on the Cathedral

but

money talks and pays for maintenance! 

Barcelona has graffitti EVERYWHERE

These are truly artists with a spray can! 

We walked 12-20000 steps everyday doing tours of Barcelona

Montjuic...Highest point over Barcelona

The cable car on Montjuic was a nice break

 to

 take in the spectacular views of Barcelona

My knees are still in recovery! 

Every thing is so ornate and sculpted in Spain

My favorite tour by far was Sagrada Familia

This is still a work in progress.

There will be 18 towers when they are finished.

The stain glass inside represented the seasons with the colors as they shone in

The roof line was angled to create this amazing blend of color

It was spectacular! 

The people were so well dressed. 

I noticed they didn't wear prints. 

Lots of fine linens and high quality fabrics. 

I felt like a Walmart greeter...

I loved this little ensemble in the shop window....

The shoe backs already came presquished!! 

(and they were not cheap!)

You can imagine the amount of water we drank....

Humidity was high and we walked till we dropped each day.

Bathrooms were far and few between,

Arnold always got a kick out of telling me he put the lid down for me....

There never was a lid!!! 

But I guess it beat this option!! 

The adventure continues!! 

Christa