Chapter 3: When I went to Spain…

One thing you never want to hear the captain say onboard a plane is anything involving the words “engine” and “not working.” The bad news: such was the case for me aboard the November 8th EasyJet flight from London Stansted to Barcelona. The good news: the plane was still on the ground at the time of the announcement. We just did a little airplane shuffle, like cattle being herded back into the terminal and then onto a “spare” plane, delaying our departure by only about one hour. So at around 9:00pm I found myself in Spain, where, once again, the streets have no name - no name that’s clearly marked, at least - and by 10:00pm I was all checked-in to my hostel. Jilly and Elaine arrived just thirty minutes after me, and we headed out for tapas and sangria for our first night.

I really loved Barcelona. Some highlights for me included the warm(ish) weather and clear blue skies, the mountains, the sea, the palm trees! …..Interesting….. sounds kinda like LA…… 

Of course everything Gaudi was beautiful and truly astonishing. If you have been to Barcelona or know Antoni Gaudi and his work, then I need not go on. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, well, you can check out some of my pics. Basically, Antoni Gaudi was an architect and the godfather of Catalan Modernism. It is clear upon seeing his work that he drew influence from forms found in nature. There is rarely a straight line to be found, and instead one notices beautifully organic shapes reminiscent of waves, or flower stalks, or bones. It makes strolling through his Casa Batllo or marveling at the spires of his Sagrada Familia quite fun. His magnum opus, the church Sagrada Familia, is still in the process of being built and has been for over 100 years. In 1926, when Gaudi was 73 years old, he was hit by a tram not far from the Sagrada Familia. But poor Gaudi, who had so wholeheartedly dedicated himself and his life to his craft that he looked like a common bum, did not receive immediate care. By the time the hospital realized who he was it was too late, and he died three days later. It is estimated that the Sagrada Familia will be completed in about 15-20 years. I’ll be back.

It was about this point in my trip - one week in - that I began to feel the effects of minimal sleep, days filled with walking and schlepping 15kg of stuff around on my back. I tried not to let it slow me down too much, but I wasn’t the same eager traveler I had been on day one. Jilly and Elaine were wide-eyed and ready, having just arrived from Poitiers. Nonetheless, we had fun wandering the city (there’s that wandering again), hopping on buses and not knowing where to get off, shopping, tasting, graTHias-ing, oohing and ahhing at anything and everything Gaudi… basically soaking in Barcelona in all it’s semi-grungy grandeur. After three days we were sad to say adios to Spain, but with Italy on deck, this feeling was only temporary.

For an abundance of Barcelona photographs, check out the album on my MobileMe gallery, HERE. Otherwise, some randomly selected favorites are below:

adios amigos

xxo