Barcelona, Spain

 Barcelona, Spain       April 1, 2023

The car license plate for Espania....Spain

Springtime blossoms

Jay, Kim, Larry and I walked from the cruise port into Barcelona... several miles. We passed through a very new area, quite different from where Larry and I arrived in the past. The Cruise ships in the past docked at the end of Las Rambles, but now only ferries were docking there. We crossed over a large bridge affording us with a different prospective  of the city.

Christopher Columbus Statue

We walked down Las Rambles coming to the City Market.

Dragon Fruit

Potatoes on Sticks

Chocolate covered strawberries

Narrow side streets throughout the city

Interesting street act

We sat and did some people watching on the most walked street in Barcelona...Las Rambles.

We jumped on the subway and headed to Sagrada Familia.

Subway décor

A short walk from the subway....we came to the Sagrada Familia.

It is the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world.

Designed by Antonio Gaudi, his work of art has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I enjoyed watching the locals play bocci ball and

 Musicians entertaining folks while having a picnic lunch in the park.

Replica of the finished Sagrada Familia

On March 19, 1882, construction began under architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. In 1883, Villar resigned and Antonia Gaudi took over as chief architect devoting the remainder of his life to this project. At the time of his death in 1926 less than a quarter of the project as complete. It was predicted that the project would be complete in 2026 (a century since Gaudi's death), but this has been delayed due to Covid-19 Pandemic.

Various sections of the outside structures depict the life of Jesus Christ....this  one displays his birth.

with the three wise men

Shepherds drawn to the star

Intricate workmanship

Larry and I had visited the Sagrada Familia a couple of times but had never gone inside. We were saving the experience for a time when the basilica

 was closer to being completed. We entered the interior to the basilica for the first time.

We sere surprised to see the stained glass windows...from the outside you would never guess there were any.

Looking up, the ceiling is quite unique!

As the day approached noon...the light casts a shadow of color through the stained glass windows. This only visible during this time of day.

The natural lighting from the stained glass windows are very colorful.

Antonio  Gaudi

The church was consecrated on November 7, 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI.

Outside the church on that day

Replica of the Pinnacle of the Virgin Mary Tower 

Barcelona city Views after climbing the tower of Sagrada Familia

 Subway artwork, made of small tiles

We  visited Arenas de Barcelona, a renovated bull fighting ring turned shopping mall. Empty for decades, it was refurbished with a 360 degree roof-top skywalk terrace proving a panoramic view of the city.

MNAC Museum

A  rooftop home

We sat down at a rooftop "bullring" restaurant and had some refreshments before heading back on the bus to the ship

We walked around the four levels of the mall. The most interesting part of the mall was the motion sensor circle that children were activating and making different shapes and colors with their body movements. It was so radical that all four of us tried it out, just like the kids. What a modern innovative physically encouraging activity.

That night we went to fantastic dinner (they all were) and decided to  play cards afterwards while waiting for the evening entertainment to start.

We decided to play an April Fools Joke  on Jay when he went for a bathroom. break.

We dealt the cards out so that he had ALL of the high cards...Aces, Kings, and the remainder high trump cards.

It was fun to watch his expression when he picked his hand up and made his bid. 

His comment was something like, "Who ever dealt this hand, I want them to be my financial advisor."

We were the ones who were really fooled because we didn't give him a way out of breaking the trump suit....so he really got the last laugh.

We were so fortunate to travel with such a dear couple!