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Photo album of St Josep Market, Barcelona, Spain

Photo album of Gaudí’s Barcelona, Spain

Photo album of Barcelona, Spain

March 22-24, 2007

Early in the morning we pile into the car and head north from Tarragona north to the Barcelona airport. Why the airport? Well, it seemed the easiest place to return the rental car and head into the city. Ahahahah, how wrong that was. In case you wanted to know, airport construction is going great. Also, don’t take the overpass near the new buildings unless you have a 4WD and can drive around the concrete blocking the perfectly good entrance to the terminals. I now know the business parks next to the airport far better than I should.

After that we took the airport bus into the city and joined the crowds hauling their bags down Rambla to their hotels. Checked in, got settled, and headed to the St Josep market. Though some things were ridiculously expensive (85 Euro per KG cherries anyone?), most offerings were fresh and cheap. Mmmm.. I could go for some agua de sandia right now.

So, it turns out I don’t like pig’s trotters. They aren’t horrible, but there is just something about a meal composed of 90% fat and skin that just doesn’t sit right. Such is the cost of adventurous ordering. After lunch we wandered around the city and checked out outside of Sagrada Família and toured Casa Batlló. I’m not always a fan of his constant curves, but the innovations in his designs were amazing for their day. In fact, many of the designs I like are quite derivative of his work. The audio tour at is worth it to see the roof, but the audio is laughable – “this is the most grand room you will ever enter”, “Gaudí was the most brilliant genius of all time”, “this design is the most modern of all time”. God, what a bunch of fat heads.

The next day we wandered over to Sagrada Família, saw the elevator wait times, and decided to climb up Montjuïc instead. A train ride later and we were climbing up through the gardens to the castle at the top, as the tram is under renovation. The views of the city and harbor are worth the climb.

From the south end of Montjuïc we walked east back into the city and rambled through the Gothic quarter for a while. We explored the roof, cloister, and coin operated tomb at Santa Eulàlia. Eventually running out of change, we spent the rest of the afternoon in Museo Picasso, before catching some tapas. On our way back to the hotel we picked up some late night gelato to go with a bottle of muscetta we still had from Valencia. That’s an excellent nightcap.

Our last day we rushed over to Sagrada Família to be some of the first in the church and up the lifts. It definitely made a difference, we had plenty of time to see the top without fighting our way through crowds. There is nothing better than leaving just as the giant tour buses start to show up.

After that it was time to say good bye to Anna (she will be in Spain for the next week and a bit exploring on her own), check out, then take the areobus to the airport to head to Rome. Walking through the airport I had to laugh that entire legs of jamon were available in duty-free type stores. Wonder if that’s carry-on? Temping…

March 21, 2007

Photos of Morella, Spain

After visiting Peñíscola, we headed inland on some secondary roads to Morella. The winding roads brought us high into the hills. It was 15C on the coast, but 4C in the hills, with a lot of wind and a few snow flakes. The town, cathedral, aqueduct, city walls, and high perched castle made it all worth while. Though a small town now, it was definitely a very powerful place at one time. The fortress is a hike to the very top of town and around the rock formations and walls. The history and views will make the motivation for the climb very easy.

Photos of Tarragona, Spain

Frozen out, we headed back to the coast and up to Tarragona. It seemed like an interesting town, but we arrived just minutes too late in the day to go in many of the tour sites. Walking around at dusk we still had a good look at the plazas, churches, and the Roman amphitheater. We crashed at a hotel in town to head to Barcelona early the next day.

March 20 & 21, 2007

Photos of Peñíscola, Spain

After our mountain drive we headed up the coast for Peñíscola. Yes, Colan has run through every possible combination of joke on that one. We probably should have called ahead – a lot of the hotels were closed for the season. A bit of a ghost town now, but clearly this place is hopping in the summer. The and the number of cranes rivals that of downtown San Diego. We checked in to a generic hotel on the beach and admired the castle in between eye-fulls of blowing sand. There is a reason why the surrounding hills sometimes spot new white windmills.

The fortress and the old town were well worth the visit. We arrived before they opened (low season hours) and had a bit of time to have the place almost to ourselves before the tour groups started to show up. The views are amazing – definitely worth the tiny entrance fee.

March 20th, 2007

Photos of CV-20 to Montanejos, Spain

We all wanted to see some of the coast from Valencia to Barcelona, and the only way to do that was to rent a car. Herz was nearby, and we picked up a little Skoda for an expensive price, but full insurance. We all fit, and it isn’t gutless, which seems to be very important driving here. Despite having three versions of road maps for Spain, none of them seem to have any of the names of the roads other than the major toll-ways in between the cities. This is less than helpful when you want to explore the countryside. We still managed, if with a few last minute decisions.

Driving in the city was a bit crazy, as the lanes are somewhat arbitrary. Outside the city it was a bit easier. As long as you were cool with the traffic circles, it was pretty easy driving. Though I felt like an old man on the freeway only doing 130 KM/h, everyone else was blowing by me at 180ish in their german bullets.

You could definitely see why they named the region Costa del Azahar – the orange blossom coast. We are here when the endless carpet of trees are heavy with oranges, but I’m sure the scent of this many trees in bloom would be almost overwhelming.

With Anna and Colan castle/fortress spotting, we headed up the coast. We headed inland at CV20 to Montanejos and drove the windy roads up the river valley through tiny towns as scattered rain showers dramatized the sky. It was a very nice drive, and certainly a different sort of environment compared to the coast. I managed to make Pete green from the roads and the funky sausage we had for lunch.

Montanejos itself wasn’t much grander than any of the little towns we passed along the way. Apparently it is a bit of a spa town that becomes a destination in the heat of summer. It also seems to be gaining in popularity for climbing and rafting, but it sure didn’t seem the season for it. It was hard just to find a place open for a simple sandwich and drink. Ultimately it the drive was still worth it, the hills were gorgeous.