Wrapping up the trip from home

Now that we're home, I'll finish posting for this trip.
Construction of The Church of the Holy Family was begun in 1883.  It was designed by Gaudi and only a quarter of the construction was complete at his death in 1926. Construction of the church is funded solely on donations.  Progress passed the midway point in 2010 with its completion estimated to be 2026.

An unforgettable visit to Montserrat ended our adventures in Barcelona.  Montserrat is a mountaintop monastery that sits 4,000 feet above Barcelona. The road up to the site is strikingly beautiful and the views from the top are majestic.  It's no wonder this area is Spain's first national park.

I'll end with photos of some of our favorite traveling companions.

Bob and Linda

Jerry and Marilyn 

Dick and Janet

Barcelona, last stop

I'm sitting in the airport in Barcelona waiting on our planeride home.  The last two nights were spent in Barcelona. We were right in the middle of downtown across the street from the Barcelona Cathedral.  The weather has been warm but not too hot. The city is very busy with throngs and throngs of people.  Barcelona is Spain's second largest city after Madrid.

One of our activities here was a visit to the amazing city park designed by Gaudi. It consists of unique architecture and gardens built between 1900-1913.  Gaudi is said to have been the first to incorporate natural elements and concrete in his designs.

Paella and Lladro

While in Valencia we drove out of town to a farm that cultivates rice and grows all of the ingredients that were used in our paella demonstration and feast. We arrived to find the chef simmering the chicken paella and watched as he added the rice.  We then had a sumptuous picnic of salad, paella, Valencia oranges, cake and an after -dinner local wine.  Local beer and sangria  (my favorite) were also served.

The rice is added 

The finished product...yum!

The Lladro Porcelain Factory is also located near Valencia.  We saw the process each piece goes through and were impressed with the quality controls and artistic details that make the brand internationally renowned.

Valencia part 2

The City of Arts and Sciences is located in an enormous park downtown and is a collection of museums with amazing architecture.

The Oceanographic Museum and a bridge designed by the same architect who designed a similar bridge we saw in Dublin

The Hemispheric Museum

The Science Museum 

Mel loved the photo ops

Queen Sophia's Opera House 

Just a shot I like

Viberant Valencia

We have spent the last two nights in Valencia, Spain's third largest metropolitan area with nearly 2 million people.  Our tour guide says it is underappreciated because it's in the shadow of Barcelona,  tourist-wise.  We thoroughly enjoyed the city which seems to have something for everyone: from beautiful beaches on the Mediterranean, to an historic section, to lovely green spaces, to wonderful  fresh fruits, veggies and fish, to futuristic architecture.

Here are some photos from in and aroumd Valencia.

On the Road to the Mediterranean

Good morning!  A good cup of coffee for a change 

We have come from Seville to Valencia with an overnight stop in Granada.

This is an agricultural area specializing in pomegranate,  almond, and lemon trees among others.  We also drove along the Sierra Nevada mountain range that still has a bit of snow at the top. Getting closer to Valencia we saw the resort area of Costa Brava along the Mediterranean.  Wherever we've gone in Spain we've seen lots of blooming jacaronda trees.

Almond trees

Seville, Tapas and Flamenco

Our time in Seville was "toasty" (95 degrees) but fun.  It was another place we would like to spend more time. The Seville

Cathedral was constructed and used as a mosque from 1184-1198. In 1248 it was consecrated as a cathedral. It is the largest Gothic church in the world.

The tomb of Christopher Columbus 

We had a wonderful meal of tapas (small plates which are very popular here).

Cuttlefish meatballs

Piquillo peppers 

We also saw a lively flamenco show here one evening.  The performers were dramatic and mesmerizing.

Cordoba the Magnificent

Trust me when I tell you that Mel and I have seen many, many churches/cathedrals in our travels.  But the UNESCO World Heritage site, the Mezquita, was unique  to us.

The Mezquita is an architectural marvel built by the Moors in the 8th century.  It was then converted into the city's cathedral in the 16th century.  Many of the builders hired for the rebuilding were Moorish and Jewish (from the Jewish Quarter of the city).  The result is an indescribably beautiful combination of those designs.

Remnants of a Roman aqueduct

Toledo and Don Quixote

We have noticed that many towns/cities in this part of the world are hilly. Toledo was especially hilly.  It was the capital of Medieval Spain until 1560, and is known for its Christian,  Jewish, and Arab monuments in its old walled city.

Old Toledo

Moorish architecture in Old Toledo

This area of Spain is the setting for Cervantes' famous Don Quixote, the Man from La Mancha.

             

The Kingdom of Spain

 *Spain is about twice the size of Oregon
*Capital is Madrid
*Largest cities:  Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville
*Population 47,572,000 (2015)
*Religion 94% Roman Catholic
*Languages. Castilian Spanish 74%, Catalan 17%
*Labot Force:  agriculture 4%, industry 26%, services 70%
*Unemployment about 18%

Modern humans arrived in the Iberian Penindula (of which Spain is a part) 35,000 years ago.  The area was ruled by the Romans.  During the Middle Ages, Germanic tribes  (the Visigoths) and the the Moors reigned.The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas. A global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. (Wikipedia)