Spain Holiday

On New Year's Day, Tom and I flew off to Spain. It is so neat to be able to go to other countries in a two-hour flight! We landed in Barcelona, and of course headed straight to the water's edge. This monument to Columbus is in the area of the Old Port, and also marks the beginning of the famous Las Ramblas - a wide street and pedestrian area full of shops and other attractions.



See below for one of our favorite views!! Boats!!

A street in old town Barcelona....

Spaniands are very big on green transport :-) tons of these motor bikes and scooters....

This is the central market of Barcelona, just off Las Ramblas.....

One of the meat stalls...

A seafood presentation....

Now multiply those two stalls in your mind and add candy, fruits and vegetables, many more meat and seafood booths, and a few bakeries in a building the size of the Center of Progress Building at the NY State Fair, and you will have an idea of what this market is like.

Back out on Las Ramblas, Cyndy gets accosted by a statue!

Unfortunately, our camera battery died the day that we visited the Montjuic Castle (which is a fort on top of a very high bluff that is reached by cable car and hanging gondolas). The view was fantastic from up there. We also missed photos of the old Cathedral, the antique markets in the square, and the Gaudi architectural sites in the city. I think that his work must have spawned the term "gaudy"!! His cathedral has been under construction since 1882 and is still not finished!

We then made a spur of the moment decision to take a side trip to Montserrat, which is a stone massif that sprouts from the mountain ranges outside of Barcelona, and was visible from our plane when we flew in. Once we realized that there was a monastery there that we could visit, we made the 1-hr. train trip. The views from the heights were breathtaking!

And of course, we enjoyed eating, drinking, and exploring the old sections of the city.

Sardines, anyone?

In Valencia, we arrived the day before their major holiday, King's Day or we know the day as Epiphany. King's Day in the church calendar is January 6, and is supposedly the day when the Magi arrived to worship the infant Jesus. In Spain, good children receive gifts from the "kings" on this day. (Bad children get coal.) So, the evening before, there is a procession that winds miles through the streets of Valencia with floats complete with riders who throw candy to the waiting children, bands, and representations of the 3 kings and the gifts they presented to Jesus. It was a very long procession.... The city knows how to do it up right however; we watched workers earlier in the afternoon setting out thousands of plastic chairs for easy viewing all along the parade route.

Waiting for the candy.....

the forerunners of this particular king...

Some of the floats were very unusual (like decorated double-decker buses) and would never be allowed in the US. (like the very real bear below). We also noted other practices that would be frowned upon in the US- carrying lighted torches and oil lamps with real flames!!

Don't know who or what this represents.....

More photos of the procession and our time in Barcelona and Valencia can be found on the Picasa site.

Valencia also has a very modern section with eerie buildings that look like they belong on the set of Star Trek.

One of these houses an aquarium, where we watched a dolphin show, and walked through glass tunnels with sharks swimming overhead. This is one of the best aquariums we have seen yet, and the dolphins, always my favorite, were amazing. Not only did they perform well as a group, they also did tricks with their human trainers that I have not seen before.

One of the "fish tunnels".....

We ended our trip by returning to Barcelona and flying back to Prague, where we encountered winter! We felt as though we were back in upstate NY, as there is over 6" of snow on the ground, and it is still coming down.


Remember, if you would like to see the full extent of our photos of Spain, the link is here.