Monthly Archives: September 2014

Europe, Spain

Update from Sevilla

We are winding down to the last few days in Spain. Tomorrow we leave Sevilla for Cordoba, and finally end up in Madrid for the last 2 nights. Then we fly home to meet our new nephew who was born the day we left!

Sevilla has been really fun. It is a nice change from La Linea which was a very utilitarian, border town, by the sea. Most of the buildings were in disrepair, and nothing special to look at. ‎ However, it was the most convenient place to stay for traveling to The Rock of Gibraltar. And, the hotel room was deluxe by our standards–room service, bidet, pool and all!

‎Today we are taking it easy. We tracked down some really beautiful street art, and then had some lunch aka fed some birds in the Plaza Nueva which is near by.

Tomorrow will be an early start.
~j

Europe, Spain

Granada to Ronda

Sunday, Sunday. We’ve passed the halfway point of our time in Spain although it feels like we have been here much longer which is nice.

Granada is a great city. It is refreshing after the loads of people in Barcelona. On our first day in Granada we visited The Alhambra. The intricacies and details of the carvings are otherworldly. I cannot wait to go through those photos!

Yesterday, we had no set plans, and just explored the city. Granada is one of the only cities I’ve ever seen that has featured graffiti on its tourism maps. It’s easy to find all sorts of interesting pieces if you’re observant, but having a map was kind of fun. A city seeing street art as a feature rather than a nuisance is different for sure. I was in graffiti heaven for most of the day. FYI: There were still the usual shitty tags and scribbles in addition to the prettier pieces.

‎After today in Ronda, we are off to The Rock of Gibraltar tomorrow (which us actually part of the UK). I’m a little nervous about the apes of Gibraltar. In hindsight, it might have been a good idea to get that rabies vaccination after all.

Being bitten by an ape is NOT on my to do list!
~j

Europe, Spain

9 September, 2014

Hi Everyone!

We are alive and well in Barcelona. It has been quite the adjustment with the time and temperature this trip. Boo jet lag!

Going from semi-arid desert to 85 to 90% humidity takes some getting used to. Luckily, the weather has been good so far. We had a little light rain yesterday morning, but nothing umbrella-worthy.

Navigating the city has been easy. The metro is quick and efficient, although the tunnels are like standing in a disgusting sauna while waiting for the air conditioned cars. I’m sure 90% of the 90% humidity is actually sweat from the passengers. That’s disgusting!

For as easy as Barcelona is to navigate, it is one of the more difficult cities to actually see what we want to see. ‎ There is a lot of hurry up and wait, then stand in line. For example, wait in line 40 minutes to an hour only to book a time slot in 2 hours to come back to see the church, museum, or park. The volume of people definitely leaves a lot to be desired.

Yesterday we managed to visit Park Guell and see a lot of the Gaudi buildings around the city. Today we are out of the city in Montserrat. Montserrat is a mountain top town with a Benedictine ‎Monastery. Sadly, it is overrun with people as well, but we are making the most of it. There’s an air tram and 2 funiculars to go along with the hiking trails. Who doesn’t love a funicular?!?

Tomorrow we are booked for the Sagrada Familia. We didn’t want to wait in line for an hour yesterday only to have to go back in 2 more hours, so we booked online, and will skip the waiting tomorrow.

Stay tuned…
~j

Europe, Spain

Barcelona: Inspiration

Video

Tomorrow morning we’re off to Spain for two-weeks.  We’re Starting in Barcelona, and heading through Granada, Ronda, Gibraltar, Seville, and ending up in Madrid.  There are a few other cities along the way that should make for a fantastic trip.

For now, here’s a little video preview of some of what we’ll see…thanks and credit to Rob Whitworth again for the video!