Barcelona - Las Ramblas

We arrived in Barcelona around noon, took the bus from the new terminal to the old terminal, walked across the decrepit skyway to the less than lovely Metro stop. Rick Steves indicates that this is the easiest, cheapest way to get into town. It definitely is, though I hope they are going to do some renovation on it as it looks like it hasn't seen an upgrade or repair since the 80s.

The Metro into town was a quick 30 mins, and it dropped up off just a few blocks from our hotel, La Costanza. It is a lovely hotel on a quiet street about 3 blocks away from the main new town street Paseo de Gracia. We dropped off our luggage and walked off towards Las Ramblas.

Barcelona is separated into 2 parts by Plaza de Catalunya. This is a large pedestrian square that also serves as the main transportation hub. We walked across it, and started down Las Ramblas, a long Pedestrian mall that was originally the main street of Barcelona.

There are tons of Pigeons there, and he bet that he could hold his hand out and they would fly up and land on his hand. He was right, only many, many pigeons attempted to do this.







A little ways down Las Ramblas is one of the original water fountains. We stopped to get a drink from it as it is reputed to guarantee a return to Barcelona, and so far we really like this city.







I also got a glass of Horchata, as it was quite warm. I really like this almondy drink.

Las Ramblas ends at the harbor, and there is a massive monument to Christopher Columbus. It was here that he returned from the new world and was greeted by Queen Isabel. As a new world resident, it was very cool to see the spot where it all began.



Coincidentally, it was Columbus Day, so this all had even more significance. There are some very interesting reliefs sculpted around the base of the monument showing Columbus explaining to the Church that the world is round (heresy at the time), and the grateful greeting that he recieved form the Indians whose discovery would later lead to their genocide.



Ultimately of course the discovery of the new world would lead to the growth of Spain as a major player in the new world, but also it's ultimate demise when the Americas revolted from Spain's rule.





Tony had fun with the lions.











On display in honor of Columbus Day, the original contract between Queen Isabel and Columbus. It outlined the terms of his voyage in that any new lands discovered would be the property of Spain, and in turn for his services, Columbus would be named Admiral of the Spanish Navy. It was interesting to see this drawn up in contract form. A really amazing document.

Madrid's New Terminal

We awoke early, checked out of our hotel, and made our way using the Metro to the new Airport Terminal. The metro proved to be a very, very easy and inexpensive way to get from our hotel to the airport - only taking about 30-40 mins. You do have to pay an extra Euro, but at 2 Euros, nothing is going to beat this price.

The metro drops you off in the base of the Terminal, and escalators take you up to the main concourse, which is a beautiful airy space. It may be one of the most amazing terminals I've ever been in.

We grabbed a quick bite at McDonalds, and then hopped on our Vueling commuter flight from Madrid to Barcelona. The cost of our flight was amazingly cheap, but we quickly learned that the reason it is so cheap is that there is NO LEG ROOM. The seat spacing is the tightest I've ever seen - even tighter than Ryanair. Luckily the flight was only an hour. . .

Spain - Palacio Real De Madrid

Tony and I spent the next day on our own in Madrid as Luis and Leeza were doing family stuff. We identified the Spanish Palace as somewhere we really wanted to visit, so we went there first thing in the morning.








It is a large palace, but it didn't feel larger than the palace in Stockholm. It is listed however as the 3rd largest just behind Versailles and the Austrian Palace (we still have yet to visit that one).




There was a National holiday going on, so they were rehearsing for a parade which was pretty cool in the large enclosed courtyard out front.










By the time we had finished our visit to the Palace, it was lunchtime, so we wandered over to a Tapas Bar and had some Abondigas and Horchata. Not the Horchata made from rice that you find in the state, but the Horchata made from ground Tiger Nuts, a relative to the Almond.

We made our way over to the Prado Museum, home to the world greatest collection of classical Spanish Paintings, and probably one of the top painting museums of the world. we followed the tour laid out by the Rick Steve's guide, which focused a lot on Goya, and Velasquez.



We made a point of seeing Velasquez's "Las Meninas", often considered the greatest painting on the planet. It is certainly a great painting, but I'm not sure it is the greatest painting ever. It was however great to see it as it would have great baring when we visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona.



I enjoyed seeing the Goya painting collection as it followed his early happy go lucky painting career into his politically inspired painting career where he received his greatest recognition for "3rd of May", which focused on a failed revolution in Spain against the French. The museum also has quite a few pieces from his Black Painting period, which was very depressing and bleak. I felt the chill of the Harry Potter dementors sucking the life out of me viewing them.

In order to recover from these depressing images, we went to get some Ice Cream at what was called the Best Ice Cream Shop in Madrid, Giangrossi Helado Artesanal. It was a nice way to get our spirits back up again.

We continued wandering around Madrid, eventually making our way to the Center of town, the steps where the 3rd of May massacre occured.




It really is the center of Madrid if not Spain, and there is a plaque commemorating this.


We also visited the statue of the Bear eating Madrono Berries. The bear and the Madrono Berry are the symbols of Madrid and feature on the flag. They make a liquore from the berry, but unfortunately, we didn't happen across any.









Our final stop of the day was at a Bullfighting Pub for a light evening meal.






There are bull heads and images of bullfighters being hurt around the pub.




There is even a picture of Franco at a bullfight.

Spain - Toledo

Today we headed off for an excursion to Toledo. It was raining like crazy, so it would prove to be an interesting time.













Toledo is a walled hilltop medieval city still having a lot of its fortifications and gates intact.





It's impressive walking up the long winding roads, through the many gates, until finally reaching the main part of the small ancient town.

When you finally reach the top, it is a maze of medieval alley size streets lined with shops. Many of the shops contain swords and armor, as this area has specialized in its manufacture for centuries.

The center of town, like most medieval towns, is a massive cathedral. One of the most impressive things to see in the cathedral is the display of Priestly Vestments. The amount of work that is done on these handmade garments is astounding.

I saw a lot of El Greco art, and though I appreciate it, I am not a huge fan. I did however like this one painting that is displayed in the room for which it was originally painted. It is called "The Spoliation" - Christ being stripped of his garments. It is on a wall in the cloister where the priests would put on their Holy Vestments. It is a powerful piece of art and the location of the art very poignant.









We had a great Jamon con Queso sandwich in a square not far from the church. Our timing was perfect as a massive downpour came while we were under a tent enjoying our food and Mahou beer.



We wrapped up our day a little early because Luis's parents had invited us over to their home for a homecooked traditional Spanish dinner.

They had prepared Jamon, Tortilla, Sardines, Pulpo (octopus), and Chorizo. However, the Chorizo they served was the base filling of the Chorizo before it is made into the sausage. The pulpo and sardines were delicious. The sardines being marinated in Olive Oil, parsley, and lemon Juice.

Luis's father is a wine lover and shared a very nice bottle of Spanish wine. It was a lovely evening despite Luis's parents not speaking any English, and Tony and I knowing very, very little Spanish.

Madrid - Museo del Jamon!!!!

Okay, one of the highlights of Spain and particularly Madrid is Jamon. In fact there is a museum for it.









Actually, it is a chain of food places called "Museo del Jamon" or "Museum of Ham". They are all over Madrid and offer inexpensive eats. We ate there for breakfast one day and of course had great ham and eggs.




They have all the beautiful Jamon Legs from which can be carved tasty slices of carefully cured Jamon. They have all different grades of ham, from Pigs that have been raised on Piggy Chow to those that have been fed only Acorns - Jamon Iberica Pata Negra. This is the top of the line type of Jamon.







If you like melty in your mouth ham, then this is for you. It has a wonderfully buttery yet not salty ham quality.








And Jamon is Everywhere. Madrid is like "Jamon Jeaven"! I think we ended up having some form of Jamon everyday. And who could resist when it is this good.

Some foodie friends of ours smuggled an entire leg back to the US in their suitcase. I can understand why now.

Spain - Seghovia Cathedral

After lunch, we wandered over to Seghovia Cathedral. It was the last Gothic Cathedral built in Spain and a wonder to see.



Huge impressive doors greet you at the entrance.








Once inside, it is massive with vaulted ceilings reaching up towards heaven.










A massive brass pipe organ borders both sides of the Sacristy.









I've visited a lot of churches in Europe, but this church had one of the best Jesus statues I've seen. It is amazingly moving.


There is a sense of reality to it, but there is also an exageration that makes it a very powerful piece of art. The expression on his face is quite haunting.












There was one painting that I really liked showing death about to claim a bunch of people and Jesus chiming the bell to warn them. Really cool.





This is a really amazing church and well worth a visit if in Seghovia.