But then I decided I would consider this a quick little BONUS blog post on the architecture of the city, outside of Gaudi.
Parts of the original Roman walls still stand in what is now
the Gothic Quarter.
For centuries, Barcelona lived inside those walls.
The streets were narrow and irregular, built for defense and shade rather than beauty.
His name is most associated with being the architect of the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.
Gaudí was influenced by his observations of nature since a child. He studied plants, animals,
rock formations, shells, etc.
Instead of straight lines, he preferred curves. Instead of
classical symmetry, he used organic forms.
He was deeply religious and very proud of his Catalan
identity.
He combined all of these elements in his designs.
Think of Scotch, tequila, rum, rye, whiskey, etc.
In Spain, it is vermouth, or, as it is called locally, vermut.
Vermut began in Spain in the 1800's.
By the early 1900's it had become very popular in Spanish life.
Traditionally, almost every town had a bodega (local lingo
for a bar) serving its own house vermouth, often drawn straight from a barrel.
For purely educational purposes, we decided it would be a good idea to go visit a vermut distillery to learn more.
Our first village to visit was Besalú, a medieval
center in the lower foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains.
In its heyday, Besalú was a political, religious and commercial hub serving the surrounding countryside.
Its 12th-century Romanesque bridge over the Fluvià River is picturesque.
But it is more than just pretty.
Barcelona's main Christmas Market is the Fira de Santa Llúcia in the
square in front of Barcelona’s Cathedral.
It goes back almost 250 years when the Christmas Market was first documented in 1786.
It is one of Spain’s
oldest Christmas markets and one of the oldest continuously held markets in Europe.
But it is different than the other European Christmas Markets.
I’m a story teller so I had to learn the story behind it.
All good stories have some fact, fiction, chivalry, strife, evil and then invariably end with good prevailing.
So here is the history, the legend and the legacy.
It was a good thing we had a heads up to look for it,
because it is sort of hidden. But, not really. If that makes sense.
It is more to say it is not in a prominent location, but instead the flamboyant building is squeezed into a tiny space.
You have to know to go look for it. But when you find it – WOW!
At the time Spain was redefining itself after the loss of its empire.
The project was intended to reassert Spain’s cultural importance plus strengthen ties with Latin America.
However, timing coincided with the onset of the Great Depression and unfortunately, the fair never achieved the economic success its organizers had hoped for.
Remember that jingle "The rain in Spain stays mainly aboard the plane"?
With more than 300 days of sunshine a year, the Costa del Sol is known for sunny skies, warm summers and mild winters.
We like warm summers, sunshine and mild winters.
The white villages are known as pueblos blancos.
(I
am linguistically challenged, but even I can translate that!)
They look very pretty, but they are more than just pretty.
Most of these villages developed during the centuries of Islamic
rule in Al-Andalus.
The white villages were planned strategically.
At the time, Cordoba was one of the largest and most sophisticated cities in Europe —renowned for learning, medicine, philosophy and architecture.
Its history goes back to Roman times.
Followed by centuries of Islamic rule.
Which was then followed by the Christian reconquest.
The natural beauty and turbulent history gives the town a romantic allure and attracted the "Viajeros Románticos".
Looking back at these photos, I do not know how we did
it.
The Caminito del Rey is a walkway in Andalusia, southern
Spain, running through the narrow El Chorro Gorge north of Málaga.
It has wooden boardwalks hugging the cliffs high above the
Guadalhorce River.
Literally translated, “caminito” means “little path.”
The name reflects how narrow and precarious the original walkway was, often no more than a meter wide (39 inches) and clinging
to the cliff face.
When King Alfonso XIII came for a brief inspection and
opening, the full name “Caminito del Rey,” “the King’s Little Path” became the
name that stuck.
It was a boom-and-bust town that rose quickly in the early 1900s and then emptied almost overnight in the 1940’s, leaving behind a haunting collection of stone ruins, crumbling buildings and old miner’s homes.
Today, Terlingua’s Ghost Town has a quirky mix of restored
buildings, art studios and lived-in dwellings sitting beside abandoned ruins.
We describe it as the place that people go to drop out
of society.
Or, it could be the place for people in the Witness Protection Program.
It is a long 10 hour drive from Houston, but, the park is beautiful with mountains and desert.
It is so different than anywhere else in Texas.
So many Texans have never been and say they want to go, but somehow don't.
They don't know what they are missing!
In some ways it is the best kept secret in Texas.
