So Here's Our Vacation Blog...

This morning we drove to Mount Tibidabo, the highest point in the local mountain range along the Barcelona coast.  Not really a mountain, it rises 512 m (1700 ft) above sea level.  On top of the summit is the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (Templo Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús).  You can easily look up the history of how and why it was built, which took the first 60 years of the 20th century.  This photo is not mine, but I’m using it because it’s very difficult to get a photo of this church in its entirety - it’s huge, and you can’t stand far enough away or you’ll fall off the mountain!

Here’s a photo from right in front,

and one I took from the very top looking up at Jesus’ outstretched arms.

We were able to take an elevator from the main terrace level to the upper landing, which is up 80 ft, then climbed 30 ft up some circular stairs on the outside of that upper structure to get to the next level, then up an inside spiral staircase for the final 100 feet, putting us at 1880 feet up.

We were overlooking not just the city of Barcelona, but the entire region.  Unfortunately it was a bit overcast today, so my photos aren’t the greatest, but you get the idea.

Here’s what La Sagrada Famila looks like from up there.  You can see all the spires in the middle.  More on that later.

Coming down the 140 steps was much easier, and we went inside for a peek.  Not nearly as overwhelming as the centuries old churches we’ve been visiting, but very nice artwork on the ceilings...

and the stations of the cross were spectacular, all carved or modeled in 3D.

On the way home we decided to drive by La Sagrada Familia.  If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a very famous minor basilica designed by Antoni Gaudi - yes, that Gaudi.  Construction was begun in 1882 and progressed ever since, with some intermittent stops for revolutions and such.  Marge and I had visited it in 2012, and I had seen it some ten years before that, so it’s very interesting to see the progress.  They say it should be done in another ten years.  I snapped a couple photos out the car window, since it’s probably the most intense traffic in all of Barcelona and you can’t park within a mile.  People wait for hours and hours to get in.  It is truly amazing.

So we got home, wandered about, and spotted a vintage music store with mainly Spanish instruments in it.  The guitars were all classical - wide, flat necks and nylon strings, and very nice.  They’re locally made by Admira, and most of the street musicians play them.

The most interesting items, though were the realization of a running joke back at the office.  You see, I’ve spent the last three years working on a cost-saving idea which is a less costly method of manufacturing an aluminum tube.  That’s right, three years working on a piece of pipe.  There are so many of them laying around the office that Andrey and Bita keep commenting we should make giant wind chimes out of them.  Well I guess some automotive spies heard them, because there they were, hanging in the window!  Your choice, either a six-foot tall single one, or a three foot tall black anodized one with six pipes.  Now that Marge has seen them she’s already talking about hanging one in the giant elm trees out front.

We walked on and saw the unearthed Roman cemetery.  These 2000 year old tombstones were pretty impressive.

Does anyone know how to read ancient Greek?

Then a stop for dinner at a rooftop terrace.  We really enjoyed this place.

In case it rained, they had a clever system of unfurling canopies from two horizontal booms, like what’s used on sailboats.  Very clever.

Onward, then to a place I would not miss - Els Quatre Gats (the four cats).  This place opened in 1897, and closed in 1903.  During that time, many artists used to congregate here and drink absinthe.  Who was the most famous?  Pablo Picasso, who was a regular while only a teenager and still developing his style.  We enjoyed their special house drink, a gin and tonic with extra juices and a mint leaf.  You can look up the interesting background of this painting, ‘Ramon Casas and Pere Romeu on a Tandem,’ but it’s been hanging there since 1897!

If you ever go, make sure to carve out time for dinner, as that’s the only way you get to sit in the main dining room or upstairs.

From here we strolled back to El Raval, because we needed to visit Barcelona’s oldest bar, named ‘Bar Marsella.’  Why, do you ask?  Because aside from the incredible history, noting regulars like Dali, Picasso, Gaudi, and even Papa Ernest Hemingway, it’s probably Barcelona’s most famous absinthe bar.  You know what that is, a highly alcoholic (~150 proof) liquor made from anise, fennel, and wormwood.  It’s the wormwood that gives it its hallucinogenic properties, but that’s only if you drink enough of them, so I’m told.  There’s a certain way the drink has to be made - pour the absinthe in a wine glass, lay a fork over the top with a sugar cube on top of it, then pour water through a tiny hole over the cube until it’s dissolved.  Voila.  Did it right the first time.  I think Dali probably didn’t use bottled water with a plastic cap, but times change.

On the way out we spotted some bottles on the shelf that were there when the place opened.  Luckily, our glasses were not stored right underneath.

So that’s it.  A long day, and tomorrow will be our last in Barcelona so we’ll do a little last minute shopping, see a couple more items on our list, but I may not write much.  From now on we’re doing short stops in each location, and we need to completely repack four large suitcases so we don’t need to lug all of them into the hotel each night.  Pardon me in advance if I keep it short tomorrow.  So good night everyone - thanks for reading!