There are so many superlatives I want to tell about in our next 17 days:
Barcelona Port
We left the ship by the port shuttle bus. Here we waited for a local bus. The Torre de Jaume (picture) holds up the aerial tram that runs from Torre Sant Sebastià at Barceloneta Beach (north), over this tower, and on to the Miramar station on Montjuïc Hill (south). It is a cool ride, but no boarding at this location.
A magpie is snatching a straw from the palm tree for its nest while we waited on this gorgeous morning.
Above: View for a bus of the red brick and glass Victorian era market hall in Barcelona: Mercat de Sant Antoni, a landmark.
We headed straight out of Barcelona because we had Soccer match tickets later in the week and would be back soon. We used buses and a train to get to the Monterssarat Mountians and the small town of Monistrol.
Monistrol de Montserrat
This town is just at the base of the mountains. Montserrat means serrated, can you guess why? More than 2 million people will visit the Monistery above this year. Almost all will come and go on a day trip. We prefer a country stay, so we booked two nights in this beautiful town that most people never see. An easy walk from the lower train station over a bridge and along the well-preserved ruins of a 17th-century aqueduct brought us to the small village square.
When we left it was market day:
A Cog train climbs up the mountain to the Monastery where the combination of panoramas and weird rock formations was magical.
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Christian hermits inhabited this location for its beauty and isolation since the 6th century. A Benedictine monastery was founded here in 1025. Today, it is a site of pilgrimage for the many who wait in line to touch the orb held by the statue called the Black Madonna (La Morenta) to receive her healing blessings. We walked and relished the scenery. There is another funicular lift to the top of the ridge. We must go back again to do that.
Next up: Vilanova i la Geltrú:
Vilanova i la Geltrú is a port city southwest of Barcelona, a 3-hour journey by bus and train, or a 1-hour drive by car. This is a surprisingly beautiful town, even in the rain, because of stunning Romantic architecture and the nearby sandy coast. In the summer, it overflows with sun-worshippers. In the off-season, the many hotels and restaurants are quite affordable.
A bronze statue (see below) surveys the square from a high pedestal. He is Tomàs Ventosa i Soler 1797-1874. At the tender age of 12, he emigrated to Matanzas, Cuba. There, he made a fortune making and exporting textiles. He used his wealth to build this main square with its surrounding arcades and buildings, including the town hall. Lucky for us, he had wonderful taste. He also targeted illiteracy and founded free schools for boys and girls. He financed similar projects in Matanzas, and an identical statue stands there too.
We arrived amid post-Carnival chaos. On “Fat Tuesday,” there was the traditional huge food fight: the throwing about of lots of the local specialty food, sticky meringue. Doesn’t that sound very fun and very messy? Even Tomàs (the statue man) was put to work cleaning up by athletic pranksters who gave him a bucket and trash. Carnival decorations were still in place overhead on the main pedestrian street.
An easy walk to the beach takes you past the working port full of a great variety of boats, especially fishing boats. There is a large paved area reserved for drying and repairing of nets.
The old lighthouse is picturesque.
Boardwalks make hiking along the beach a lot easier for the likes of us. The clouds and waves added to the ambiance.
Did I mention the fabulous meal we enjoyed
Lamb ribs, braised beef and fish with a lemon sauce. It was the best meal of our trip.
And then we returned to Barcelona for two nights and a soccer match. We were very excited. Barcelona was having a great year.
Barcelona is my favorite of the large EU cities that I have visited. The Basilica Sagrada Familia is a must-see, so is everything designed by Antonio Gaudí. There is a lot to see and do. You cannot be bored.
Getting to the stadium was a favorite moment: We found the stream of free buses loading up the lines of fans at the Plaça d’Espanya (another great sight). It was dark. The overcast was heavy, but visibility on the ground was good. The buses left us where we walked along an avenue lined with futuristic columns of light. We approached the Barcelona Olympic Stadium, temporary home for Barcelona FC (photo lower right). It looked amazing and like it was straight out of a Batman comic book: bold and scary. Then I turned around and beheld another venue, the Palau Sant Jordi arena: a huge pavilion looking like a flying saucer. It was all (to sound trite) surreal.
Long-short: We get to our seats just in time to hear announcements we don’t understand. Then the rows of people around all get up as if they all need to use the restroom. Noticing our English, a nearby fan updated us: the team doctor had just died, and the game was postponed. So our tickets got refunded, and the evening’s adventure was free.
Then we were off to Andorra on a 3-hour bus. Why not a train? Because no trains go to Andorra and we often choose buses over trains. Here’s why:
| Quick Travel Tip: I love train travel. But increasingly we opt for buses because: 1) Buses go to thousands of places that trains do not. 2) When traveling by bus, you see the prettier “front door” of a town compared to the industrial “back door” that trains typically pass through. 3) Trains spend so much time in trenches and tunnels built to accommodate their need for a steady incline, further obstrucing the views. 4) Buses are almost always cheaper than trains. |
Here is some of what makes Andorra the most unusual country that it is:
- According to the charter of 1278 it has two rulers: one is the President of France and the other is the Bishop of Urgell in Spain.
- With a population of 85,000, it attracts 8 million visitors year round for mountain sports and duty-free shopping. (Only a third of the residents are Andorran nationals.)
- Its only official language is Catalan.
- It offers a tax haven of 10% to corporations compared to 25% in Spain.
During our two days in Andorra la Vella, the capital of Andorra, we visited the elegant Thermal Spa. We took local buses and saw other towns and the mountains. A Dali statue called “Nobility of Time” (photo below) is the centerpiece of the main square. What I liked most was looking up at the mountains everywhere.
Andorra la Vela
Another bus took us down the back side of the Pyrenees mountains. It was very steep and windy. It was also snowing. Next stop: Toulouse, France.
Toulouse is the best-kept secret in France (according to me). Three reasons I am in love with Toulouse.
- It’s a beautiful city: with lovely architecture, mostly pink brick, and views along the Garonne River. Its old city has not been swallowed up inside the modern city. It remains airy.
- Its history is complex, going back to Roman times and beyond.
- It’s Basilica St.Sernin is one of the largest Romanesque churches in the world: stunning, inside and out.
How, I wondered, does such a wealthy and prestigious city come to be here, near the mountains and not near the ocean? And to my dismay, I learned it is a significant port city, yes, “port” city. It sits on a major waterway to the Atlantic Ocean: The Garonne River. But the big deal came in 1694 with the completion of a canal system connecting the Garonne to the Mediterranean Sea. The Canal du Midi is beautiful and a marvel of 17th-century engineering. It boasts 328 locks, bridges, tunnels, spillways, and aqueducts. It connected Rome and Marseille to Paris without going around Spain before the days of railroads.
Toulouse is home to a leading University. It is the Aeronautics and Space capital of Europe. And it is the 4th largest city in France. (Who knew?)
Photos: Top left: Beaux Arts style Train station / bottom left: The Canal du Midi, which is still used recreationally.
Then off to Carcassonne. Its walls and Medieval city (below) are astounding .
La Cité de Carcassonne is a medieval fortification with features that include:
- Double Walls: Approximately 3 km of ramparts (the longest in Europe) with 52 towers, including an inner and outer enclosure.
- Château Comtal: A 12th-century fortress castle within the walls.
- Basilica of Saint-Nazaire: Romanesque and Gothic cathedral with notable stained-glass windows, constructed between the 9th and 14th centuries.
Medieval Layout: Two huge city gates (Porte Narbonnaise and Porte d’Aude), cobbled streets, and a concentric defensive system reflecting Gallo-Roman, Visigothic, and medieval influences.
In the 1853 the architect and preservationist, Viollet-le-Duc was hired to study the medieval features and preserve these as much as possible. This project took decades and continues to this day.
It is one of 44 sights in France of cultural and historical value as determined by UNESCO, a UN organization.
Then we went on to Montpellier by 2-hour bus. It is in the heart of what is called “The South of France”.
Montpellier has it all: a large pedestrian-only zone with modern street cars going everywhere, students everywhere, notable architecture everywhere, a gorgeous fountain, fabulous lighting, and even a carousel. Parks, promenades, and medieval streets are all an easy walk away. We needed another day to get to the beaches and to see a winter habitat for wild flamingoes.
We boarded a bus to Pergignan, but never got there. Instead, we got left behind at a rest stop with our luggage still on the bus. Watching our apparent distress, a Slovenian couple came to our rescue. They drove us 2 hours to Barcelona and got us to the bus station 10 minutes before our bags did. Along the way, we enjoyed rich conversation as their English was masterful. We are so grateful for angels like Nina and Gal from Llublianya. (Below: Mark with our bags!)
We passed this monument, Le Perthus Pyramid (above), near the border of Spain and France. It celebrates the importance of the Pyrenees Mountains in the history and culture of the noble region of Catalonia.
Click the photo to enjoy the moves of this Catalonian Dancing Dog.
We headed next to Cairo. We had almost no plans only a booking for the first 4 nights. I was clueless about how to see Egypt, but in our unusual way we sorted it out as we went. It worked out very well. I will tell all next time.
We would fly from Barcelona to Warsaw to Cairo and get a good look at the Alps from the Italian Side. We arrived at Cairo International Airport at 10:30 pm.
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