Barcelona....last day!!!

Wow! I can hardly believe that my time is up! I made the most of my day again and now hame at 4.30pm. Early for a change. After brekky I grabbed my bag and camera and off I went on the metro to the gothic area once again. I went into the Catedral de Barcelona, and it is undergoing renovations and very dark in side. Such a contrast to Sagrada Familia where all use of light is fundamental in it´s design. Here is one pic.

I then went into a Dali exhibition where there were numerous photos of him in various poses as well as a broad selection of his pictures and sculptures. It was actually a museum,low key, but interesting nonethe less. (It seems the Spanish version of blogger is putting my pics all at the start...so you will have to scroll up to look again at them..sorry about that!





The highlight of the day was a tour of the Palau de la Musica Catalana. This was not designed by Gaudi, but a contemporary of his. It was outstanding! They did not allow photos inside, but I managed a few outside. I have included them here. The interior had a huge glass dome shaped like a breast all stain glass to let the light in. the mosaicing inside and out was just beautiful. A worthwhile finale to my visit. Finally I enjoyed a last walk down La Rambla and then a visit to the produce market which just had the most amazing layout of food that I have ever seen. Cast your eyes on these final pics! I will be flying to London tomorrow for the final bit of my trip...xx

Barcelona ...again

My day started with a brisk walk to get into line before the crowds arrived. Doors opened at 9am, so I only had to wait 20 minutes which wasn´t too bad. I quickly caught the lift to the top of the bell tower to gaze around from there. Ha! I look a bit ragged here! I am up the top of one of the bell towers at Sagrada Familia, which Gaudi started and should be finished in2026! Fantastic view!

This is the bell tower. There will be 18 all up I think. The spiral staircase wound around this tower to come down.

A little pigeon flew by here! this spiral staircase which took me down to the bottom, is based on a nautalis shell shape as you can see. Gaudi based all his design on leaves, cells, crystals , skeletons, anything in nature that he could use, he did! Absolutely stunning!

The top picture was inside theFamilia where the columns represent trees which branching limbs and a canopy of leaves. Lots of stained glass to filter the light and give mood and effect. The bottom picture of these two is looking out from the Casa Batllo, a home that Gaudi built for a wealthy family. 4 stories high and not a straight surface to be found. All walls and doorways are curved,, and two shafts bring the light down into the building. The colour and tiling, painting is just amazing! A delight to look upon.

I´m in front of a mosaic on the roof top of Casa Batllo, with my shopping bag in hand, Desigual!

Again the amazing roof top of chimneys and mosaic that is classical to look at! (yes, I think I am going to go mosaic mad!!!)

This is one of the shafts  that let the light into the house at the different levels. Gaudi even tiled and worked on colour here. And the last pic is the front of the house! wow! I walked today for about 8 hours, yesterday 10! Early to bed I think!!

 

Barcelona continued..

 Roof top view, sensational mosaic, note differing size tiles.

 The Sagrada Familia in the back ground.

What´s with two single beds pushed together to make a queen? I don´t know!! Seems to happen a lot in Europe!
Met a lovely girl, Jessica, 23, travelling on her own. We teamed up and set off to see La Pedera, an apartment complex that Gaudi constructed which has chimneys on the roof top resembling medieval warriors. One floor has been renovated to same period that it was completed and he was a most remarkable man to have such vision.

Next we went to see Sagrada Familia and walked around the outside! It was started 80 years ago and will be completed in 2026. Gaudi based so much of his architecture and design on natural patterns in nature with stunning results.I will go inside this amazing church tomorrow.

 Jessica and me from serpent bench.

Then we took a bus to Park Guell where Gaudi lived for 20 years and constructed an amazing park with great views to the Mediterranean. It includes serpentine bench, gothic archways and a mosaic wonderland. Truly stunning.

On to Joan Miro Museum with a catapult into art works with his signature abstract shapes and primary colours. By this time it was8pm so we enjoyed authentic paella by the waterside in a restaurant. It then started to rain!..So we went running in the wet to hail a taxi to take us back to the B&B!! Great fun! Very tired by this stage as you can imagine..bed was wonderful to climb into!

Next day (Sunday) lots shut. Walked to another Gaudi House, Casa Batlio, had a look from the outside, will go inside tomorrow. Caught the metro to La Rambla,which is the main tree lined street to stroll down, buskers, spray painted human statues, open air market. Watched traditional dancing outside cathedral. Wanderered along the water front then caught metro back to B&B. Jessica left for her flight back to Germany. She is an American working as an Au Pair and travelling Europe on the weekends.
I rested ready to go out for dinner with two other American ladies I met this morning!

Barcelona

A very long day was to be had by Lou Lou and Vanessa. Moreso Louise as she accompanied me to the airport at 1pm and had to wait for her flight at 10pm! I said good bye to my traveling friend at about 3.15pm so I could catch my plane. ¨boo hoo¨¨ . I hope you make it safely and comfortably Lou!

The Barcelona airport is truly amazing. Only 1.5 years old and works like clock work. I met my lady easily, she had a sign Vanessa Chapman, which made it a lot easier! She provided a most informative drive to the B&B, which I must say is fantastic, a huge improvement on the one in Rome. I unpacked, yep, and settled in with a lovely cup of tea then ventured out about 8.30 for dinner. Found a little place and had delicious tapas. The biggest difficulty being the change of language. I´d just got used to Italian, now it´s Spanish, Cath..I need your help!!! But I managed..I cruised passed a supermarket and bought water and a cornetto for dessert, and just enjoying a cup of tea before bed.

Tomorrow I will been exploring Gaudi architecture and expect to do a lot of walking!
Till then ciao!...oh no that´s Italian!!...mmm lot´s of learning going on here! xx

Last day

It's our last day in Italy today. Vanessa leaves tomorrow for Spain and then UK and Louise flys back home! We are tired but have had another great day! We set out early (ish) and caught the metro to the station near the Spanish Steps. The metro in Rome is 1 Euro per trip- very cheap! This was taken from the top of the Spanish Steps

At the top of the Spanish Steps is a lovely little church which was open when we got there (we were told "it is never open"). Behind that is a huge park which we thought would be a great place for our picnic lunch which we had brought along. Some cheese, crackers, olives and tomatoes - hit the spot!

We read an ad in a brochure about a mosaic studio where you can have a go at doing your own mosaic. We've been quite taken with mosaics around here so thought this could be a nice way to spend a couple of hours! I called to make sure we could do this today and was given a time to be there.

We arrived at the appointed time and no-one could speak english! They showed us what we could make (a picture frame) and we started thinking of the weight in our bags! "Any smaller?" and a little 4 inch square was offered. "How much?" 40 euro  - each! "Oh!" we said "Perhaps another time!" and we left, found a coffee shop and enjoyed a coffee instead!

Whilst walking around I have been entertained by the manner in which people park, or rather abandon their cars. Australia is far too restricted - why can't we have intersections looking like this?

The white car on the right

was actually been parked there.

mmm - can't fit one way, then just park another way to make it fit! no parking ticket here - don't worry! This is a smart car - they are probably one of the most popular cars on the road here.

..and so our threesome is now splitting up forever as we have all gone our separate ways. If I can find computer access in Barcelona, I will try to update again!
Bye Lou Lou, have a safe trip and I hope the Happy Cabby trip from Newcastle to home will be a quick one for you! We are about to go out for our last supper together (heh heh!)..... Ciao!!

Rome Day 2

Lou-Lou and Nora - our wonderful guide

The hall of Maps - they have been found to be 90% accurate!

This was the cutest little car we found - a Fiat. Definately a bonus to have such a little car here.

Our day:

OMG!!!!....Lou Lou had organised a private tour of the Vatican. She did not elaborate for me, just said we were to be picked up at 10am. As we were heading out the door, a dignified older Italian woman arrives at the door saying her name was Nora and that she had an appointment with Louise. Well, she was our guide and lead us down to the street where our car was waiting.....OMG! It was a silver Mercedes!!! I grabbed Lou Lou’s arm and said the obvious “gasp...it’s a merc Lou Lou!!” she just looked at me with a big smirk! Bloody hell she knew all along! It was luxury, Aldo, our driver, who we knew intimately by the end of the trip, was a stately gent who just pushed his Mercedes into spaces we would fear to try! Ah ...the poor plebs, having to walk around, shame......

Once I got over the shock, and quickly accustomed myself to this high status we were thrust into mind you....Aldo took us firstly to the top of the highest hill in Rome so we could look over the city of Rome and have all the landmarks pointed out to us. We then battled the traffic of Rome (insane) before commencing our breathtaking, informative and most leisurely walk around the Vatican, ending in the Sistine Chapel. Well, words cannot describe the pure delight of gazing on these most extraordinary works of renaissance artists, particularly Michelangelo who painted the ceiling. He was a master of sculpture and did not like painting, however, if the Pope asks you to paint, who would refuse? His representation of the human form was indeed sculpture in painting and so they seemed to come alive before your very eyes. We must have been in the Chapel for at least a half hour, as Nora knew the guards and the exact time that the doors were opened and people let in and out. Remarkable....

Sadly we said goodbye to Aldo and Nora...and the Mercedes...and went to experience the Colosseum, awesome, the Trevi Fountain, superb but smelly, then a taxi home and enjoyed the most amazing ravioli pomodore at a local restaurant, with a glass of red. ...mmmm what better way to end a sensational day in Roma! J

Rome

The view from our balcony

The fountain at the Vatican

The Pope has been a little busy this week with a beautification in Rome and then a visit to us in Venice!

Ponte Saint Angelo with Castel on the left

Dusk

Evening

It’s not very often one can say they've caught a boat to the airport, but that's what you do in Venice! It's a 50 minute ride - sometimes a little treacherous but we made it with plenty of time to spare – more than we thought as our flight was delayed for about 20 minutes. So now we’re in Roma! From the airport we were so lucky with trains; it was as if they were just there waiting for us!

We’re staying in a B&B for our 3 nights in Rome and have a magnificent view of the Vatican and the Basilica. We are looking at it now all lit up at night!

We walked up to the Vatican and around the square then down Via della Conciliazione which is the street in line with the Vatican. We have a very special tour of the Vatican tomorrow so we didn’t want to spend much time there today.

The traffic here is chaotic and you take your life in your hands crossing the road.  We watched an elderly gent who didn’t even look if there was a car coming, slowly cross the road without one toot of a horn or complaint from any of the motorists. We’re not willing to try that – we just run!

We came across a very quaint deli where we purchased some cheese, olives, tomatoes and crackers. There was a most helpful Italian man serving us who gave us tastes of the cheeses and some bread – yum! I need to tell you that the clothes we both brought with us still fit and if there have been any clothing purchases, it’s only because they were irresistible!

Clare, you’ll be pleased to know we have continued the gelato tradition here as well with a Tiramisu and mint being sampled today.

Our travelling today has worn us out – we’re looking at things to do tomorrow and Thursday. It’s very difficult trying to see so much in a limited time – guess we’ll just have to come back!