Monday, March 16 The KKK! No Way!!!!!

Again. The phone rings but this time it is at 5:00 a.m. Yes, you read right, 5:00 a.m. Anyone who knows me knows that 5:00 a.m. is too early for me to even be awake much less get up and try to function. Natalie and Debbie and I stumble around each other as we get dressed and get our things together so we can get our luggage down to the lobby by the 6:45 deadline. Why all this early stuff? We are getting ready to make our way to the Barcelona train station for our first ride on the bullet train.

The hotel has fixed us a picnic breakfast of a sandwich, an apple, a chocolate bar, a fruit drink and a bottle of water. We grab our lunches and make our way to the bus to get our luggage on board and then find a seat. The bus begins our journey to the station. As I ride along there is this reoccurring thought in my mind about a train station bombing that took place in Madrid several months ago. Okay, Lord, I am in your hands.

Violeta gets us through the station and to our platform without any problems. We are an originating trip so we don't have to race to get on our train. FYI: The train travels at approximately 148 mph and is a common mode of travel in Spain as well as most parts of Europe. Our train is clean and modern and comfortable.

Betty and I getting off the train in Madrid for our layover.

I am fortunate to get face to face seating with a table with Louise, Debbie, and Betty. We pull out our picnic breakfast and I pick at mine. Not much appeals to me besides the apple. We ride for a while and then decide to play cards. Last year on our Italy trip Mrs. Mary Kat taught some of us how to play Hand and Foot. We play that game with the lead going back and forth until Betty begins to run the table. The first leg of our trip is 4 hours with a 2 hour layover in Madrid. We all claim our luggage and walk the platform to the main station and find a restaurant to eat lunch. We then load up again for 2 more hours of riding until we get to Seville. We arrive in Seville around 2:30 p.m. I could get use to traveling on a bullet train quite easily. I would love to jump the train at Inverness and make my way to Jackson in 15 minutes and return at the end of the day. Yeah, right!

Spanish countryside from the train window

A bus meets us at the station and takes us to La Macarena Hotel. Yep, again you read right Macarena, like the dance. We learn that the Spanish have never been able to understand why the song and dance took off in America since is considered to be a nonsense song in Spain. We are instructed to get settled in and meet in the lobby at 5:00 to head to the old area of town.

El Hotel Macarena

View from the patio atop our hotel

The ladies of the trip before our night out: Irene, DK, Dianne, Debbie, Betty, Louise, Paula, Natalie, Susan, and MR

We are on our own tonight until we are to go to a Flamenco performance. Violeta gathers us at the head of Serpentine Street, so named for its winding nature. It is lined with all kinds of shops, from expensive to the kitchy souvenir stores. She gives us information about the area, and we all head in as many directions, knowing we are to meet at this spot at 8:00 p.m.

Street marker

 

Before our stroll down the street

One of the first stores we pass by is a toy store that is lined with dolls of all types in one of the windows. My eyes are glued to the window with my mouth hanging open. I can hardly say, "Come here" to the others as I stand in amazement at what I see. There are Klu Klux Klan dolls, dressed in green, and purple, and red, and blue, and white robes along with the pointy hats, lining the shelves of the window. Yep, you read right again! Klu Klux Klan dolls. Violeta begins to explain to us what we are seeing. FYI: The various areas of the town have their Catholic churches that have a color that is synonymous with that church. During Semana Santa, the church will march through the streets caring an elaborate statue of Christ that can weigh well over 800 lbs. They are followed by a band playing music with a beat by which to walk. Those who are carrying the Christ statue are dressed in the colorful KKK robes. I explain to Violeta why we are so enthralled with the dolls. She says she has never heard of such.

The Klan dolls

John, MR, Natalie, Debbie Natalie, Louise, Betty, Paula and I check out the rest of the shops, make a few purchases, and begin our hunt for a place to eat. This is the first evening that we haven't had a planned meal so we are on our own. Although we did not adjust our eating schedule to much during the trip, if we had followed the Spanish schedule of eating we would have been nowhere near eating at this point. It is way too early, 6:45. Several restaurants turn us down since it is too early to eat. We finally are directed to a sidewalk restaurant Las Robles, which turns out to be well-known in Seville. We dine al fresco and enjoy a wonderful dinner. I have a steamed vegetable dish of eggplant, tomatoes, squash, onions, and carrots. I understand the veggies are steamed, mixed with olive oil, poured into a terra cotta dish, and broiled until the top is crispy and brown. I also have Iberian cured ham in which the pig was fed on acorns. I complement the ham and vegetables with  a selection of olives, and a sparkling Lambrusco rose (my new favorite wine. I really don't have an old favorite since I am not much of a wine drinker, but this one was nice. Thank you John for introducing it to me). The meal is not quite as good as the lobster in Barcelona, but it is close. Now, Paula is another matter. I know she had to have lost weight on this trip. All she ever ate was bread and more bread. She missed out on some great eating. She did have hot chocolate whenever she could.

Enjoying our evening meal

After our meal we stroll back down Serpentine Street and meet with our group to attend a flamenco performance at La Casa da la Carmen. We walk to our destination, and get settled to watch the performance and enjoy a glass of sangria. Mine is strong so John finishes it for me.

The performance is great. There is a guitarist who entertains first. He is joined by a male dancer who can snap his fingers louder than any finger snapping I have ever heard. He has the most developed muscles in his hands. No castanets for him. After what seems to be an exhausting dance for him, a female dancer appears to dance her number. The male dancer and the guitarist accompany her with music, snaps, and singing. I would have fallen out from exhaustion I if had danced her dance. But she just smiles and bows after her performance. She very well could have been from the south. She had a moist glow all over her skin, no sweating for her. Next, the two dance together, and they are wonderful, also.

Ole

With the evening coming to a close, we grab taxis and head back to the hotel. For our two nights in Seville, Paula and I room together. We had claimed our beds earlier and have worked out our routine. I go down stairs to try to get on the Internet to no avail, so I decide to give up and go to bed. As a lay my head on the pillow I see it is 1:30.

Hummingbird Sighting

I was standing outside yesterday talking to my friend Sara Ann when she pointed to a hummingbird that was at the feeder. I am so excited; it was my first sighting. We usually have close to 20 that "hang" out around our feeders during the summer. I am looking forward to them all coming back.

It Was a Happy Easter!

Not much to say that the pics can't tell you. We went to Chase and Laura's for the week-end and had a great time, visiting, hunting eggs, eating, and worshiping. Hope you all had a great Easter. Praise God. He Is Risen!!

William is so proud of his watch. Never mind he can't tell time!

Wes looks for the wind that is blowing the pinwheels.

#1 and #2 playing around

Checking out the fire truck before hunting eggs

Who is this?!

I found one.

I found one, too!

What did the Easter Bunny bring?

Next year we will get to do it all over again with one more added.

Sunday, March 15 No Big Deal! Places To Go and Things To See

I'm not sure I even believe it! I woke up before the phone rang at 8:00 a.m. We got to sleep a bit later so we could gather our stamina for our last day in Barcelona. I haven't checked with the tour slave driver, a.k.a Debbie, but I am sure she has planned for a fun day after we finish with our scheduled tours. We eat breakfast and then gather in the lobby to begin our morning tours of La Palau de Musica (The Music Palace)and Cathedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia, better known as the Barcelona Cathedral.

We begin the day at the most beautiful and ornate building, La Palau de Musica. It is tucked away on a non-descript street, and if we weren't going to the building, I'm not sure we would have notice it. Once we look skyward to the top of the building, however, it is quite a place to see, with the ceramic tiling around the columns and three busts of the famous composers, Beethoven, Bach, and Palestrina, ensconced inside separate arches that face the front of the building.

The upper stories of the La Palau de Musica with the three busts of the composers

Ceramic tiles on the columns of the building

We watch a 20 minute video of the history of La Palau and then a wonderful guide takes us through the building and explains the details about the architecture and the decorations of the auditorium. The building, designed by the architect Montaner, took 3 years to build, 1905-08. This is a must see building since there are not words, at least in my limited vocabulary, to describe the ornate qualities of the building. La Palau has hosted notables such as Duke Ellington, Leonard Bernstein, Richard Strauss, Jean-Pierre Rampal and Zubin Metha, to name few.

We leave La Palau de Musica and make the short stroll to La Placa la Seu where the Cathedral de la Santa Cruz y Santa Eulalia is located. We round a corner and walk upon a large circle of people dancing in the square. The people are holding hands and doing a dance that resembles the type of dance we see in movies on the occasion of a Greek or Jewish wedding.

FYI: The dance is called the Sardana and is the regional dance of Catalan. The group of musicians that play the tune to which the people are dancing is a cobla that is made up of several brass instruments that are led by a flaviola (flute-like instrument) and a tambourine that helps to keep the beat of the music.

I love the fact that the people in the square just dropped their belongings in the center of the circle and gathered into a circle to dance together a common dance among them. Our resident dance instructor, Betty Aden, watches intently, and I think she figures out the steps. It is all I can do to keep from joining in and stumbling my way through the dance. However, I think better of the idea when I realize the people might not like my clumsy attempt. Later, I read about the Sardana and find out that Catalans take their dance seriously, and I probably wouldn't have been welcome since I do not have a basic understanding of the steps.

Dancing La Sardana

We climb the steps of the cathedral, which is undergoing cleaning and renovation, and enter the huge church. Mass is being held so we try to be as quite as possible. As beautiful as the church is, I feel I am intruding on the worship, so I leave the worshipers to their service. Outside the one large circle has given birth to several more smaller circles, and the dance continues as we round the corner of the church to pass under the the Gothic bridge that serves as a walkway that bridges the street that divides the Palau de la Generalitat to the building across from it.

The front of the cathedral

Cathedral duck pond

Bisbee Street, an excellent example of the Gothic area of Barcelona with the walkway

We are through with our organized tours and have the rest of the afternoon to ourselves to make the best out of the time we have left in Barcelona. This is were the slave driver tour director Debbie takes over to make sure we leave no stone unturned in the city before we leave. We head for the harbor with a quick stop at the Placa Reil for a restroom break and a rest by the fountain that is the center of the square, Las Tres Gracias.

Part of La Placa Reil

Debbie getting the directions straight

According to Debbie, our first order of business is to eat. Our group, Betty, Lois, John, Debbie, Drew, Dianne, Natalie, Paula and I, decide that since we are at the harbor we should try one of the harbor restaurants. Wow, finally a great meal! Most of us take advantage of the seafood. I have a beautiful, as well delicious, lobster salad and fried artichokes, along with a sparkling Lambrusco rose. Yes, I had lunch on the Mediterranean coast. It sure ain't the Hometown Cafe back in Inverness. I could get use to this life easily.

DK and Debbie with the harbor behind us

Yeah, it was good!

One of the things to do in Barcelona is to ride the tram, left from the 1929 Exposition, that travels above the city from Montjuic to the harbor then on to the beach. So we all get our bravery together and decide to ride the tram that sits high above the city to the beach since we had already been to Montjuic. I'm not sure how high the tram is, but as we make our way up several landings of steps, we arrive at the top and find out the wind is too strong to ride to the beach. That tells you how high the tram rises above the city. So we make our way back down and decide to walk to the beach, a pretty good hike in any ones' book.

At this point I see a side of Drew I never knew existed. In no uncertain terms Drew informs us he is not walking ALLLLLL the way to the beach! No way! No sir! Drew and John and Dianne hang back as we begin walking back up the promenade that leads to the tram tower. When we turn around to see what they are doing, we see they have hailed a bicycle rickshaw. Now, if you want to see a funny sight, look at the picture of Drew, John, and Dianne in a rickshaw peddled by a guy who could not have weighed 125 soaking wet! It was the funniest sight of the day! We rush to get their picture and find out that driver can call some more of his buddies to take us all in rickshaws to the beach. Well, Drew, I have to give you credit; you did save us many steps.

I told you it was funny!

Three other drivers arrive within 5 minutes, and after pictures all around we head to the beach. Mine and Paula's driver is named Danny, and he is studying to become a tour guide in Barcelona. So as we ride along, he practices telling us about the sights. It is the most fun ride, except for one thing. We stop for a moment for everyone to catch up, and I reach for my bag. No bag, nowhere to be found! Yep, I left it where we waited for the other rickshaws to come pick us up. We were so carried away with taking pictures, I forgot to get it off the bench where we sat to wait. Although I like the bag, I don't have my money or my passport in it so it is not a big deal loss. I also lose my journal and my book that I bought about La Palau de Musica. I guess my memory will have to do to describe the today's sightseeing. We forget about the bag and travel on to the beach.

4 little rickshaws all in a row

Our rickshaw drivers--countries of origin left to right: Chile, France, Peru, Spain

We ride through the area known as Barceloneta, little Barcelona. I'll have to give it to the Spanish. If they don't want a certain group in the town or even in the country, they just throw them out. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Little Barcelona is a part of town that was created to house the poorer people and fishermen earlier in the 1900s and was a popular area for ladies of the evening. No riff raff in the town proper. The country was also like that under the rule of Franco. As a matter of fact, Violeta told us that it has not been until the past 10 years that Spain has had an immigration policy that has let foreigners into the country for an extended period of time.

Barceloneta

Anyway, we arrive at the beach, and it is just like pictures that I have seen in movies and on t.v. The beautiful Mediterranean spreads out before us. The weather has started to get fairly warm and lots of people, especially young couples, are on the beach, enjoying a beautiful afternoon reading, playing musical instruments, visiting, "smooching," and some even surfing in wet suits. The water is beautiful; it is a mixture of cobalt blue and aqua. We go to the water's edge, some of us more adventurous than others. Louise gets chased down by a wave that cover her ankles and feet. I need to mention she still has on her socks and shoes!!

Enjoying the afternoon. The building in the background are part of the Olympic Village.

Dancing on the beach! Not, really. Louise is trying to figure out what to do about her wet feet.

We take the usual pictures and head back toward Les Rambles. Before we make the stroll one last time, we stop for a bit of refreshments at a sidewalk cafe. Paula is introduced to Spanish hot chocolate, which she adores and vows to find out the recipe. I enjoy my Cocoa Cola con hielo (coke with ice) and get ready for the trek back.

That ice is some of the precious stuff you have to ask for in Spain. Your are looking at a $3.00 coke.

We begin walking up Les Rambles when we realize we are not too far from La Palau de Musica. We head that way to see if I can get another book like the one I lost in my bag. While searching for the correct street we meet a young couple, and I ask in my halting Spanish, "Perdoname. Donde esta la calle con La Palau de Musica?" The young man answers me in Spanish with no hesitation, as if I was a native. He tells me it is one block down to the right. Amazingly, I understand what he says, and two more Spanish words come out from the recesses of my brain: izquerda (left) and derecha (right).

We get to La Palau and the store is still open so I get my book. Just as we step out of the store, the shop girl closes and locks the door. We learn the shop has stayed open later that usual. Now, how about that for providence?!!!

It is getting close to the time for us to meet our entire group just off La Placa Catalunya at El Trabador to eat our last meal in Barcelona. We find our way from La Palau to the restaurant with out any trouble. Members of our group slowly begin to trickle in from their various points of sightseeing. We enjoy a great meal together, the best one so far that was planned. We have a wonderful butternut squash soup with crusty bread, chicken and seasoned rice, and strawberry gelado (Spanish ice cream).

Enjoying our last dinner in Barcelona

We gather in groups to take taxis back to the hotel. This has been our longest day so far, and we now have to get back to our rooms to repack our suitcases to leave in the morning for Seville. Beside getting up at 5:00 a.m., we have a new experience awaiting us in the morning, a ride on the bullet train.