Istanbul : Weekend around Geneva : Paris and Nîmes : Seville : Granada : Córdoba : Mérida and Cáceres : Salamanca, Avila & Segovia : Madrid & Valencia : Art in Paris : Art in Spain

Barcelona

Spending time with family was the top priority for Barcelona and I had a very short list of sights I hoped to see. I was last in Barcelona 50 years ago and had been delighted and amazed by the skeleton of the Sagrada Familia basilica and seeing it now was top of my list. Fortunately I had bought a ticket a few weeks in advance and could only get after 5pm on Sunday, but that was fine as the windows are best near sunset I had read. I also wanted to see Park Güell and the Miró museum.

Montjuïc

Saturday morning found me climbing Montjuïc, a hill covered in gardens and museums in south east Barcelona. to meet the rest of the family at the Miró museum. It is a stiff climb! The museum is an interesting building and the collection most comprehensive. I must admit to liking best the colourful images he painted in the war years, but they do not convey to me the anguish he felt about the war.

After lunch we explored the gardens of Montjuïc further and found a long staircase with large waterlily pond at each level, a great way to show off a collection. We also popped into another museum of Catalan art and I was delighted by a Picasso portrait.

Gaudi houses

Feeling a little saturated, I opted for the outdoors and a long, long walk down the hill and along the streets of Barcelona to see some Gaudi houses. En route I passed some very elegant blocks of flats. I was able to find Casa Batlló, La Pedrera/Casa Milà and Casa Vicens. Unfortunately it was too late for any of them to be open and I just admired the exteriors.

Park Güell

On Sunday, after visiting the laundromat (a weekly necessity if you travel with a small pack), I joined the family to visit Park Güell. It is on a hill and I was delighted to find escalators making the climb easier. I was a bit disappointed by areas of the park where there were just paths through scrub land, but the area near the bottom, especially the long wavy tiled bench, were inspiring. It was comfy to sit upon and overlooked other follies and Barcelona (another jigsaw picture). Only later did I realize that the entire bench area was in effect held up by columns, like a roof garden.

Basilica de la Sagrada Familia

We then hastened to the Sagrada Familia. There were crowds milling about and photographing it was difficult. Work on the exterior continues, but somehow it has lost the magic I felt 50 years ago, although from a distance one can still see it towers over Barcelona. The interior, however, was gorgeous and the highlight of my visit to Barcelona.

The windows were glowing; the reds could not be captured by my camera. I liked the restraint of some areas and the volume of the space was similar to the gothic cathedrals. I found it amazing that the twentieth century could have produced such a building.

Two week whizz about Spain

Monday morning saw me up early to start my two weeks whizz about Spain on my own. The plan was to head down to Cádiz in the south, near Gibraltar, then visit Andaluçia, before heading west to Extremadura, the driest, poorest part of Spain; then to visit Madrid and surrounding towns before ending in Valencia on the east coast, where I would meet family again for the weekend. It was an ambitious itinerary and I could not afford to miss trains etc, so I had booked everything in advance. Click map below to enlarge and see where I went.

Torre del Ora

I started my adventure with a legendary train trip. Leaving before 8am the Torre del Ora train makes its way right down the east of Spain, from Barcelona to Cádiz. I first read about this classic train when it featured in Rail route of the month in the Guardian. As we made our way down the country, I was able to watch the vegetation change. Spain was a lot more fertile than I realised, but it was spring and red poppies abutted the line. Maybe it is different in summer. We stayed mainly close to the coast as far down as Valencia, but then went inland and through Cordoba, Seville and eventually arriving at Cádiz at 10.30pm, an hour late. The highlight is the Despeñaperros pass leading into Andaluçia.

Cádiz

There were still many diners sitting out as I made my way to the hotel in one of the narrow streets of this port town, which claims to be the oldest town in Europe. It has an illustrious past and today seems to be laid back holiday town.

Churches and Markets

I was only there for the morning, so after a rather rich breakfast of churros (long, thin donuts) and hot chocolate, I explored a bit of the old town. It has a massive cathedral, and on the same square, a church with a most ornate interior. A service was taking place when I first visited and the lights were on, highlighting the glories. It wasn’t quite as impressive in the dark, but still quite startling.

I found the fresh produce market and stocked up on fruit, buying some enormous loquats and apricots. Along with other produce, they also sold big bags of tiny snails and I later saw someone tucking into a plate at a restaurant. Apparently these “caracoles” are a speciality of the region.

Torre Tavira

Nearby I climbed the 173 steps of the Tavira tower (Torre Tavira) which was built by merchants on the highest point in Cadiz, to keep an eye on shipping. There is a 360ᵒ view of the town from the top and the tower also has a camera obscura. I was intrigued by the number of houses which seemed to have small towers on top and read that those were also lookout towers built by merchants on their homes.

After this, I wandered about enjoying the parks along the waterfront and then made my way back to the station to catch a lunchtime train to Seville/Sevilla.

Read about my time in Seville or click an image to open gallery.