Variety of meals

We've enjoyed a variety of meals and tried to be local in our cuisine choices.

The first night in Madrid we got tapas, which include mini baked potatoes, hummus (which I haven't been able to find in a store anywhere, although they have a lot of chick peas in various markets), a spinach pastry, and a meat empanada

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In Barcelona we had 'cocas' - which is a local dish that is simply a baguette sliced in half and toasted with a variety of toppings - ham, Iberian ham, salami, chorizo, etc.  I had mine with Roquefort cheese.  It was pretty good, but basic

I've had paella in three places - on the square in Madrid, in a small plaza in Toledo, and at our hostel in Barcelona.  The one on the square was the best.  It had the most spicyness/flavor.

We've picnicked several times.  In Barcelona we went to the famous Santa Catarina market and got fresh raspberries, grapes, dates, turkey and salami, some good bread (and an empanada that got stolen with David's backpack because I was saving it for later). 

We've stopped for gelato at least three times.  Good every time!

My favorite meal so far, however, was the Argentine empanadas that we had for dinner in Barcelona.  It as a hole in the wall shop around the corner from our hostel.  It was mostly take away, but had a few seats, so we decided to stay.  The young owner struck up a conversation, asking us where we were from. He then said he was from Argentina (in the north).  The recipes were Argentine empanadas and were delicious!  I had Spinich (spiced with a touch of nutmeg) and Cheese and onion.  He chatted with us the whole meal.  His grandfather was German and immigrated to Argentina at the end of WWII, thus the young man could claim German citizenship.  With EU law, this allowed him to open a business in Spain.  He said it was a lot of work.  He and a friend basically renovated their entire space, including plumbing and electrical to open the shop.  They had been open 9 months and were doing well.  His family had come to visit him and really enjoyed the visit.  I asked him what he thought of the Catalon independence movement.  He said the neighborhood where his business was was pro-independence, so he went along with that when asked. He spoke Spanish and English, which he taught himself.

It was a little hard to tell which empanada had which filling, but he showed us a key that indicated which was which.  We still ended up switching the carne and the pollo.

Santa Maria Del Mar

The second church we saw today was strikingly different from the first one.  It was constructed at about the same time frame, but took a much shorter time to construct (50 years instead of 150).  This was largely because of the wealthy merchant funding that went into it.  The church was in the dock district where the merchants and workers from all the different guilds lived and worked,  The city was the center of the Kingdom of Argon with trading relations across the Mediteranean.  The merchants were eager to show their success and devotion by building the church in the water front district.  The Catedral de Barcelona went up at the same time but was built largely by the nobles in the center of the city and took much longer.

Because the church went up so quickly, it is based on a single architectural style instead of a combination of different styles that emerged over time.  It is classic Southern Gothic.  This means it differs from northern Gothic churches in several ways:  1) the side aisles are nearly as tall as the central nave (in northern churches the side aisles can be half the height of the central nave.  This gives the southern church a much more airy open feeling.  

2)  The church is laid out in a rectangle, not as a cross shape.  

3). The church did not need flying buttresses on the exterior to support the high central nave because the high side aisles essentially did that already, so the exterior looks pretty simple.

Another legacy of all of the merchants and guilds who paid for the church were all the side chapels - a total of 35!  More than even the Catedral of Barcelona (which as 21).   Each guild paid for the decoration of their own chapel where their members especially could pray.  Access to the chapels is open without stepping into the main nave at all.  The closer to the main alter, the more expensive the chapel was.  This was true of those who were buried in the vaults under the church floor too.  Those who couldn't afford burial in the church were placed in anonymous graves in the area outside the church.  Eventually the city forbid burials inside the city and they were moved to a cemetery in Montjuic. 

Many churches in Europe have been built and rebuilt due to fires, but this one had a particularly interesting story.  The fire occurred in 1936 during an anarchist revolt in the city.  They piled all the pews and everything that would burn in the center of the church and set it on fire with fuel.  The blaze burned for 11 days and destroyed all of the elaborate decorations that are common to most catholic cathedrals.  This included the organ, all must the highest stained glass windows, the decorations in the side chapels, the main alter, the paint on the walls.   Everything.  At that point, the congregation had a choice to decide whether they wanted to redecorate as it was, or to leave it much more simple.  They opted for simple.  The walls are now simply grey stone, which was quarried from nearby Montjuic.

I found the simpler style very attractive (probably my Protestant roots).  I was particularly surprised by the cross about the high alter that did not contain Jesus Crucified.   This is the norm in Protestant church where the focus is on the Resurection, but not at all common in Catholic Churches.

The organ was replaced, new stained glass windows were added, with the newest one being in 1995 to commemorate the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

The church had five keystones supporting the ceiling vaults.  They were repainted recently.  This one has the seal of the city of Barcelona.

The church also faced a devastating event with an earthquake in the 1400s that was estimated to be about 6.5 on the richer scale.   It created large cracks in the back wall of the nave around the Rosette window (second largest in Barcelona) and shattered the glass.  It was during worship and the glass fell into the sanctuary and killed over 20 people.  

The vent holes are pretty small.  You can look down them into the floor of the church.

The small bumps are more ventilation covers.

We got to tour the upper levels and the roof.  When the cathedral was built, there were 200 ventilation holes in the roof that were used to let the hot air escape the sanctuary.  They were simply capped with domed covers that had to be placed when it rained.

You can see the darkened stone around the Windows from where all the smoke came out during the fire.  They did some restoration in the inside on the ceilings, but the discoloration is still visible. 

I felt like a bit of a peeping Tom(as) looking down on people's roofs and laundry. 

Random observations and stories

Very funny experience on the bus today:  the group was riding and there was a family, mom, dad, daughter (age about 3) and son (age about 2).  Suddenly the dad gets excited and reaches toward his son, clearly trying to get him to stop doing something.  The daughter is bouncing up and down and clearly encouraging her brother to misbehavior in some way.  I couldn't quite see the boy, but other members in the group explained after we got off the bus that he had picked his nose, then proceeded to very deliberately wipe it on the window of the bus.  The mom kept a low profile and hid her face to prevent her son from seeing her laughing so hard.  The dad was mortified and then tried to clean up the window before getting off.  LOL!

We walked past at least two groupings of police on the street today who were heavily armed.  You can see the one on the left has a submachine gun.  They were standing around pretty relaxed behind the cathedral.  I'm not sure what else was in the area that needed such tight security.  We didn't see any special govn't buildings or anything, but I guess sometimes they are not well marked. 

At one point I went into a restaurant to find a bathroom.  I went up this short flight of stairs to find three doors: men's, women's and wheelchair.  I found this bizarre since I remembered coming up a flight of stairs to find the bathroom.  on the way out I realized there was a pretty significant wheel chair lift.  Then I started noticing a good number of people in wheel chairs who were out and about on the street.  I have already remarked on the medication packet and museum in Madrid that had Braille.  I wonder if Spain has new ADA-like laws, or is simply more disability friendly?  I'll have to keep my eyes open in Switzerland and Austria, because my previous experience has been that it would be very difficult to get around with a disability in these countries. 

One of the interesting things about the design of the streets is that many intersections are shaped like octagons.  The corners of the buildings have been chopped off, and in these corner areas are parking spaces for cars. In many of the small neighborhood streets, there is not street side parking (unless you have a motor scooter and park on the sidewalk).  This makes all of the intersections seem more open, kind of mini plazas on each corner.  However it makes seeing traffic more difficult when crossing the street because you can't see who might be turning onto the street you are trying to cross.

We've noticed that the same selection of fruit is available in most stores (the Market was the exception).  It includes apples, pears, kiwis, and oranges.  No berries, few bananas.  I think this indicates that most fruit is locally sourced, which is a pretty Eco-friendly practice (deliberate or not).

I've noticed quite a few young people who are heavily tattooed here.  In a tourist city, it's hard to know whether they are locals or tourists.  However, I noticed this giant billboard for Ray-Ban sunglasses with a very tattooed young man in a convertible.  So clearly there is a certain demographic appeal to tattoos here.

It's hard to tell from this picture in the distance, but we noticed something unique about the trash collectors here.  They still ride on the back of the truck as it goes down the street, but these two had helmets on.

Taxis here are more visible than in Madrid where they were white with a red stripe.

One of the students noticed that all of the bus drivers have red and white pinstriped shirts, which happen to match the colors of the buses. 

I haven't blogged on the different types of toilets in some time, although I remember in my earliest trips I remarked how many different ways there were to flush a toilet.  I have stopped being surprised by this and seen most varieties across the continent, but today I saw a new one.  The plumbing included a pipe that ran straight up from the back of the seat with a large push button at the top of the pipe.  I had never seen this design before and it surprised me. 

La Sagrada Familia

The one site I was most looking forward to seeing was the Sagrada Familia, but it almost didn't happen.  I bought tickets several months in advance and had them with me.  We had a scheduled entry time and arrived early.  When our time arrived, I went to the Entrada and was told we had group tickets and needed to go to the group entrance.  I went to the group entrance and was told I need to get the guide approval.  I didn't know what this meant, but went where I was told.  An amazing employee took time to help me figure things out.  We had special group tickets which require a certified guide.  I had vague recollections that when I purchased the tickets I believed that I met those criteria that were provided.  When I presented myself at the door, she didn't realize I was a university professor (I was not wearing my WSU name badge), and she said we had to have a certified guide.  I didn't remember that I counted because of my position, so she gave me the number of several guides we could call to get us in.  I was panicking at this point because our entry window was 15 minutes and was basically up.  She said she'd talk with her boss.  We called one person, but they were not available.  Then she asked me "are these students?"  I said yes, university students.  She asked if I was a professor and I said yes. She said Oh, then it's ok, but we need your credentials.  Well, I didn't have a business card with me, I didn't have my faculty ID (it doensn't get me a discount anywhere).  I finally was allowed to pull up my university webpage and show who I was.  Problem resolved, and we were allowed to go in.

I got a master audio guide and a small microphone I could use to talk to our group, but didn't understand the directions, so I just pushed play for the audio guide and we all followed the tour around together.  It worked fine.  

We approached the bascilica from quite a distance, having been in Guell Park in the morning and seeing it from afar. 

This is the Facade of the Navity.  The entire exterior of the church is the bible with intricate details of many bible stories.  Not all of them are visible because there is still so much construction going on.  The entrance is on this side and this is where the guided tour starts. 

Christ's birth on the central pillar to the main entrance. 

With the Shepherds on one side 

And the wise men on the other. 

The entry into the building is nothing less than stunning.  The vaulted ceilings soar above your head.  The design is simple, but also complex.  It is not ornate the way many old cathedrals are with lots of side chapels, paintings, multiple alters, sculptures, etc.  All of the fancy sculpture work is on the exterior. The primary decoration is the rainbow colored stain glass windows.  

The pillars are made of different kinds of stone based on the weight that they have to bear.  The darker reddish ones are the strongest stone and will bear the full weight of the central tower when it is complete (scheduled for 2026).  Most of the stone is white and looks so fresh and new, not dis colored from centuries of pollution. 

The pillars branch up toward the top into several pillars, all of which help distribute the weight of the ceiling and towers.  They are designed to look like trees. 

The east side is more blues and greens with the sunrise, and the west side is oranges and reds with the sunset

East side

West side.  You can see the very dynamic contours of the stone work.  It's not scuptures of people, but it is definitely sculpted and quite mesmerizing to look at.

The names of places on the windows are all of the religious pillgrimage sites around the world. 

This is a poster of the actual door on the south side of the building (main entry to the nave) that is currently hidden by construction equipment.  It is a metal door with the full text of the Lord's Prayer in Latin, and to either side are the opening phrases of the prayer in over 50 different languages.

This is the West facade.  You can see the cranes working on the four towers that will surround the center tower (not yet visible).  The center tower will be just a few feet shy of the top elevation of Montjuic, out of respect for God and his creation. 

I was able to purchase tickets in advance to go up in the towers on the Passion (west) side of the bascilica.  There are very limited tickets, so I was very happy to get enough for the whole group on the day that we were visiting.  You can see from the diagram the route we took.  Elevator up to a landing, the up a few steps to the outside tower with a 270 view of the city.Then across a narrow open walkway to the inner tower, down a few stairs and across to the covered walkway at the level where the resurrected Jesus was on the exterior of the facade. Then we continued down many many rotations of stairs to the bottom again. 

These are the two towers.  The top bridge between them is the walkway we crossed.  You can just see the figure of Jesus in the bottom left corner where we exited onto the covered walkway.  We crossed back to the exterior tower by a lower walkway below the first. 

The view of the city was quite good and the skies were pretty clear.  

We could look out on the pinnacles on the roof and see giant colorful fruits.  These are designed to be corn, bread and grapes, symbolizing the elements for communion. 

This is looking up from the first open bridge between the two towers. 

This is some of the beautiful mosaic work above the bridge.  What makes it particularly beautiful is how colorful it is against the white stone. 

Our group going out on the walkway.

This is the walkway between the two towers, looking up from a lower walkway.

The Passion facade.  Below are close ups of each of the parts of the story of Jesus crucifixion found on this side of the church under the side radiating pillars. 

Judas' betraying kiss

Peter's mourning after his three denials before the cock crowed.

Pilate weighs the decision of what to do with Jesus.

On the road to Calvary

The guards roll die for his clothes.

The crucifixion

The burial

Christ reigns on high - placed above the other images in the pictures above.  This was the view from the middle walkway when we went up in the tower.