Day 2, Barcelona

The people of Barcelona have every right to be proud of their city. We spent all day out on the town; the people are friendly and helpful, the city is beautiful, and the options for things to do seems almost endless. Chuck, and the entire business team here for his company, actually biked the city in the afternoon. He said they all had a great time on a "treasure hunt" visiting the beaches, Zoo, Columbus Monument, etc. Meanwhile, Lindsay and I toured Gaudi's Casa Batllo, L'Aquarium, the Barcelona Zoo, the Cathedral of Barcelona and the Roman Aquaduct and Wall Ruins.

The bus tours are definitely the way to go around here, there are 3 tours to different parts of the city, and they each stop at different points of interest. At a cost of $23 for 2 days you can hop on and hop off any or all of these routes. They give the tours in 8 different languages, and they pick up and drop off at the same location. Buses in summer run every 5 minutes, but at this time of the year they are running about every 15 minutes, we never waited more than about about 10 minutes until a bus arrived.

Below are today's pictures. I'll post alot, because we took alot-

Lindsay has decided that the graffiti here in Barcelona is artwork in itself. I guess if Picasso and Gaudi were considered artists...

I again lit candles for some friends, this time in the Barcelona Cathedral...

The Roman Aquaducts and Walls are called "ruins", but they looked pretty good for their age, if you ask me...

The Barcelona Zoo is being refurbished and is under heavy construction, so they have all the animals in pretty tight quarters right now. In fact, I was amazed at how close we were able to get to the animals-Typical seafood, uh, I mean aquatic life at the L'Aquarium. Anyone remember eating sea cucumbers in China?The Columbus Monument, his outstreatched finger is 1/2 a meter long. This is the largest Columbus monument in the world, so we were told.

Gaudi's Casa Batllo is different; beautiful, but different. No straight lines here. A contractor would be driven crazy!!

More adventures tomorrow...

Day 1, Barcelona

We arrived very late in Barcelona last night. If you come to Barcelona, be warned-DO NOT attempt to drive, if you can possibly avoid it! Having driven/lived in many cities in the U.S. (NYC, Philly, Atlanta, Washington D.C., etc.), I thought I had driving covered. Ha! How foolish I am! Every street in this city is one way, always the wrong way in which you hope to go. It is unsafe to stop and ask directions, and so while you know you are only 1 or 2 blocks from your destination, you can not get there from where you are. It just can not be done! Case in point-we arrived 1/2 a block from our hotel, Chuck jumped out and I put on the flashers (I kept sane by thinking of the full insurance coverage we purchased at the rental car place). There was no where to park, or even pull over. This was a one-way street, and the hotel was the wrong direction from where we were. A gentleman from the hotel, ran out, jumped into the back seat of our car and proceeded to help me navigate through to a small alleyway. I was instructed to drive up this pedestrian alleyway for 2 blocks and he jumped out, threw open a small corrugated garage type door to reveal a small parking area. I promptly drove in, and he, a desk clerk from the hotel, quickly closed the door. Luckily, we will not be required to drive the streets of Barcelona until we leave! Hopefully, I will have built up enough courage by then...

As for the city itself, spectacular. The city is home to 1.5 million people in the main city, with many more living just outside the city parameters. Spectacular architecture is EVERYWHERE. Not just some points of interest scattered throughout the city, but every building is beautiful and unique. There are only a handful of skyscrapers, and they are not clumped together. Most buildings rise 5-10 stories, and many are works of art. Public art is also found in abundance throughout the city. The architecture, combined with the public art make for a magnificent look for this city. The Mediterranean shoreline is dotted with beaches, wharves and shipping facilities. The city is clean and well kept, bustling and modern. They have married the old and the new to make a very livable and wonderful city. I am so glad we have 3 more days here!

Above I have posted some pictures of places we saw on a city tour. Tomorrow we will visit a number of these sites for a more in-depth look. For today, we just did drive-bys to get oriented.

As for our experience with the people of Barcelona, they are helpful and business like. No small chit-chat, they are too busy for such things. They are doing their jobs and they do them efficiently and in a friendly manner. Although I do not speak Spanish, language has not been a barrier. This city has so much to offer, we can not wait to explore more tomorrow!

Pictures from France

Small narrow streets are the norm in the small towns we drove through in southern France.

We became very good friends with our GPS navigator (I've named her Stella), and we have had no trouble driving around the Aude region where we visited a number of small villiages. Many streets are only wide enough for one lane of traffic so it is alternating one way, then the other.

We lit candles for some friends in need of extra prayers in a Monastery next door to our small hotel in Carcassonne. This Monestary was built in 1457 and is still used for worship. In fact, a villager came in to pray while we were there and we asked that she remember some of our friends in her prayers! She was more than glad to do so. We have found the french people to be very friendly. No matter our request, everyone was been more than willing to give direction, or help in any way requested.

By way of a little background on our travels here, we had an uneventful flight from O'Hare to Franfort. In Frankfort we had a 3 hour lay over. We needed ever minute of the three hours, even in the middle of the night. Security is unbelievable tight in Germany. We were made to leave the terminal, although our departing plane to Barcelona was leaving from the same terminal in which we arrived. The complex at Franfort is just that- COMPLEX. tunnels, hallways, and concourses, all meandering around to take you to a passport checkpoint. All arrivals from non-european union countries must go through this labrinthe. You go through passport check and then another complex maze and finally a security check. Security stopped all the Doeblers!!! We were all detained, searched, patted down vigorously, and my computer was singled out for extra checks. They required that I open the computer, turn it on, and then they swabbed the computer keyborad and sides, and did an analysis of the swab. I assume checking for trace amounts of explosives, etc. I was not the only one that was picked from the arrivals in our group. There were numerous people. It appeared that one out over every 3 or 4 people were detained in some fashion. In contrast, we passed through U.S.security, no problem.

Upon arrival in Barcelona, we rented a car. The traffic and driving in Barcelona is extremely chaotic. I would say it was not as bad as Beijing and other cities in China, but it was much worse than in any city I have driven in the U.S.

In the "small world" category, one of the flight attendants on our trip to China in June, was also a flight attendant on our flight from O'hare to Frankfort. She actually remembered Chuck, but not Lindsay or I. Hummm...I guess I'm very quiet and unassuming, just as I've always thought!

This is a picture of the entrance way to the Old City of Carcassonne. You walk across the drawbridge and this is the street through which you enter into a world reminiscent of the 13th and 14th centuries. Much of this city is as it was; old city squares where residents still draw water from a central well, old ramparts still exist, and are maintained by the locals, from the castle that protected this medieval city from enemies, now including time and tourists. We ate dinner at one of the old pubs in one of the town squares. We feasted on wild boar stew and cassolette. Slow cooked and delicious. We returned to another local establishment for breakfast and ate omlettes from fresh eggs and local cheese. They were not fluffy, like we are familiar with in the U.S. No coffee, only expresso was available, so we tried it. I was surprised to enjoy it! It was stronge, but not bitter, as I had thought it might be. Sadly, we have to leave this beautiful city within the walls of it's fantastic castle...

We traveled next to a small castle that has historical and religious significance to many Catholics. Rennes le Chateau is known for it's Knights of the Templar lore and the church of St. Madeliene, where scrolls found centuries ago, claiming that the bones of Christ and Mary Magdalene were buried here. This is a medieval town that has been preserved by people who understand the importance of history.

The view from the castle is extraordinary. They picked the site well, no enemy could ever sneak up on this castle or town!

Another castle, in ruins now, is seen in the distance. In sadness we leave the Aude valley in southern France. We will return some day to this beautiful area! I did not expect to be this taken aback by the people and wonders of the region.

Tomorrow, we will be in Barcelona!!

We,ve arrived in Carcassonne!!!

We'll post pictures this evening after we finish dinner, but we wanted family and friends to know we arrived at our first destination. For now we will just say---WOW! It was a long journey getting here, but just the few hours we have spent here in France have made every bit of the effort and time worthwhile. The beauty of the french towns and countryside is amazing. We're heading out to walk to the castle, and have dinner. We'll post pictures and commentary later...

Sue, Chuck and Lindsay

Travel in October 2007

Madrid, Spain

Tangier, Morocco

Carcassonne, France

Barcelona, Spain

Gibraltar

Lisbon, Portugal

So, off on another adventure we go...

In October we will leave for Carcassonne, a medieval city in southern France, Barcelona the Olympic city in eastern Spain, Gibraltar (a territory of the UK) , Tangier a cosmopolitan city in northern Morocco, Lisbon the capital of Portugal, and Madrid the capital city in central Spain. Sounds like quite an adventure, doesn't it?

We leave October 13, 2007.