Barcelona Architecture and More

After our essential beach and relaxation day to recover from WYD, Christina and I enjoyed lots of great architecture, history, food and shopping during our final two days in Barcelona.

We were able to visit three of Gaudi's most famous works: La Perdera, which is an apartment building, The Basilica of Sagrada Familia, and Parc Guell. At the apartment building, we got to walk on the gorgeous and quite funky roof, which had great views of the city, as well as walk through a restored apartment that was furnished as if it was the early 1900's.

The next day, at Sagrada Familia, we took the elevator to the top of one of the spires, for another great view, then took a couple hours to listen to the audio tour of the entire church and museum.

 Later that day we journeyed out to Parc Guell, where we explored a little, and then rested during the siesta time. I took a great nap, and was awoken by a bunch of parrot-like birds taking up residence in a nearby tree. We got the full Parc experience, with ice cream, and watching the illegal vendors move around each time the police came!

In between Gaudi touring, we went to the Palace of Catalan Music, which was an overwhelming display of early 20th century modernism, with more flowers and mosaics and stained glass in one place than I've ever seen! We couldn't take pictures there, so you'll just have to believe that I got to play Fur Elise on the Grand Piano on stage in front of the whole tour group!! Soooo cool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palau_de_la_Música_Catalana

We also made sure to visit the Cathedral with all of its many chapels, shop at H&M, eat great paella and tapas on La Rambla, and see a traditional Flamenco show.

Both Christina and I made it home safely, and had such a great time we may just have to travel together again, especially if it is to a country that offers chocolate croissants for breakfast!

The last round of pictures as well as more details from World Youth Day will be coming soon.

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Location:Barcelona, Spain

Spain 2011 Days 8-10 Saturday-Sunday-Monday

Slept in a little after a late night. Amy, Maria and I attacked El Corte Ingles' supermercado to get food for our journey. Took longer than expected so we didn't head out to Cuatro Vientos until 1:30.

Caught up with the pilgrim way after stopping at Telepizza for salads and drinks. The walk was long and very hot, and was not well directed. We stopped many times as we needed the breaks, and even got popsicles at one point.
Once at Cuatro Vientos, we were unable to get into our section as it was already too crowded. We all took short naps, then were joined by Christina and Kim who had taxied there. Delicious quesadillas for dinner, complements of Kim, and then the vigil with the Pope began. There were some prayers and music, but the most amazing part was when everyone was silent for Adoration.

In the late evening, there were storms that were really intense that even blew off the Pope's cap. I was happy to have my camping gear on, and we were able to keep out beds mostly dry. After the storms, we all went to sleep after our long day. We slept in little circle, all snuggled up to each other. It wasn't the most comfortable sleep ever, but I was surprised by how much I got. It got cold through the night, so I got up before 7 so that I could walk around to keep warm. The announcements started at 7:15 so I wasn't the only one up for long!

Mass was beautiful, they even sang an English song I knew! No communion as there was much damage to the chapels through the night. Mark and the younger girls all left Mass early and caught cabs back since they had earlier flights. Christina and I stayed until the end, when the Pope blessed us and announced Rio as the next location.

We got some drinks, and then braved the Metro, which was slow but not too bad, and got back in time to see the others off, though by then our smell was apparent and hugs were few.  Christina and I were able to clean up at Las Musas, then caught the train to Barcelona. The fast train was amazing-clean and fast, and I slept the whole way. Ate at the train station, some very delicious American style pizza, and milk shakes.

In Barcelona, we discovered that I had booked for the wrong nights, but we were able to find another hostel close by with an open double room. They weren't the nicest, but it was a place to sleep. I ended up with hives somehow today from the sheets, so I went out early for coffee and a pharmacy. Got some churros too. Then I found a guy who could make a chain for my new cross from Salamanca.

After that we finally found the right train to take us to the Mantou beach, which was gorgeous, with crystal blue green water. A picnic of pbj was lunch. Lots of adorable children, and a fair number of topless bathers.

  

Perfectly relaxing day today at the beach, with a great nap and conversation included.

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Location:Madrid to Barelona

World Youth Day Arts and Faith

Arts and Faith

Throughout the week, there have been so many different ways of encountering Christ. In the Eucharist, in other people, and in the art and culture of Spain. As a tour guide in one of the churches mentioned, the Spanish have a very tactile faith - it is very physically manifested in their everyday lives, and one way we definitely saw this was in the many different types of artistic expression that we took in during our time here.

There were two places where the art was particularly provocative. The first was a flamenco show that represented the Annunciation, Passion and Resurrection. We were all intrigued to see these moments translated into dance and music, and the performers did it with the utmost respect. In fact, the intensity of emotion and somberness of the music captured the drama of the Passion and the joy of the Resurrection in a beautiful way. Especially wonderful were the great seats which we can thank Kim, Yuli and Lana for saving for hours!

The Passion Flamenco

The other place we were able to encounter Christ though art was during a visit to Museo del Prado, which has an amazing collection of Spanish and other European art. All pilgrims were given free entrance to the museum, and the lines to get in reflected it :) In honor of World Youth Day, the Prado had highlighted a list of works in their permanent collection that showed 'The Face of Christ'. These works from different periods of history and various styles of painting portrayed many points of Jesus' life and death. In addition to the permanent collection, the final painting was on loan from the Vatican museum - El Descendimiento by Carvaggio. Seeing the face of Christ repeatedly in so many different ways brought a new level of familiarity to me.

Line at the Prado

It was so wonderful to experience the artistic treasures that Spain has to offer along with not only the other pilgrims but also with the people of Madrid who attended and were able to see their arts in a new light.

Salamanca to Madrid

Another gorgeous day in Spain! Got some great sleep and was able to eat a quick continental breakfast in the hotel for cheap. Started my day by wandering through plaza mayor, then enjoyed the empty streets on my way to the new cathedral. I got there during Latin prayers, and was able to stay for the 11 am mass of the Assumption of Mary. Fittingly, the cathedral is dedicated to la Asuncion de Maria. There were WYD pilgrims there from Mongolia and Italy, and while the bishop said the mass in Spanish, it was great when we were all able to sign the Ave Maria together at the end.

I didn't really have a plan for the day, mostly to wander around the Centro. I walked by all of the main architectural sights, including the ponte Romano, the university's facade with the hidden frog, the Casa de conchas, the clerica, and many other churches and palaces. I doubled back to the cathedral when I realized I hadn't looked for the astronaut in the carvings. It was easier to find then la ranita, even though there were fewer people looking for it. Shopped my way down the Rua Mayor, then grabbed a simple lunch of a ham, cheese, and egg sandwich, which somehow went really well with a glass of beer.

Decided to head to the train station early, and glad I did since it was almost a half hour walk. A nice girl helped me with directions and she put up with my attempts at Spanish. What I gathered from her is that she is a hairdresser and lives in a small town outside of Salamanca. We talked about the weather, Chicago and not much else since my vocabulary is limited. She joked she only knew a few words of English, just 1-2-3 and hello, but she was able to help me with learning some words as well.

The train ride to madrid went really quickly. Sat by a group from Venezuela. Got to the hostel in great time and Lana was last to arrive only 10 minutes later. After a quick unpack, we gathered and a few of us went out to see the cathedral and the palacio real. We caught the end of Mass and took a few more pictures before heading towards Plaza Mayor. We all ended up getting little bits from the market, and sat on the ground of the plaza to eat. I had roasted veggies, tomato and mozzarella and Cesar chicken plus some amazing potato chips fried in olive oil. We enjoyed much if the entertainment in Plaza Mayor, including an opera singer, a man making huge bubbles, a woman doing a puppet show thing who had only shortly before been sleeping under her costume. A final highlight was Mark joining in full voiced with the Irish kids singing drinking song, 'no,nay,never'

After a quest for ice cream and diet coke, we all headed back to Las Musas exhausted from our travels to plan our next days.

Location:Salamanca Spain

Avila - Salamanca (Sunday)

Started off the day a little rough... Was worried that I was going to over sleep and instead almost got up at 4:30 in the morning. Was able to wake up to my alarm though and made it to mass at the Capilla de San Segundo, which was part of the cathedral but I could get to it in 2 minutes since it was on the outside of the murallas (walls).

A nice Mass but very quick, so I was off to breakfast on the plaza de Santa Teresa by 10am. Had my first cafe con leche and a croissant in the cool morning at a place called la Colonia.

Entrance to the walled city center

After breakfast I walked the southern part of the walls of Avila, then took myself to the Convento de San Juan, the first reformed one under Saint Teresa. There was a huge group at the church but I was able to see the relics. After that I wandered towards my hotel, stopping in the Museo del Avila for kicks since it was free! A lot of cool artifacts; Avila is well documented :) Then I bought some Yemas de Avila, since they are so famous, but I have to say, I'm still forming my opinion.

After that I took the long way to the Museo de Santa Teresa, by the baptism place of Teresa, but didn't go in then... Only later. I had lunch at a nice place near the Puerta de la Santa, jamon Serrano again, and lots of water. Got to see a Marian statue procession, which was beautiful. After at went to the museo and then into the church since the reliquary was closed for the day.

Next I paid the exorbitant price to get into the cathedral, which was beautiful. The best parts were the choir books and the shady seats, plus a cool timeline of the history of our faith. Reenergized, I walked the Casablanca de carnecerias part of the wall, which was crazy long. The beautiful scenery was worth it.

Grabbed my bags and hoofed it to the train station. Got whistled at by the old men but was plenty early so I got some ice cream bar with almonds. Yum. I fell asleep on the train so Salamanca came fast. Met an American girl traveling and found maps and our hotels together using our combined Spanish skills. During dinner, we could hear the JMJ celebration, including 'waka waka', 'waving flag' and some throwback rap. The best was the end, with the Germans in dirndls, italians doing some 'mano' dance and the folks from French Polynesia doing a hula and a war dance. It all ended with Lennon's 'imagine' and a giant JESUS complete with accent on the stage.

Walked with my new friend partway back to her hotel so I could see the shopping district and San Marco, the round church. Got hit on by some Spaniards who I later saw when walking by an Irish pub. Walked through the plaza again, just in time to see and hear the bagpipes from some adorable Scottish boys.



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Location:Spain

Avila, Spain WYD Day 1

Friday the 12th, flew out of O'Hare at 9:45pm. Had an excellent dinner at the Wolfgang puck restaurant. Grilled steak and chimichurri and a summer garden vegetable salad that was to die for. And the waiter was very into the food.

Uneventful flights to London and Madrid. The first one seemed to be full of blue hairs who all knew each other and were staying in London. The second flight was full of teenagers returning from at least a week in London based on their luggage. A lot of flags and 'I heart london' tshirts.

Had the same noodle salad in heathrow that I had a year ago... The Thai flavors are way better than mayo and tuna. The biscuit on the flight to madrid was also delish!

Navigated border control and customs without a hitch and bought the easiest metro ticket ever. A little confusing with the extra airport charge signs everywhere on the train but I made it through. Got to Chamartin train station with plenty of time so grabbed a mini ham and tomato bocadillo and a water, though my Spanish keeps failing me.

Not sure of Spanish seat protocol, I crowded some poor girl on the train to Avila, which was a beautiful ride over a very dramatic countryside. Felt sleepy even with a good book so tried to walk around a little. Expecting to be sweaty this whole trip.

Had the worst map ever of Avila, so instead of 15 minutes it took almost 30 to find my hostel, which I finally found by dumb luck since inknew I was in the right part of town! I have a very nice double room, with a sparkling bathroom and a ceiling fan (though no AC).

After cooling off and changing I headed into Central Avila to see what was up. I got turned around a couple times already, but ended up having a nice glass of wine and some tapas on a plaza I believe was plaza a la Victoria. The restaurant was Restaurante Cafe Felipe, and with my vino tinto I had melon con jamon, pan and patatas con shrimp that was fried like a corndog. There was some funny music going on across the plaza as well, with interjections of American songs at times. I heard very little English today, and this is when I have trouble traveling by myself, as I go for hours without speaking.

Starting to put my plan for tomorrow together now, including a better map of Salamanca!!!

Location:Avila, Spain