Tag Archives: spain

Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain (Good-bye Spain)

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Park Guell Barcelona

Park Guell Barcelona

Gaudi Town, Barcelona Revisited

We had visited Barcelona, what I call Gaudi Town, for a week about 90 days ago as the termination point to our trans-Atlantic cruise.  Antoni Gaudi has four wonderful architectural master pieces in Barcelona, including Sagrada Familia which still being built 120 years later, Casa Milá and Casa Batlló.  We will now get to see a fourth major work by Gaudi, Park Güell.  We are concluding a 90 day, clockwise visit to the Iberian Peninsula.
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Sex and Scandal at the Prado Museum

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Prado Museum, Madrid Spain

Prado Museum, Madrid Spain

SEX and SCANDAL at the Prado Museum in Madrid!

Your lucky day!  You have scored FREE admission to a short, but memorable tour to the world famous collection of European paintings at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.  No long line for you as your epic tour is just a few clicks away.  I guarantee you will learn something new, will be amazed and astonished….
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Seville, Spain

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Seville Metropol Curve

Seville Metropol Curve

Seville, Spain Metropol Parasol Structure

Our Seville rental, or as the Spaniards say, Sevilla, immediately appealed to me since another Calatrava masterpiece would be in view from our balcony and immediately outside the front door.  My mistake.  As it turns out, this world’s largest wooden structure is not a Calatrava at all, rather it was built by some German unfamiliar to me, Jürgen Mayor.
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The Barber of Seville

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The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville

 

When tourists come to Europe there are required places to visit when in those cities for the first time.  In Paris, one certainly must visit the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and Notre Dame.  In London one certainly needs to see and hear Big Ben and in Rome you tour the Vatican.  What to do in Seville, Spain?  Get a haircut.
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Plaza de España in Seville, Spain

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Plaza Espana Blue Hour

Plaza de Espana at Blue Hour

Although this large open square, Plaza de España, may look several hundred years old, it was built relatively recently, 1929, when Seville, Spain hosted the World’s Fair.  Access to this plaza and the huge adjacent gardens is free and it is so large it is never very crowded.  Great local music was being played and echoing around the tiled hallways as I explored this plaza.
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Alhambra Fortress and Granada, Spain

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Alhambra Sunset

Alhambra Sunset

The Alhambra is a Moorish palace and fortress complex located at the top of a hill in the city of Granada, Andalusia Spain.  It was built in the 8th century by the Moors, or if you are a fan of the Seinfeld Show the Moops.
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Valencia, Spain Home of Santiago Calatrava

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Valencia Oranges at the Train Station

Valencia Oranges at the Valencia Nord Train Station

Valencia, Spain is home of the Valencia orange, many olive groves and birthplace of famed futuristic architect and engineer, Santiago Calatrava.  One of his larger installations is in Valencia, named the City of Arts and Sciences.
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Walking Around Barcelona, Spain

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Arc de Triomf built for the 1888 Barcelona World's Fair

Arc de Triomf built for the 1888 Barcelona World’s Fair

 

My previous blogs of Barcelona have highlighted the works of innovative Spanish-born architect Antoni Gaudi, the Segrada Familia Basicilia, Casa Mila, Casa Batllo, as well as the Barcelona concert hall (not Gaudi).  Now I’ll simply take you around Barcelona for some of the interesting sites and discoveries.
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Final Prep, Cruise to Barcelona

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Spain 2016 We are now in the final stages of preparation for our 2016 cruise to Barcelona, Spain.  We will explore Spain and Portugal for about 90 days then we will depart from Barcelona for a flight to possibly Romania or Bulgaria.  We will travel in a clockwise fashion from Barcelona around Spain and Portugal.  The curved line on the map is a flight and the straight lines are  trains and bold lines are planned car rentals. Continue reading →