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Spain:
March 2016 to April 2016
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During spring break, I went with a big group of friends to 4 cities in
Spain for my friend Eric’s birthday.
We went to Barcelona, Valencia, Ibiza, and Madrid (I had lived in Madrid
for one year 20 years before).
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BARCELONA
Barcelona is the second most populous city in
Spain at 1.6 million within the city limits. Barcelona is located on
the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Mediterranean Sea.
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Buildings by Antoní Gaudí
Barcelona has been a center of Modernist architecture and is
distinguished by the works of Antoní Gaudí, a Spanish architect influenced by his passions in life: architecture, nature, and
religion.
Gaudí considered every detail of his
creations and integrated into his architecture such crafts as ceramics,
stained glass, wrought ironwork forging and carpentry.
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Park Güell
This park is located on Carmel Hill in Barcelona and contains architecture
from Gaudí’s
naturalist phase (first decade of the 20th century). The park was built 1900 to 1914 and
was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984.
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Sagrada Familia
This church is Gaudí’s
most famous design which he worked on for 43 years up until his death. Although incomplete, the
church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Construction of Sagrada Família
began in 1882 and Gaudí became involved in
1883, taking over the project and transforming it with his architectural
and engineering style, combining Gothic and curvilinear Art Nouveau forms. Gaudí devoted his last years to the project, and
at the time of his death at age 73 in 1926, less than a quarter of the
project was complete.
Sagrada Família's
construction progressed slowly, as it relied on private donations and was
interrupted by the Spanish Civil War, only to resume intermittent progress
in the 1950s. Construction passed the midpoint in 2010 with some of the
project's greatest challenges remaining and an anticipated completion date
of 2026, 100 years after Gaudí's death.
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Palau de la Música Catalana
A concert hall in Barcelona designed in the
Catalan modernista
style by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
It was built between 1905 and 1908 for the Orfeó
Català, a choral society founded in 1891
that was a leading force in the Catalan cultural movement that came to be
known as the Renaixença (Catalan
Rebirth). It was inaugurated
February 9, 1908.
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Spain is famous for its variety and
quality of cured meats. When I
lived there from 1995 to 1996, I didn’t eat red meat so never got to
try them. This trip, I did…yum.
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VALENCIA
Valencia is the third largest city in Spain
with 800,000 inhabitants in the city limits.
Valencia was founded as a Roman colony in 138 BC. The city is situated
on the banks of the Turia, on the east coast of
the Iberian Peninsula, on the Mediterranean Sea. Its historic center is one
of the largest in Spain. This
along with the beaches make Valencia a popular destination for visitors.
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My husband Chuck and I having tapas at a pub called La Estrecha (meaning the narrow one) which is named for
the adjoining building, the narrowest building in Europe at 107 centimeters
wide (42 inches or 3 ½ feet).
In the bottom picture, you can see Chuck framing the narrow building with
his arms which is about the width of a door.
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IBIZA
Ibiza is an island in the
Mediterranean Sea, 150 kilometers (93 miles) off the coast of Valencia, in
eastern Spain.
Ibiza has become famous for its nightlife and the electronic music that
originated on the island. It is well known for its summer club scene which
attracts very large numbers of tourists, but the island was very quiet as
we were there in spring.
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MADRID
Madrid is the capital and the largest city in Spain.
The population of the city is almost 3.2 million with a metropolitan
area of approximately 6.5 million.
In front of the Plaza de España
(pictured here with the clock tower), you can find the 0-Kilometer
marker. All main roads radiate
from this point, the symbolic center of the city and country.
Plaza de España is located in Puerta del Sol which is the main square of Madrid. La Nochevieja
(New Year's Eve) is celebrated here by many. It’s Spanish tradition
to eat 12 grapes during the final countdown, one on each chime of the
clock, and the New Year's celebrations are broadcast live on TV from
there.
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Tirso del Molina
A few blocks from the city center is where I used to live in the
neighborhood of Tirso de Molina. I met up with my Spanish friend
Susana (bravely going through chemo and looking beautiful), and we
revisited my old apartment that I lived in 20 years before on Travesía de la Comadre
#6.
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On the south end of Puerta del Sol you will find the historic central Post
Office of Madrid and the Puerta de Alcalá ("Alcalá
Gate" or "Citadel Gate").
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Parque Retiro
Carrying on past the Puerta de Alcalá, you come to the Parque del Buen Retiro, one of the largest parks of the city
of Madrid. The park belonged to the Spanish monarchy until the late 19th
century, when it became a public park.
Inside the park you’ll find many things such as beautiful gardens, Estanque del Retiro
("Retiro Pond") that you can take
small boats out on, and the Palacio
de Cristal ("Crystal Palace").
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Various street scenes of the
beautiful, vibrant city of Madrid.
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