Until next time...

Sunday, February 18, 2001 Goodbye Benidorm

Our time has finally arrived to move on. We completed our taxes so our final task isfinished. It surprises us that four months have passed since we first came to Benidorm. It worked out exactly as we had hoped, the best refuge from a winter we needed to getthrough. We have met some interesting people and touched a couple of cultures different from our own. Quite an education! At the top of our list of winter successes is how comfortably we spent our time in Queenie. That we could live four months in 60 sq. ft. of living space was impossible to believe earlier in this trip and yet it went pretty smoothly. Of course the canopy helped (immensely), as did the weather. Looking back, we only spent about ten days out of our four months confined in Queenie due to poor weather. We have enjoyed many experiences outside our realm of familiarity. How many people of our generation know how to wash clothes by hand? I'm not talking about soaking our "fine washables" in Woollite but actually washing shirts, pants, socks and the like in a sink, or an even less "civilized" manner. I have become so accustomed to and dependent on washing machines and dryers that I have never learned the skill of hand washing. In the campgrounds throughout our trip, clothes washing sinks with a built-in scrub board are provided. I never used them until we arrived here. We had our bucket and plunger/agitator that we assumed to be adequate. Slowly, by watching others and through trial and error, I am learning how to soak, scrub thoroughly, and rinse our clothes. And I have learned what a fabulous invention the washing machine was. Why have I troubled myself with this, you might ask? We have consistently found laundromats in Europe to be expensive. We save them for towels, sheets and jeans. Rarely do our clothes get so dirty that we can't wash them ourselves and save a little money. The pharmacies in Europe are very different from America. Antibiotics and painkillers are available over-the-counter. Explain your symptoms to the pharmacist and
they will give you what you wish, or just ask for a specific drug. Asking for Tylenol in capsule form, we were shown Tylenol and codeine (and bought it for precautionary measures). A six-day supply of penicillin is very affordable at $6.50 US. We stocked up! Conversely, in Spain at any rate, you cannot buy anything as simple as aspirin anywhere but a pharmacy, at times an inconvenience. The Spaniards who live in Benidorm are inundated with tourists year round. I rather think if I had to deal with a bunch of silly foreigners day in and day out, week in and week out, month in and month out, I might lose my sense of humor, at least at times. I ride around on my bicycle and smile or call out "Hola!" and am always greeted with a smile or reply. They don't ignore me or pretend not to see me as if wishing I wasn't there. They appear to be a gracious, friendly and happy people and I greatly admire their fortitude in dealing with all of us. Yesterday Bruce got his third free haircut while here. Lots of the campers have clippers and amateur barbers abound. Bruce stopped in at one of our neighbors just in time for a buzz cut and now sports an 1/8 inch long 'do. His front cowlick gives him a dashing look. I like it. We had dinner with Michael and Joan again. We salvaged a gas BBQ someone had tossed out and gave it to them. Last night was a lesson for Michael in how to use a gas BBQ instead of his charcoal one. We had leftover New Year's champagne, grilled salmon steaks, brussel sprouts and Greek salad. It was delicious. Bruce's boules team knocked themselves out of the tournament on Tuesday and it turned out to be a good thing. The weather turned away its fair face and on Wednesday, began to rain, stopped only on Saturday and continues today, Sunday. The tournament has been postponed until better weather returns. By that time we will have departed. That rain also closed and locked our Wednesday window for the boat cruise to Calpe. Tonight we have a farewell dinner with Britt and Martin, our Swedish neighbors. Monday we finish packing and Tuesday we begin the second half of our Great Adventure beginning with Barcelona.

Wed. Feb. 21, 2001 – Barcelona

Tuesday morning we said our goodbyes to all our neighbors and felt a mix of exhilaration and regret. Exhilaration to be back on the road, ready to sample more exotica: Regret that we probably would never again see these people who had become a part of our lives these last four months. We have plenty of names, addresses and invitations if we are ever in various countries, and perhaps we will get to visit some Benidorm neighbor some time. The Swedish delegation seemed particularly eager to share their country with us and it would be a gas if we could arrange a visit with them (although perhaps a little hazardous to our health!). We came to Spain solely for the purpose of getting through winter, but we found a country well worth exploring for it's own virtues. We got in two good road trips but we have missed Madrid and Toledo, the Basque country and Galicia, not to mention all of Portugal. The winter weather made it too difficult to cover the country adequately. We really would like to come back in a different season and do a proper job of seeing Spain. Leaving Benidorm was a lot different than our wet arrival four months earlier. The rain clouds that had hung over us for several days departed leaving a bright, sunny, spring travel day. We retraced our four-month old route back to Valencia; only this time we took the motorway, a toll road that was a faster route. Bruce came down with a cold the very day we left and we decided we would not dilly-dally on our way to Barcelona. The distance from Benidorm to Barcelona is 500km, about 310 miles, a fair distance since we must constantly restrain Queenie from rushing along over 100km/hr. The motorway scenery was not as dull as I had feared. Exposed mountain peaks hunkered over small towns and villages, each with the prerequisite spire church and colored-tile dome roof. Castles and fortressed ruins dotted the hilltops along the route and we often glimpsed the Mediterranean beaches on our right as we drove up the coast. Outside Tarragona we saw an aqueduct spanning a small valley. It was in such good condition it was difficult to believe we were looking at a 2000-year-old Roman relic. There are many worthy sights to visit along the eastern seaboard of Spain between Benidorm and Barcelona. Just north of Valencia, lies Sagunto with it's magnificent castle ruins overpowering a whole hillside. It was here the 2nd Punic War between the Romans and the Carthaginians began. Tarragona, another important Roman city boasts a Roman theater and the previously mentioned aqueduct. We know those sights are not for this trip and Bruce is feeling just poorly enough to reinforce our decision. So we continued towards Barcelona non-stop. As we made our way north we passed many orange groves with fruit being harvested and sold at roadside stands. Probably twenty miles outside the city we began to see urban buildup and a good deal of smog! We have been told Barcelona is not a city to drive through. It was suggested we stick to the freeways, a task which proved to be a bit more difficult than expected what with the tangle of interchanges and tunnels. Between tunnels we kept spotting interesting looking buildings with unusual architecture. As we negotiated the mazes we kept marveling at how large Barcelona is. How were we ever going to find our way around? According to the travel books the tourist sites are concentrated in a manageable area, which will probably save our bacon. About 8 miles north of Barcelona we found our campground in El Masnou, a small town on the coast. We can easily jump the train into Barcelona and avoid the hassle ofdriving.

Thursday, February 22, 2001

We stayed in the campground yesterday, Wednesday. Bruce just wasn't feeling well enough to tackle the city so he slept most of the day while I worked around doing chores to pass the time. We treated ourselves to tacos for dinner and made a short day of it. We did meet some Americans though - Californians, in fact from San Francisco- and got to hear our first American accent in several months. They have been touring Europe since 1993(!!) either on their boat or in their camper van, and have the long-term goal of traveling around the world eventually. (Oooooooh, that gives me ideas...just don't say anything yet to Bruce {or Willie and Mamadog}). Today Thursday, around 9:30am we walked the 200 meters to the train station, paid our 175 Pesetas ($1) for a one-way ticket and made the 15 minute train ride to Barcelona. We got off at Plaxa de Catalunya a huge square in the center of the city. Las Ramblas, is a long, wide boulevard that ends at the Placa de Catalunya. Las Ramblas (which you might think would mean a place to ramble on, but really means a dry creek bed, an Arabic word...oh, never mind) is supposed to be the most famous street in Spain. Probably that reputation makes it fact. It is tree lined, has many outdoor cafes and shops, historical buildings and famous squares. Very nice. Just off the boulevard is a huge, famous food market, La Boqueria, with the most exquisite displays of produce and meats. We drooled our way past counters offering all manner of vegetables and fruits - strawberries are in great abundance right now. There were so many fish shops with so many kinds of fish we wonder if there are any left in the seas. La Boqueria was right up there with the Viktualienmarkt in Munich for quality and interest. As we walked towards the seafront we passed the Placa Reial, billed as Barcelona's most lively square. It reminded us of the Place de Royal in Paris, that square with beautiful apartment buildings all around it. In fact the names are similar. We stopped for an early lunch of (get this...) Donner kebabs and a beer. We're still hooked on those little sammies. We asked the guy for extra hot sauce on Bruce's in hopes it would help him with his cold. After lunch we took a tiny back alley out of the square to head for the Cathedral in the Gothic Quarter, only a couple of blocks east of Las Ramblas. Just as we reached the entrance, the cathedral doors closed for siesta from 1:30-4:00. That was put on tomorrow's itinerary and we decided instead to ride the city tour bus. I just knew it. Barcelona is huge! The tour bus has a northern and a southern route! We took the southern route and were occupied for well over two hours. Barcelona isdivided into three areas; Old Town with the Gothic Quarter and cathedral, Las Ramblas and the port; Montjuic, a hilly area with museums, amusement park and Olympic sport facilities; and Eixample, the newer part of the city, and where many of the Modernist art buildings that Barcelona is famous for. We still have to get Eixample and see Gaudi's church of the Sagrada Familia and his and various other architect's work. We bought the 2-day pass and now we know why - too much to try to see in one day. Too much to see in two or three more days, but we'll do the best we can. We spent six plus hours traipsing around the city and don't feel like we saw anything! We gotta get more organized! AND now Bruce not only has his cold, but a toothache has flared up and he really feels miserable! We went back to the campground around 4:30 and doctored Bruce up with whiskey, codeine/Tylenol and antibiotics, on the theory of numbing him up or killing him! Last report - patient feeling no pain. We have been away from our four-month stationary mode for only three days now and already we have readjusted to our traveling mode, no problemo! I was a little worried about that - that we may have found we preferred to stay in one spot - but it feels good to be on the move again. Tomorrow is the northern bus route and Eixample's modernist architecture. Be back atcha later!

2/23/01 Barcelona 2

Didn't we say something about how huge this city is? Well, the bus tour covering the north end of Barcelona did not dispel this notion. We boarded the Bus Touristic at the Placa de Catalunya to use the second of our 2-day pass. This bus tour has taken us all over and we have noticed some interesting things about Barcelona. For one thing, the buildings are not coated with grime as most of the cities we have visited. I don't know if the city did a massive cleanup for the 1992 Olympics or if they have some secret of cleanliness, but throughout the city we found little evidence of black soot covered buildings. Another difference is we have seen relatively few panhandlers/beggars in the city. Buskers, entertaining for a living are evident, but we have only seen 4-5 panhandlers, a much smaller number than anywhere else we have been. Barcelona is supposed to have the greatest number of modernistic buildings in any one city. We didn't know what that meant when we arrived but we were aware of it. Maybe that made us more alert to building types or maybe Barcelona offers a greater variety of buildings than other cities we have visited. The bottom line is that students of architecture would be fascinated by the what Barcelona has to offer. Not only the modernist style buildings, which are unique enough to warrant a visit, but terraced apartment buildings and modern black glass business buildings. Historical churches and grand palaces also have their place in the city. Riding on that bus exposed us to countless designs that called for our attention. Our first destination was the Temple de la Sagrada Familia (Church of the Sacred Family), the huge church begun by Antoni Gaudi, a modernist architect whose print has been stamped indelibly on the city of Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia is the most unique church we have seen in Europe to date. It has become a symbol of Barcelona, four huge towers, encrusted with designs. It is unfinished, which surprised us to no end, but allowed us a chance to see modern construction of large churches. When we first arrived we faced the Nativity façade, the only side completed before Gaudi died in 1926. At first glance, the whole façade which is so very busy, looks like it is melting. Once our eyes (and brains) were able to breakdown what we were seeing into manageable portions, we could make out organic, animal and geometric shapes. Lots of statuary depicting all participants of the nativity including the wisemen and shepherds surrounded this entrance to the church. Eight of the twelve towers representing the apostles are finished and at the top of each are huge colorful Venetian ceramic crosses, (almost looking like play-dough creations). The façade opposite the Nativity, the Passion façade, is a different beast. All fourteen scenes of the stations of the cross are depicted in a powerful, almost primitive manner. The artist used the style of the chimney vents from Gaudi's Casa Mila for his helmeted Roman soldiers (see the web page) which I presume to be an acknowledgement of Gaudi's influence on another artist. Inside, the vaulted roofs are reminiscent of medieval cathedral roofs but with modern twists, and it is here that words fail me. I do not have the technical vocabulary to describe what we saw and the differences between modern and ancient. Both styles are very handsome and for once I think I prefer Sagrada Familia's modern version over the classic. We did get to see how the 20th century builds great supporting columns (with concrete and lots of rebar) as opposed to the ancient methods of stacking hand carved blocks of stone. Our next stop was the Park Guell, another Gaudi creation. (Gaudi had a patron in the Guell family, so several of his projects have their name attached.) I think this was a failed planned community project that was eventually handed over to the city. Gaudi seemed to enjoy using all different of mediums of art. You can find stone, wood, tile, ceramics, glass, all contained in the same project. And he seemed to love color! Just about everything we have seen of his uses bright colors. Especially we saw that at Park Guell. Colorful ceramic tiled roofs on the building at the entry gates, huge colorful ceramic rondels in the multicolumned market area, a serpentine ceramic bench tracing the perimeter above the market area. Rock and brick form supports for terraces that almost look natural (if one thinks of the oddly eroded shapes in Bryce National Park or the like) yet obviously are not. There are tiled fountains depicting various animals. One, a very colorful lizard, has become a symbol of the park. A house Gaudi lived in has been turned into a museum/gift shop. We didn't go in, the exterior was fascinating enough for us. He seemed to rejoice in how weird he could make roof vents or chimney vents. Mosaics made up of colorful ceramic pieces often cover oddly shaped vents. The weather, which has been lovely since we left Benidorm, was becoming overcast and looking like rain so we left the park, finished the bus route (inside) and spent an hour or so at the internet place – EasyEverything - an internet chain we can happily recommend to anyone traveling overseas. (Found in London, Amsterdam, Barcelona and some other spots I am forgetting right now.) Then it was on the train to get home to leftover tacos and conversation and Italian wine with those Americans we met yesterday. Tomorrow is more Gaudi.

Our last day in Barcelona took us to the Palau de la Musica Catalana, a beautiful 100 year old concert hall and one more building in Barcelona that is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. This was built by another Modernista architect, Lluis Montaner, a contemporary of Gaudi. It is an intimate, ornate, exquisitely detailed concert hall with a large stained glass skylight with an inverted dome and reputed to be one of the most extraordinary works of stained glass in the secular world. The stage has 18 beautiful sculptures of muses, each holding a different musical instrument., huge arches bracket the stage and represent different musical symbols. Stained glass, mosaics, wood carvings, ceramic tiles all work in a harmonious whole to create one of the most loveliest buildings I have ever seen. It can only be seen on a guided tour, ours was in Catlan, but we were smart enough to buy an English guide book and so could appreciate what we were seeing. We highly, highly recommend a visit. After that we sampled Tapas at a little corner cafe and then went to the Maritime Museum. This was recommended to us by friends and we can pass that recommendation on as well. There is a reproduction of a 17th century Galleon with slave benches and oars and all. Until we saw the human sized models in oaring position we could not grasp the actual size of this ship. The museum, situated in actual historic shipyard, documents the whole history of shipping in the Catalan-Mediterranean area for 2000 years. Full sized boats compete with finely detailed models to teach the the viewer about the history of sailing. Monday we leave this very interesting city to continue our northern journey. There are many attractions we did not have time for, so I guess this is another reason for a return visit! Next it is to Salvatore Dali´s home town.

We are on the road again so we´ll catch you all when we can!