Barcelona Spain

4 places from "the book" to check off:

La Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's unfinished cathedral (might be our last cathedral of the trip).
Museu Picasso
Figueres - not in Barcelona. We drove through this part of Spain on our way to elBulli. I wish we had spent the whole day here.

Catalan National Art Museum

We didn't see as much in Barcelona as expected because nearly everything was closed on June 24th for some holiday.

We did spend some time in Guell Park - a park by Gaudi. It was cool. Jill did some swinging. The girl on the swing next to her lost her smile every time the swing slowed down, and smiled big again when mom gave her another push.

elBulli

I've been to some of the best restaurants - Charlie Trotter's and Alinea in Chicago; the Inn at Little Washington in Virginia; and Taillevent in Paris.

Last night we went to what some believe is the best restaurant in the world - elBulli in Roses, Spain. The picture is not egg yolk - it is mango in the form of a "bag of goo" (Jill's term).

I took pictures of every one of the 34 courses; and I will post them on Facebook and perhaps Webshots. Dinner took 5 hours.

It was a unique experience. The restaurant itself is small and lovely - set on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean. We also had the bonus of seeing fireworks - locals were celebrating the Equinox.

The course that surprised me the most because I never ate this before and was uncertain about it was sea cucumber. The course I hated the most was something with bleu cheese. I really liked the tomatoes and the last part of the meal -- the chocolate.

Valencia Spain

We went to the Valencia Cathedral - which is beautiful. The main reason for the trip was to see the Holy Grail. Yes, the cup believed to have been used by Jesus is in this cathedral.

We walked around the science museum and art museum. Both have very unique architecture.

We then went to a beach north of Valencia and played in the sea and napped on the beach. I am very red right now.

We drove to Barcelona - the last stop on this trip. Finding our hotel was a bit stressful, but we are here now. I need to find some ice to cool off my sangria!

Father's Day 2009

We spent the morning trying to find.....then trying to find a parking spot.... La Rastro market. Lots of people, lots of stuff. I bought earrings for me and Jill.

We then drove to Valencia. Not much to report yet. We did find a great hotel near the sea.

Madrid art

We went to the Prado museum on Friday and the Museo National Centro de Arte Reine Sofia today. The Prado has lots of darkish, Dutch masters paintings. Reine Sofia has lots of Dali and Picasso. I like the Reine Sofia much better than the Prado.

The rooms in Reine Sofia are white, clean, and open. Some of the rooms in the Prado have dark paint on the walls, which I think can be distracting to the art.

Toledo Spain

Toledo is a significant town for several reasons, some of which are:

Roman Catholic Cathedral
El Greco
Old city with unusual combinations of architecture

This cathedral is featured in "the book." We started by wandering around the town for two hours before reaching the cathedral. It is not an easy town to walk. Small-stone, narrow streets; and lots of little hills. I picked the wrong day to wear sandles with a little heel. I was in serious pain before we arrived at the cathedral.

I perked up when we went in the cathedral. It is amazing. The detail and craftsmanship is unbelievable. Each stall in the choir area is hand carved in wood and features a different scene. The altar has lots of gold, and is very detailed and intricate.

They have an amazing art collection including works by Caravaggio, Ruebens, Titian, Rafael, and lots of El Greco. It was worth the trip!

Bonus of the day -- no parking ticket despite arriving almost 90 minutes late. Perhaps the local police were having their siesta.

Downside - DH was pick-pocketed. Luckily the only thing they got was the key card for our hotel. My bag was opened twice in five minutes when I was looking at jewelery in a local store. It was probably the same two people DH caught in his pocket. They didn't get anything from my bag.

Madrid Spain

Madrid is a hot and vibrant city. We had a slow start - none of us had been here before.

I'm really tired, but determined to do a post tonight, so it is bullet points:

Old Madrid - Plaza Mayor, Palacio Real (pic is of palace)
Prado Museum - Andy actually requested we visit an art museum because he thought it would be cooler inside than outside.
Basilica de San Miguel and Mercado de San Miguel
Museo de Jamon
McDonald's - finally ice with our soda (France doesn't do ice)

We walked lots and lots, but I didn't wear my pedometer.

We had a great evening - stopped at two different restaurants/cafes for tapas, cerveza, sangria, cava and paella. The city really comes alive at night, but I was too tired to stay up late.

Getting lost

Rudy Maxa has several general travel recommendations, and one of them is to get lost. We've gotten lost -- and trapped -- twice now.

The first time was in Sarlat, France. We found our way into town just fine, and wandered around without any navigational issues. Our problem came when we tried to leave. Our desired route was under construction and no detour was posted. We drove around, and around, and around -- three times. Then we spotted an auto ecole (student driver) and followed him. That worked! We finally found our way out of town.

Our next time was leaving San Sebastian, Spain. We drove up the hill to get a better view of the beach and bay. Must have missed a turn because we ended up on a high, winding road. I got so excited when I spotted - in the middle of nowhere - a Pepsi vending machine. I still smile when I think about it. My first Mountain Dew in a long, long time!

We finally wound our way off of the hill. It was scenic - lots of horses, sheep and cows. We found our way to a small village - Kukuarri. It was cute and quaint, and we could see the highway running over the village; but could not find an entrance. We drove around this town four times. Each time we saw a man walking his french bulldog. We worked him into our story because we used him as a landmark to know where we had already been. (Turn left when you see the bulldog.)

We finally found our way to Orio - where they do have an entrance to the highway.

Bilbao Spain

The people of Bilbao are very friendly. However, the town itself is not tourist friendly. We stopped in Bilbao to see the Guggenheim museum (in the book). It must be the biggest attraction in this area.....yet, we never saw a single street sign to help us find the museum. (First tirade of the day.)

(Second tirade of the day) -- We also never saw a McDonald's. I don't go to Europe to eat at a restaurant I never eat at when home; however, I do not like the 1-3 meals that seem to be the norm here. I am trying to see as much as possible. I don't have time for a 90-minute lunch. I only allot enough time for a 10-minute lunch. I really don't want traditional American fast food when in Europe - I just need good food with fast service. Restaurant service has been mostly bad everywhere, except Biarritz.

The Guggenheim building is impressive. I don't like modern art.....there, I said it. I enjoyed the building but not its contents.

Yesterday at the beach was better than today in Bilbao.

France / Spain

Vineyards everywhere you look! We visited St. Emilion in the Bordeaux region. Another quaint little French town where every other store is a wine store. I think we bought about 10 bottles of wine.

Biarritz, France was our next stop. This is a great seaside resort town. I am in love with this town, and really hope to return someday. We played in the surf, watched the surfers and then ate our fill of mussels.

Au revoir France. Hola Espana.

Spain, so far, is much more mountainous than France.

We stopped in the Spanish seaside resort town of San Sebastian. Another great beach, and we saw lots of cute perros (dogs). French dogs were quite snooty. Spanish dogs are friendlier.

All three places are in "the book."