La Sagrada Familia: Home of Gargoyles

La Sagrada Familia at Barcelona

 The last time before this trip I visited La Sagrada Familia was in 2009 at 8am. I can't remember if I bought my ticket ahead of time or not. I don't think I did, but there was no line. A few people arrived as I was walking through. It is a sight to see and I missed it the last two times I was in Barcelona, so I decided to go back again. I heard in the metro that the lines were forever long, so I opted to just take some photos from the outside.

Cleaning of La Sagrada Familia

Even though the Church is not completed, restoration work is going on now to clean it. From the photo above, you can see what has been cleaned and a part that remains. It is still as magnificent as ever. This time though there were hundreds of people waiting to get in and a line of people waiting to buy tickets that wrapped around the front and both sides.

Getting there was half the fun. I decided to use the metro as I had a T-10, a ticket for 10 passes and had only used 2 yesterday. I could have walked but after my excursion to the MNAC yesterday, I realize how out of shape my legs really are. So I walked to the Passeig de Gracia station and tried to get on the L2 to the Sagrada Familia exit. Just as I went to board the train, an announcement was made that the L2 was down. So I was lost in underground hell for about half an hour. In the end, I took a round about way but finally made it to my destination. When I walked out of the metro, there I was, right in front of one of my favorite places on earth - La Sagrada Familia (the Sacred Family.)

Another view of La Sagrada Familia

Man speaking French and waving in front of La Sagrada Familia

As I took photos of the front, a man speaking in French said something to me and waved for the camera. The crowds were everywhere. I especially loved seeing all the young people around.

Young people in front of La Sagrada Familia

More information on this wonderful Gaudi creation can be found here. It really is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and a great home for gargoyles. 

Girona Part 2: Cathedral and Gargoyle Sentiments

Pigeon homes at Girona Cathedral

The Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary of Girona has some superb architectural features. The pigeons who live there agree. According to wikipedia, St. Mary of Girona was started in the 11th century in the Romanesque style, and later continued in the 13th century in the Gothic style. More great information on this great Cathedral can be found here on wikipedia. I always love the fascinating story of all the European Churches and Cathedrals.

Another pigeon home at Girona Cathedral

It is definitely a place where gargoyle-sentiment abounds. Note the following architectural details.

It is also a spiritual place. The aura is quite lovely!

Girona Part I

Girona from the bridge

I had anticipated my trip to Girona and Figueres for months before I went in April of this year, 2013. It has taken me all these months to actually want to sit down and write about it. I prefer to find the positive about a place, and so I waited until I could find something interesting and unique about Girona. In reality, now that I review the photos, it really is an amazing place. But the day I took the tour from Barcelona, it was raining and cold. Photos show Girona off better than how it looked on this dreary day. I saw all the crumbling and uncared for buildings, that I may not have seen on a sunny day. The first thing we all did when we arrived was buy umbrellas from the tourist office.

Young woman from our tour of Girona

Our rain-soaked tour group at Girona

It rained off and on throughout the tour. The highlight of Girona is the Jewish quarter and the Cathedral. Our guide never took us through the Jewish quarter that I know of. He instead walked us by the Cathedral and through a labyrinth of streets and then left us on our own to find our way back. That was especially nerve-wracking for me, as I was traveling alone and don't have a good sense of direction. I also was approached by a stranger and that was disconcerting. A very nice young student walked me back to where I needed to meet the bus, after I told her he was following me.

Girona Cathedral stairway

The Girona Cathedral was really beautiful. I didn't see it all, as there was an additional charge for the rest of the tour inside and for some reason, I decided not to continue. It escapes me now why I didn't continue the tour. But the outside of the Cathedral was really impressive. I loved all the architectural details and will do a few more posts on this wonderful structure.

Architectural details of the Cathedral at Girona

Dali Whimsy at Figueres

On the wall of the Dali Museum at Figueres

The Dali Museum at Figueres, Spain is one of the most outlandish places I have ever visited. For me, it was just too much all thrown together. Individually some of the pieces are quite shocking but wonderful. Taken together with all the crowds, it was overwhelming. But now, as I look back, I can appreciate certain elements. I loved the Jewelry Museum right from the start but didn't realize he is buried in that area in a crypt. My loss. That would have been interesting to see. 

Supposedly bread represents freeing the mind

In Dali's crazy and whimsical world, bread supposedly represented "freeing the mind." I found this on a blog that has some great information, Traveling with Sweeney. The link is here. I think Cathy Sweeney definitely enjoyed the Museum more than I did. By the way, I really like her blog and highly recommend it. Birds of a feather, I assume, as she loves to travel just as I do. She even goes solo sometimes, as well as with her husband. I do the same.

More bread and other symbols

I especially loved the Moses statue. Don't know why he has an octopus above him, but why not? I took a photo of the original Moses by Michelangelo in Rome. (I have to admit I like the one in Rome much better.) Doesn't hurt either that Moses is my husband's name, actually Moises ... the Spanish spelling. I try to snap Moses photos wherever I go. In the photo I took, I didn't crop out the little boy. I think he is quite significant.

Moses statue with a little boy

Dali Museum Disappointment and One Highlight

Crowds at Dali Museum at Figueres

Not being a fan of crowds, I really did not like the amount of people I had to contend with at the Dali Museum at Figueres, Spain. The old theater, which is the location of the Museum, is not a nice place. It is old and run-down and based on the number of people that go through there, why can't they close for a few weeks and spiff the place up? I posted a review on TripAdvisor called "Dali Museum is Not for Everybody." You can read it here, and it pretty much sums up how I felt about the place. The day also was rainy, windy and chilly. I bought an umbrella along the way and put up with the tour, but like another TripAdvisor member advises, stay in Barcelona where there is a million wonderful things to do and see.

There was one real highlight ... the jewelry museum portion. Now money was spent here and then some. It is a real jewel! Pun intended. I especially loved the following pieces.

The Honeycomb Heart, 1949

The Living Flower, 1959

Necklace of Entwined Limbs, 1964

Thank you to the wonderful security guy who pointed me in the direction of the Jewelry Museum after I had abandoned the tour I was on. 

Palma de Mallorca: A Magnificent Place

Cathedral at Palma de Mallorca

Detail of the Cathedral

Palma de Mallorca was everything I expected and more. The day was hot in the sun and cool in the shade. We took a taxi from the Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam to the Cathedral before it opened and waited. The first few hours were sheer bliss. As the day wore on, it got hotter and way more crowded, so we actually returned to the ship early. That is the blessing of doing your own thing and not going on an organized tour. It was the last stop of our cruise, and I think we were all pretty tired.

Nieuw Amsterdam docked at Palma de Mallorca

The day was short but wonderful. My favorite place at Palma de Mallorca was the Basilica of Saint Francis from the 13th century. La Seu is also very impressive, the Cathedral, but I found the Basilica more spiritual. I will report on both Churches in other posts.

More information on Palma de Mallorca can be found here on wikipedia. Here is is a photo below of people returning to the ship.

Bye bye Palma de Mallorca

Faces in the Stone: Santiago de Compostela

Stone face in Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Continuing in a gargoyle frame of mind - on my cruise from Barcelona to Dover, I scouted out architecture with faces in stone in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 
The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was started in 1077 and has been added on since then up until the 18th century. It is a treasure trove of medieval artifacts and architecture, including gargoyles. But there are also a ton of stone faces that are absolutely fascinating. I took a bit of time to locate as many of the different faces as I could. Many are from medieval times. 

More stone faces in Santiago de Compostela, Spain Cathedral grounds

St. James the Elder, Santiago de Compostela Cathedral

Virgin Mary on one side of statue

Virgin Mary on Cathedral wall, Santiago de Compostela

Controversial information can be found on Santiago de Compostela here


Santiago de Compostela is located in a beautiful, green part of Spain so unlike Madrid or Sevilla. The people of this area, Galicia, are said to have Celtic roots like the Irish. I can not wait for my return to this wonderful area of Spain. We reached it on the cruise from Barcelona to Dover at the port of Vigo. It is the third most important pilgrimage site in the world. I strongly recommend a trip there. It does not disappoint.

Tour to Montserrat

From the bus approaching Montserrat

There are many ways to get to Montserrat. I went on a bus tour that left early afternoon from Barcelona for a half day tour. You can also get there by train and then a cable car to get to the top. The day was cool and crisp. The sun shone bright and the sky was the most beautiful shade of blue with just a few clouds. 

Near Montserrat

Cable for cable car at Montserrat

Montserrat Lookout area

View from lookout area at Montserrat

Once there, again you have a lot of options of things to see. I chose to visit the Monastery and completely missed the Museum, by accident. The highlight of my visit was the Black Virgin and the beautiful Cathedral. More to follow in another post.

Black Virgin

Montserrat Cathedral

Sunday Morning Spirituality: Vejer de La Frontera

Vejer de la Frontera, Spain

Our second stop on our cruise from Barcelona to Dover was Cadiz, Spain. I had visited before so I wasn’t too psyched about going back. I typically don’t like to revisit places, especially ones I hadn’t loved to begin with. What I remembered of Cadiz was a port town, kind of dirty and getting driven by a 70 year old lunatic named Bartolomeo on the cruise ship pier against our will going 90 miles a hour. Needless to say, I didn’t want to relive that experience, but Cadiz surprised me. It was clean and lovely and not at all how I remembered it. They have done a lot in the eight years since I was there. I took a wonderful tour of Cadiz with a guy I met named Bob, and we had a great afternoon touring Cadiz. (That will be saved for another post.) Since it's Sunday, I want to talk about Vejer de la Frontera.

Vejer de la Frontera was once the border between the Christian and Moorish worlds. We arrived in early morning before the town was really awake. A few old men wandered the streets. One had a loaf of bread in his hand. Another man spoke to a woman above, who opened her window to lean out and chat.

Lady in the window chatting

Our guide walked us through the old town, so charming and beautiful and in harmony. It was chilly and so quiet as the town slept and we had the privilege of enjoying the morning without a mob of people, cars or buses.

Honestly I don’t remember much about what she said that day. I mostly remember how I felt … full of peace and serenity on a Sunday morning.

Cathedral in Vejer de la Frontera

my traveling feet

 I had thought I took the picture of my traveling feet in Barcelona, but actually it was here in Vejer de la Frontera. I love the cobblestones and the wad of paper on the ground.

Last but not least, I didn't notice until my husband pointed it out - that the photo above has graffiti that says, "My name is Bombe."