Streets of Barcelona

Contrary to the forecast, the weather in Barcelona cleared up. We spent our days wandering parks and people watching. Of course, the work of Antoni Gaudí stood out. Park Güell was an obvious tourist hub, but we still enjoyed seeing how unique the work was.




His work also influenced many of the trinkets in the tourist shops.




Where there are tourists, there are street artists and vendors there to entertain them. I first saw a man making huge bubbles in Madrid, but I had the most fun photographing the bubble fun at Park Güell. There aren't a lot of things that can keep children entertained for as long as this performer did!






We passed quite a few odd sites in Barcelona.






And finally, Barcelona's big cathedral.

A Day in the Clouds

After Valencia, we took a train to Barcelona. The weather report looked very bleak, so I wanted to get our outdoor adventure done on our first day there. We packed our ponchos and umbrellas and set off to Montserrat. Monsterrat is a large mountain featuring a beautiful monastery. Visiting Montserrat takes about an hour train ride out of Barcelona. Normally you can choose whether you would like to hike, ride a train, or take a cable car up the mountain. The rain caused the funicular trains to go out of service, and the rain also made for an unpleasant hike, so we waited in line over an hour for the cable car. This gave me the chance to leave my dad in line and go take some pictures from the ground. The clouds floated very low on the mountain, shielding the monastery from view.






When FINALLY got on the cable car. I am becoming an expert at dealing with heights.






When we go to the top of the mountain the rain died down, but I still kept my camera covered in plastic bags just in case.




The wind blew clouds and mist all around the mountain.



We took a funicular train up the mountain (they began running again after the rain died down.) Then we walked a trail down the mountain. It truly felt like we had escaped to a fairytale.

Valencia

I went to the train station to buy our overnight train tickets to Barcelona, but found out the train was full. We went into emergency mode, trying to figure out what to do with our extra day. We ended up booking a great deal on a train ticket and place to stay in Valencia. As soon as we stepped out of the train station we knew it was a REALLY great choice!

Right outside the train station is a ring for bullfighting, and so I snapped a quick night shot of it with the beautiful train station in the background.




We couldn't get over the architecture in Valencia! It is some of the strangest I have seen.






We wandered the city and I found a fun doggie bathroom.




I got a kick out of going to the beach. Apparently I have been cured of my fear of heights.




The people at the beach provided a great variety of subjects. They were tons of fun.