Barcelona, Spain

What an exciting vibrant city Barcelona is, almost like a mini Paris. We were very impressed with the wide avenues, beautiful buildings, elegant shops, and cozy coffee shops with great coffee and croissants. The narrow twisting walking streets in the old part of the city were fun to wander on, and the fanciful modernism architecture is in many places. Gaudi is, of course, the most famous architect. His unfinished cathedral, Sagrada Familia, will be blessed by the Pope in November and thus will officially become a catholic church. We had great fun exploring the walking street, La Rambla, with crowds of people and vendors; clever actors were statues that came to life and amused the passer bys. The wildcat woman, teasing with her whip, was especially fun. We knew we were in Catalunia because all the metro stops and many other signs were in Catalan, which has elements of both Spanish and French.

We stayed with a friend of Anne’s, Sonia, who had been in Minnesota; she met up with us after work and took us many places. We also enjoyed meeting several of her friends.

A highlight was a tour of a former hospital, Hospital de la Santa Crue i Sant Pau, designed by modernist, Lluis Domenech i Montaner. Construction began in 1902, and it first was used as a hospital in 1930; only last year did it close. It consists of 18 buildings or pavilions, including a convent. All the buildings with many towers, turrets, and domes have beautiful designs and motifs in the mosaics, tiles, and stained glass windows. It is an amazing place that is being restored.

I spent the last days of my vacation in Spain on the southern coast, in the small resort town of Almerimar, near El Ejido, three hours east of Malaga and close to Almeria. I was with my English friend, Sue, who has had an apartment there for almost 30 years. Sue was one of my roommates in Chile that I had just been with in Chile this year. The hills and mountains here are dry desert, and in the distance one can see mountains of the Sierra Nevada that has some snow year around. This area has become a very wealthy area because of the all the vegetables grown here for export. Flat roofed plastic structures extend for miles and miles – as far as one can see in many places; the water comes from underground. Many Moroccans work in these “green houses” so when we went to the large street market in El Ejido, we saw many Moroccan women. It was a great way to finish my holiday eating good food, drinking good wine, soaking up the warm sun and swimming in the Mediterranean.