Barcelona, Spain - Montjuïc

One of the many statues within Montjuïc

From Wikipedia...

Barcelona's Montjuïc is a broad shallow hill with a relatively flat top overlooking the harbour to the southeast of the city center. The eastern side of the hill is almost a sheer cliff, giving it a commanding view over the city's harbour immediately below...

Naturally wooded, the slopes of the Montjuïc were traditionally used to grow food and graze animals by the people of the neighboring Ciutat Vella. In the 1890s the forests were partially cleared, opening space for parklands. The site was selected to host the 1929 International Exposition (a World's Fair), for which the first large-scale construction on the hill was begun. The surviving buildings from this effort include the grand Palau Nacional, the Estadi Olímpic (the Olympic stadium), the ornate Font Màgica fountains, and a grand staircase leading up from the foot of the Montjuïc at the south end of the Avenida de la Reina Maria Cristina, past the Font Màgica and through the Plaça del Marquès de Foronda and the Plaça de les Cascades to the Palau Nacional.

Inside the Olympic Stadium

Fortress wall

The fortress atop Montjuïc

View from the top

Overlooking the harbor

Palau Nacional from a distance

View up the staircase...

...and down the staircase

Hidden passages

Casablanca

A nice looking building

View from afar

From the shadows

Shrubbery

Barcelona, Spain - The Statues of Montjuïc

The woman in the grove

While sightseeing through Park Montjuïc, we came across quite a few statues that are located in small gardens, groves and grottos of the park.

A traditional Catalan folk dance

The iron cross

A rather frightening looking flamenco dancer

Moon over Barcelona

Dante Alighieri

A shepherd of some sort

Barcelona, Spain - Magic Fountain

Magic Fountain

In the southwest part of Barcelona is a park called Montjuïc. It is situated on a big hill. Looking from Plaza de España, you can see the Palau Nacional. (National Palace) A series of fountains and cascades flow downward from the Palau, through a series of plazas, to the Magic Fountain at the bottom. During the day, the fountains lie dormant, but they come to life at night. The flow out of the Magic Fountain is synchronized with classical music and colored lights to create and ever-morphing water and light show. In summer, this display attracts thousands of people. You'll definitely want to click on these pics to enlarge them.

Daytime view from the top towards Plaza de España

Top fountain and cascade just below the Palau Nacional

Magic Fountain with lights of Plaza de España in background

People gather in the plaza between fountains

Water and light

More colors

Grandeur

Travel Warning...

If you're ever in Barcelona near the Magic Fountain by Plaza de España, watch out for the two young gals in the photo above.

There's this park on the west side of town(Montjuic) that I go to occasionally. When I'm walking back thru the fountain area, I always get stopped by the same deaf/mute chick that shoves a clipboard in my face wanting me to donate money to her deaf/mute cause. She's about 14 and pretty insistent. I always say, "No gracias," and keep walking. The other day, she was there again, but this time with her deaf/mute friend. The friend shoved the clipboard in my face wanting me to write my name, address and donation amount.

3 TIMES I had to say "No gracias" to this chick. The fourth time, I took the clipboard and, in the Name column, I wrote "Rusty Shackleford." I didn't write down anything else, handed her back the clipboard and said, "Gracias." I turned and walked away. She was furious and, since she couldn't curse or scream at me, she decided to SPIT at me. Good times, good times.

I swear, the next time I come across her I'm sweeping the leg. She's going down!

(For those that don't know, "Rusty Shackleford" is the alias used by Dale Gribble in King of the Hill)

A Note From the Publisher

Big bro and li'l bro

First, thanks to all of you who visit our site. Special thanks to those who leave comments, they’re always welcome. We’ve had a lot of fun putting it together. Traveling can be tough duty. For the most part, we’ve kept the posts informational and educational, however, some of you have inquired as to my thoughts and feelings on the particular places we’ve visited and living in Spain, in general. I will share my thoughts with you below.

A couple of you have asked why I'm not in any of the photos we’ve posted; more specifically, “Would it kill ya to be in one of the pictures?” Yes, yes it would. Actually, these are stock photos and we’re not really in Spain. It’s all been a ruse. Seriously though…Speaking for myself, I don’t photograph well, so I prefer not to have my picture taken. It’s also my way of preventing my spirit from being stolen. Plus, do you really want my mug cluttering up photos of these nice landscapes and buildings? C’mon, it’s a no-brainer.

Living in Spain has been a mixed bag. Barcelona is too crowded. In spite of its rich history and architecture, it’s just too densely populated. Maybe that is why some of the older folks are a little cranky. The only analogy I can make is that if you put too many animals in a confined space, they start to snap at one another. This could explain my perception of old, Spanish women here in Barcelona, which I can only describe as Hobbesian – nasty, brutish and short. I guess Barcelona falls into the category of “it’s a nice place to visit, but…” In addition, it’s really expensive to live here.

With that being said, I’ve really enjoyed my brief time in the small coastal towns of Nerja and L’Escala. These towns are laid back and quiet. I guess that should be expected when you’re soaking in the sun and breeze of the Mediterranean. It also seems as though the older folks in these smaller towns and outlying areas aren't as cranky. Maybe this lends credence to my analogy above.

I also like the quaint city of Granada. Quaint by European standards – about 300,000 people. Even more people when you consider all the college students and tourists. However, it has a much better feel than Barcelona. Also, any place of note in Granada is within a 15-20 minute walk. And, if you like warm, dry, sunny climates, then Granada - and most of Andalucía - is for you. I would definitely say I prefer Granada to Barcelona.

When I left the States in late June, I was planning on living abroad in Europe for a few years, but that has changed. We are in Barcelona thru next May and then return to the States. There are a few reasons for this. Not having a European Union passport is a killer. It makes it difficult to find work, to get your own apartment and to acquire residency. Basically, we're "illegal aliens." The large cities are too crowded and expensive for my tastes. So, I'm basically going to chalk up my 11 months in Spain as a learning experience. I'm just going to take it easy, do some traveling, learn some Spanish and do some writing. I still have a desire to live abroad in the future, but it will probably be a smaller country in Central or South America. Ecuador looks very appealing.

Vic, Spain

Glass blower

SMITE HIM! SMITE HIM! (first person to guess the movie reference wins a prize) Sorry, had to get that out of my system, since we spent Friday in Vic, Spain at their Medieval Festival. It was cool, damp and rainy, which seemed perfect for a festival such as this, conjuring images of vassals scraping together a meager existence under harsh conditions. A brief downpour caused me to exclaim, "Get thee to a Medieval cafe for a warm mug of grog." Well, grog was not to be had, so I settled for cafe con leche.

One section of the festival had craftsmen such as a blacksmith, glass blower, falconer, leather worker, basket weaver, etc. Other sections had food and arts & crafts. Unfortunately, there were no jousting matches or battles with chainmail-clad knights using sword, shield and mace.

Falcons and owls

Arab dancer

The crowd

Cool building

A leprechaun I named Sean

2nd century Roman temple

Plaça Major

City street adorned with banners

A blacksmith or Hobbit? You decide.

Girona, Spain

Pedestrian mall

On the drive back from L'Escala,(see previous post) we stopped in Girona to do a little sightseeing. Girona is the provincial capital of, you guessed it, the province of Girona in northeast Spain. It lies at the confluence of the Ter and Onyar rivers. Through the years, this city has been ruled by the Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Moors and Christians. A strong Jewish community developed for about four centuries until they were expelled by the Catholic Kings in 1492. Oh, those wacky Catholic Kings, nothing like a good Inquisition now and then to get the juices flowing.(Yes, the previous comment was sarcastic in nature, so, please, no nasty emails.) To the north of the old city is Montjuïc, which means "hill of the Jews" in Catalan. This city has one of the best preserved Jewish ghettos in Europe.

After a cafe con leche at a streetside cafe on a chilly, Autumn day, we walked around the cathedral area. Standard set up with narrow, winding streets with the cathedral being the centerpiece.

Outside the portico

The cathedral from the bottom of the steps

Mary and baby Jebus

Secret passageway

View from top of cathedral steps

Coffee anyone?

Stone and ivy

Back side of the cathedral

Fountain

Stairway to heaven

Under the portico