Travel with Julie

Cable Car Rides Across Barcelona's Port Vell

There are two ways to see the port area of Barcelona.  One way is on foot. The other is a thrilling bird's eye view via the Teleferico del Puerto, Barcelona's port cable car.

The small red and white cabins travel across the Port Vell marina in Barcelona's harbor to Montjuic hill.  The cabins hold about 20 people, so make sure to jockey your way close to the window for an unobstructed view. There are no seats, standing room only.

The cable car dates back to 1929 when it was built for the Universal Exhibition.  Obviously, the best time to take this ride is on a clear day.  The views are simply stunning!

 

Planning a trip to Spain?  Click here to find out how I can help make your vacation a unique postcard in your travel scrapbook!

Casa Batllo, Barcelona

Bones. Skeletons. Seaworld. Fantasy. Imagination.  All words to describe Antoni Gaudi's Casa Batllo in Barcelona, Spain. How can a building be so freakishly weird and so amazingly awesome at the same time? It's easy when it's designed by the genius madman architect Gaudi!

The wavy walls and windows, along with the sparkling colored glass and ceramic mosaic exterior make it impossible to pass by this Passeig de Gracia residential building without stopping to gawk, stare and pay the steep entrance fee for a closer look.  Textile mogul Josep Batllo hired Gaudi to design this unique building for his family residence.  The result was an unusual house, indeed!

Once inside, you feel as if you float through a watery underwater kingdom. Every caution was paid to the details from glassworks mimicking rippling water to light fixtures resembling sea urchins.  The inner well court shines with blue tiles, lighter at the bottom and more intense in color at the top where they meet a skylight, visually distributing the light to make the color appear consistent from top to bottom.

Climb the stairs to the rooftop to find colorful chimneys.  Look closer and you will see they form what looks like a sleeping dragon.  Layer upon layer, each room tells a story of Gaudi's genius at work.

This Barcelona must-see is a feast for the eyes.  Take an hour or so on your next visit to stop by.  The audio guide included in the price of admission will walk you through every seducing detail of this amazing house!

 

Planning a trip to Spain?  Click here to find out how I can help make your vacation a unique postcard in your travel scrapbook!

Bari Gotic Cathedral, Barcelona

 

Barcelona Cathedral courtesy of Flickr

In the heart of Barcelona's Bari Gotic district sits the city's Gothic cathedral known as La Seu. Like the area itself, it is dark and dingy with years of ancientness, with the first stone of the church being laid in the 13th century.  Its official name is Catedral de la Santa Creu i Santa Eulalia, Catalan for Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia -- a mouthful!

The interior is only brightened by large 15th-century stained-glass windows.  And certainly, don't miss the crypt below the Capella which holds the sarcophagus of Santa Eulalia, the young 13-year-old girl alledgedly tortured to death for her religion in the 4th century by the Romans.  Some historians report her punishments included lashings, flesh being torn by hooks, wounds being sprinkled with boiling oil and many other insufferable acts that eventually led to her beheading.

The church is most famous for its cloister, a central courtyard surrounded by a beautiful Gothic portico.  Here you will find 13 geese lazying around or in the pond.  These geese represent one year in the life of Santa Eulalia.

Visit on a Sunday at noon when you can join the locals in the Sardana, the Catalonia national folk dance. There's no announcement or big fanfare to publicize its beginning, so get there early to nab a space on the cathedral's steps and wait for the show.  The dancers form a circle and accurately count out a series of complicated steps, skips and jumps.  Admittedly, I have two left feet, but go ahead and try it to see how well you do!

Entrance is free into the cathedral.  A warning sign is posted about dress, though, so I advise showing up with shoulders and knees covered.  For a small fee, you can climb the stairs or take the elevator to the roof for an incredible view of Barcelona.

Planning a trip to Spain?  Click here to find out how I can help make your vacation a unique postcard in your travel scrapbook!

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona

Antoni Gaudi is to Barcelona what Michelangelo is to Rome or Florence.  Gaudi's thumbprint is everywhere throughout the city, especially in the Sagrada Familia, a large Roman Catholic church in the Eixample district.  This jaw-dropping, oh-my-gawd, almost creepy structure is like none other with a forest of columns, abstract figures and melting stone.  Be prepared to have a sore neck after a visit from the constant craning necessary to take it all in.

Construction began in 1882 and is still going on today.  It is expected to be completed sometime before 2030. Gaudi's design was meant to be adjusted, modifying details along the way.  He exercised unconventional methods of testing his ideas such as hoisting a donkey up the facade to see how it would look in a sculpted nativity scene, anaesthetizing turkeys and chickens and using stillborn babies to make plaster casts for the Massacre of the Innocents sculpture scene.  Gaudi was fatally hit by a tram in 1926, but ensuing architects have continued on his work, sometimes guessing at Gaudi's genius plan.

When finished, the church will accommodate approximately 13,000 people and have a total of 18 towers. Four tours represent the twelve apostles.  Another four represent the four evangelists.  They surround the largest tower dedicated to Jesus Christ.  The last tower will be dedicated to Virgin Mary.

There are three unique facades.  The first is known as the Nativity Facade and was finished by Gaudi himself.  Opposite the Nativity Facade is the Passion Facade with abstract figures.  The third is the Glory Facade picturing life and death.

A visit to the church is a must, as is the crypt where Gaudi is buried.  An elevator will take you to the top of a tower for magnificent views of Barcelona.

 

Planning a trip to Spain?  Click here to find out how I can help make your vacation a unique postcard in your travel scrapbook!

 

Plaza Mayor, Madrid

Plaza Mayor is a grand arcaded square in the center of Madrid.  It might not look like it, but it has a long history dating back to the middle ages when it was simply a market place.  It became an official "square" in 1617.

Then, it was surrounded by wooden buildings.  Three times, fires destroyed all the buildings around Plaza Mayor.  Each time they were rebuilt with the last reconstruction into what you see today.  The most prominent building is the Casa de la Panaderia, named after the powerful bakery it replaced.  It's towers date from 1790 when they were rebuilt after the last fire.

The bronze statue in the center of the square is of King Philips III, constructed in 1616.

The square has been the hub of many activities including public executions, royal ceremonies, bullfights, Inquisition trials and many fiestas.  Today, it is a quiet place within the busy city to enjoy one of the many restaurants and cafes under the arches surrounding the square, try some Spanish wine, some tapas and interesting sites!

 

Planning a trip to Spain?  Click here to find out how I can help make your vacation a unique postcard in your travel scrapbook!