Landed in Madrid

The word AVE represents a bird. This is the name given to the high-speed train system in Spain. These trains can travel up to 350 Km/h or 217 m/h. We took this train from Cuenca to Madrid about 180 miles and it took 1 hour. I really wish we had train travel in the United States. It is certainly a lot easier then traveling by plane and the views are incredible.

We arrived in Madrid on Tuesday, May 31 at noon and took a taxi to our room. We met the owner of our Hostel and she is a real sweet lady who gave us a great overview of the location we are staying at in Madrid. We are very close to everything in the central part of  Madrid. Our first day we walked to orient ourselves to the location. At night we met up with a cousin of Elenita's who has been living here for a little more then a year.  The next day we traveled around the city on the tourist bus. What great way to see an overview of a city. Last night we decided to eat a real sit down meal instead of the high carb tapas we have been eating. We went to a wonderful seafood restaurant and  had a very good meal. Afterwards we walked around and discovered many different street musicians until we ran into a Mexican Mariachi band. It was a wonderful experience.

 

Cuenca,Spain

Wow, incredible, beautiful and picturesque. These are just a few adjectives to describe the beauty and tranquility of the Storybook town of Cuenca, Spain. Parts of the town are over 1,000 years old. There are two parts to the town the new part and the old part. The old part of the town is pretty much where everyone goes. The old part of the town sits on a "Meseta" an inner plateau part of the mountain.

We where a little worried in the morning because of the very dark clouds. So first, we went into the main Cathedral Our Lady of Grace which was completed between the end of the 12th century and the beginning of the first half of the 13th century. Visiting this church was amazing some of the chapels in the church where the size of some churches in the world. When we left the church the rain did start but it lasted only about 45 minutes in the early afternoon.  At this time we ducked into a bar/cafeteria as they are called in Spain. This was one of the better little places we ate at. The waiter/bar tender is from the country of Ecuador and he really made this experience wonderful.

 After our wonderful lunch experience we decided to continue exploring the town. We walked and we walked and we walked. We first walked through the narrow streets of the town. We went down, then up until we found some trail and ventured out for some wonderful views. There is a river that flows near the bottom of the old town with a bridge that crosses it. We decided to find the bridge because there was a beautiful hotel on the other side. The hotel was an old convent many many years ago. It was a beautiful building that sits on a small mountain mesa.   Afterwards we discovered another trail that meandered along the riverbed. It was a beautiful walk in nature. 
 After a little rest in our room, we went up the hill to a restaurant/bar that grilled everything.  I'm a little tired of all the carbs they eat in this country (Elenita) so I chose this place.  After eating grilled Asparagus and Ribs, we waited for it to get dark (about 9:30p-9:45p) so we could see this wonderful, little Medieval Town all lit up.  After this we walked around a little more then headed up to our room.

Heading toward new adventures

On Sunday, May 29, 2011 at 7:45 am we hailed a taxi outside of our little apartment in Barcelona for the train station. We ate a lite breakfast and boarded a train for the 3 hour ride to Valencia, Spain. This is the home of paella. Once in Valencia we placed our luggage in a day locker and headed out in search for the great paella. Elenita;s cousin from Barcelona recommend going to the beach. Heading toward the beach we spoke to a bus driver who then recommended a place. I have to admit the paella was good but because we are in Spain I felt it was overpriced.

After eating our paella we headed out to the central area of the city. Valencia is a grand city it the central part, with many old beautiful buildings and churches. This is a city where you walk around looking toward the sky.

After our 5 hours of running around Valencia and taking in the beauty we ran back to the train station (literally) to catch our 6:15 pm train for the mountain town of Cuenca, Spain. At 7:30 we arrived at what I would call a storybook town. What a beautiful place. We will write later of our adventures in Cuenca. Here is a picture of the town.

Last day in Barcelona

Saturday, May 28, was our last day in Barcelona .We decided to spend the day in the bohemian neighborhood of Gracia which we discovered earlier. We first stopped at a Mexican restaurant and had guacamole and a beer. We then walked for a awhile and noticed an art walk and street music. This neighborhood has a wide variety of  international restaurants. For dinner (or late lunch in Spain) we decided to eat Syrian food. 

Elenita in front of the Mexican restaurant where we had the most expensive guacamole ever.

Our meals at the Syrian restaurant. Mine we meat a mix of lamb and pork cook on a spit with tabbouleh. Elenita ate a very flavorful dish with chicken and rice cook to perfection.  After dinner we where rewarded with some music in the street form students of a local music college.

  Afterwards we went back to our apartment and while we finished packing we watched the champion soccer Europe Cup. Which we Barcelona vs. Manchester, England. It was a wonderful closing to a great 11 days. Barcelona won and the revelry in the streets was wonderful. On to Valencia and the small mountain town of Cuenca, Spain.

Friday, May 27th

We are feeling very sad now that we only have 2 days left in this beautiful city, Barcelona.  Today we headed over to the Museu Nacional D'Art de Catalunya-MNAC-We're experts now on taking the Metro, transferring etc.  It houses an incredible collection of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Modern Art.  It is also well known for its Romanesque Collection but unfortunately that wing was closed temporarily.  We were dumbfounded by the beauty and the ages of some of these works.

 Pere Serra - Madonna of Angles and Saints, around 1385.

At 2pm my cousin Juanjo picked us up to take us to the beach resort town of Sitges, one of Catalunya's most popular resort towns.  Because we were vacillating between going or not going he decided he would take us, he didn't want us to miss it and we are glad we didn't.  It was the most beautiful, charming seaside town ever!  Some beautiful, big old mansions built, after the Spanish Civil War by Catalans who had gone to Cuba, started successful businesses and came back here to build their homes.  The Bacardí Family left for Cuba from here.  They just opened a Bacardi Museum here, unfortunately we didn't get to see it.

The old part is filled with old, narrow streets crammed with cafe's, boutiques and antique stores among many others.  Of course a beautiful, 17th century Baroque style church sits right on the water.  There are also 3 other museums and many beaches to visit.  We chose to stay outside and enjoy the day.  Juanjo walked us all around the old part, drove us from one end to the other all along the street that runs along the water and took us over to the Marina and Village.  We sat in a beachside restaurant, 'El Pic-Nic' for some delicious Tapas and Desserts.  Our dream would be to come back some day/year to Barcelona and stay here at the beach for a few days, its very quaint!

                                                                         Howard's lunch.

Back in Barcelona we stopped for a cup of coffee so Juanjo's daughter, Adriana, (20yrs.old) and I could meet.   She was just as wonderful as I imagined from our contact on FB.  I encouraged her to go to CA to meet her cousins.
We had one hour to rest in our Apt. before another cousin's (Gerado) wife came to pick us up.  They had been on a cruise since we arrived and this was the 1st and last opportunity for us to finally meet.  It had been a very long day and I was exhausted but I'm so glad we went.  She picked us up about 9:30p and we joined Gerado at a Sidewalk Tapas bar.  It was so much fun to meet him, he is quite the jokester and his wife, Nina, originally from the Country, Georgia was also very delightful.  We enjoyed the late night ambiance and more delicious Tapas.  Around 11:30pm Nina took us back to our Apt were we proceeded to collapse. 

One more very relaxed day in Barcelona and then we're off to Valencia for the day and Cuenca for 2 nights before heading to Madrid!  We're going to do a lot of resting on those train rides!

Barceloneta

Barceloneta is the area of Barcelona near the beach, port and harbor. Yesterday we decided to rent bikes and ride along the shoreline of the Mediterranean Sea and through the Barceloneta neighborhood. It was a perfect day for this activity with beautiful scenery.

 After our 2 hour ride, Elenita's cousin Juanjo took us to a famous and very simple bar with the best " patatas braves" in Barcelona. It was a very simple place with a wonderful owner and fun ambiance.

 The patatas were wonderful and we loved the owner. Another great discovery off the tourist path. We feel so fortunate to have someone show us the side of Barcelona that normal tourists do not see. After walking around the neighborhood Sarria  we went back to the apartment to freshen up. We then walked over to see a another Gaudi house. La Pedrera (meaning the 'The Quarry'), is a building built during the years 1905–1910, being considered officially completed in 1912.  Antonio Guadi was way ahead of us time. Here is another example of his artistry.

 Above the entrance to the apartment building and below is the rood top.

Wednesday, May 25th

Today we were determined to get into La Sagrada Familia- Gaudi's most famous work!  This was our 3rd attempt and I'm happy to say that we were successful.  Timing is everything!  We hung around the apt. today, doing laundry and what not and didn't get to the Church until 2pm, what a difference 2 hrs make, we almost walked right up to the ticket booth.  We bought the Audio guide with our ticket and it proved to be wonderful, you could just wander around at your leisure and listen to history, descriptions etc.  It was an amazing experience.

Though construction of Sagrada Família had commenced in 1882, when Gaudí took over the project in 1883 he transformed it with his architectural and engineering style—combining Gothic and curvilinear, Modernista forms[8] with ambitious structural columns and arches.[9][10]

Gaudí devoted his last years to the project and at the time of his death in 1926, less than a quarter of the project was complete.  He left drawings of his project and dedicated people of all talents are still working on it, the money from the visitors is paying for it.  It is still years away of being finished.  Gaudi was a very devout Catholic and his works show it.  

We had a spontaneous fabulous evening!  My cousin Juanjo called and asked if we wanted to go out for a drink.  We said ' Sure" but of course we thought soon, maybe 7-8pm?  No he said he'd pick us up at 9pm!  What were we thinking, this is Spain!  He picked us up and we drove to their house to pick up Eva.  He wanted us to see his Cuba room and Eva wasn't there yet so we went in for a drink.  My Spanish relatives are rich, what happened to the Cuban Duelo's?  He wanted to show me his Cuba room.  He says he loves everything Cuban.  It was a wonderful room dedicated to everything Cuban.  Eva arrived and off we were.  First up to the mountain of Tibadaio to see the city by night lights, it was beautiful.  Then off to a Tapas Bar for some Tapas of course and some wine.  The Place was packed and it was Wednesday night.  We left our name and crossed the street for a quick glass of wine.  At 11pm we finally got seats at the counter, the place was still packed, unbelievable!  Juanjo ordered for us and we had some wonderful Tapas and a wonderful Spanish bottle of wine.  This night was a real highlight for us.  Here we were in a local Tapas bar, not a tourist bar, with locals, eating fabulous food at 11pm at night, we couldn't have been happier!

We ate razor clams, cockles, veal, duck liver, wonderful wine and great desserts. But best of all was the people we where with and the environment.

Tomorrow we're off for a bike ride along the beach!

Buenas Noches!  Elenita y Howard Arturo