Spain Road Trip: Day 9 (England)

     Our base of operations:  Moraira, Spain.  Not England really.  But so many English people have second homes around here that it sort of feels like England.  Not that it's all English people.  There are also French and Germans.  

     Soon we'll go inland again to see Spain.  But for now we're enjoying a relaxing time in our dirt-cheap English-owned house in Spain:

     Sunday was Averil's birthday.  We didn't get started on our day until the crack of noon.  We took a walk partway up the side of a large seaside rock called Penon de Ifach.  Ford spotted some baby seagull chicks.

Back down overlooking Calpe

That evening we decided to go for Indian food in honor of El Generalismo's birthplace.  Indian food in Spain?  Why not . . . it's England!

Then we came back to our English house in Spain for CAKE and PRESENTS!

Then it was time for dancing:

Everyone loved it:

Here is a link to the gift Ford got for Averil.  If you're not careful, you'll spend the rest of your morning being entertained by Vat19 videos.
http://www.vat19.com/dvds/trailertheater.cfm?productID=color-alert-kitchen-timers

Spain Road Trip: Days 5-8 (Barcelona, Tortosa, Moraira)

     Our last full day in Barcelona was a lot of fun.  We rented bikes and rode all around the city.  Barcelona has lots of bike lanes and other places to ride in relative safety.  We saw lots of things we wouldn't have seen on foot and had fun doing it.  Here are some photos:

Statue of Columbus, Who Left Here on His Second Voyage

That was enjoyable.  Plus, we had a great lunch (11.50E for two really nice dishes, beverage and dessert!):

We biked and lunched for 5 hours.  Then we had to go back and see our dog at the hotel.

     That evening, we went and saw the Casa Mila.  This is a Gaudi-designed apartment building. People come from all over to see its bizzare shape.  We felt certain that the English word "Gaudy" must come from the architect's name.  But we Googled it, and it turns out the two words are not related.  Anyway, here are some photos from the roof of the Casa Mila:

     The next morning was Thursday.  Before we left Barcelona, we went to see "The Cathedral."  It doesn't have a name . . . they just call it The Cathedral.  Supposedly when Columbus brought back some Native Americans, they baptized one or more of them in The Cathedral.  We would have known more . . . Averil tried to eavesdrop on an English-speaking tour group but she was "caught" and told that it was a "private tour" by the snooty tour group leader.  Anyway, here are some pictures from our last morning in Barcelona:

     We had a good time in Barcelona and learned a lot.

     Then it was time to navigate our way out of the city and head south to our next destination -- three hours south in Tortosa.  But first we stopped in Sitges and had a dip in the ocean:

     The reason we went to Tortosa is that there is a river there called the Ebro river.  And in the Ebro river there are giant catfish and carp that you can fish for.  So we booked a fishing trip with an outfit that also provided accommodations.  It turned out to be a sort of compound run by British people -- a mother and son (our guide) and the father (who we never saw).  It was all bit odd in some ways, but the accommodations were fine and we ended up spending a pleasant day fishing by the river.

     Unfortunately, it was a slow day and we didn't get a single fish for the first 5 hours (we read books while we fished).  A lesser group might have given up.  But not us!  Toward mid-afternoon we got our first fish, then a second, and a third.  We ended up with a 7.5 pound catfish, an 18 pound carp (Ford's fish) and a 4.5 pound Canadian Catfish.  Here are pictures to prove it:

Ford's 18.5 lb. "common carp"- decidedly uncommon to Ford, who was THRILLED

First fish-- 8 pound Wells Catfish; the guide estimated it to be 2 years old

4.5 pound Canadian catfish

Ivy was happy to be out in the country again too:

     The next morning was Saturday.  Saturday is a very special day, because it is the day before El Generalisimo's birthday.  And on her birthday, we are going to sing Happy Birthday in three languages.  But on this Saturday we voyaged from Tortosa to our new base of operations in Moraira, three hours south (about 1.5 hours south of Valencia).  

     The Spanish housing market has been killed in recent years.  This is bad if you own real estate, but good if you want to rent a nice house for a week is Moraira.  Which is what we did.  They call it a "villa," but it is really just a nice big house with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a swimming pool.  And it's cheap!  So we're staying here for a week and we'll make little day trips here and there.  And we'll post pictures of the house and the pool (which Ivy and the kids adore and use together even though it's not very warm outside).  But the posting of these photos will have to wait because El Generalismo is demanding a foot rub, and it is birthday's eve . . . .

Spain Road Trip: Days 3-4 (Barthelona)

     We left Cadaques on Monday and headed two hours south to Barcelona.  In Spain, people tend to pronounce the letter C like TH.  Thus, Barcelona becomes Barthelona, and Gracias becomes Grathiath.  That's beside the point.  Where were we?  Oh yes, going to Barcelona.  Asha decided to take a siesta (thiethta?) on the way:

     We found our hotel in the middle of Barcelona with no problema thanks to expert navigation by El Generalisimo (we went commando, without GPS, for the challenge).  Then Ed went to park the car 20 meters away.  This turned into a 1 and 1/2 hour saga.  Details are not important.  Suffice it to say that he ended up parking in a different spot and got sort of lost in a city of 5 million people and wandered around on foot in the middle of Barcelona for over an hour with a very large duffel bag and smelly dog bed so he flagged a cab, but it took him to the wrong place and he couldn't remember the name of the street where the hotel was, so kept wandering.  Not a good policy for a mountaineer, but what about a tourist?  Turns out, it eventually worked.  No matter.  Barcelona is a very very neat place and there is a lot to see.  Also, the people are extremely friendly.  So Ed made it back to the hotel eventually.

     That afternoon we went out and walked and walked and walked.  Barcelona is an architectural wonderland thanks to Antoni Gaudi, a famous architect who lived about 100 years ago and designed all sorts of edifices in very unusual ways.  You ought to Google him and his buildings!  Think curves, dripping wax, melting chocolate, and fairy tales.  Here are some photos of a few buildings near our hotel:

Monday was a special day . . . a sort of Valentines' day in Spain, where flowers and books are given as gifts.  There were thousands and thousands of people out and about and book stands and flower stands everywhere.  This photo was taken in Plaza Catalanya, right before Las Ramblas, which is a famous pedestrian walkway:

There are lots of things for sale along Las Ramblas, including small pets.  Here Asha and Ivy are wondering if they "can get a bird," but each has a different idea of what they'd do with it:

     The next morning, we woke up and took a taxi to Sagrada Familia . . . an immense cathedral designed by Gaudi, started more than 100 years ago, and still under construction.  (Ivy stayed in the hotel for the morning).  The Sagrada Familia is not due to be finished for many years and it's really difficult to describe because its design is so unique.  There are even snails and gekos crawling down the sides and spires with bowls full of colorful berries a hundred feet in the air.  Here are a few photos, but they don't do it justice (Google it for better photos):

     We walked back to the hotel and got Ivy.  Then we found a nice taxi driver who said it would be "no problema" to take us with the dog and we went to Parc Guell . . . a big city park designed by . . . you guessed it . . . Guadi.  Again, the park is designed in a very unique style.  We walked around (there were many other people) and found some fantastic views of Barcelona.  Here are some pictures (find the one where we got lost in the Mexican desert):

    We decided to walk back from the park.  We got a little turned around.  It took . . . er . . . a long time.  But we found some great local ice cream, Ivy broke up the walk with some flat-out splays on the sidewalk, Ed got to ask for directions in Spanish, and with the leadership of El Generalisimo we made it back.  We collapsed on the bed in a big heap and we were too tired to take a picture.