Spain - This is ridiculously long. It's mainly for me so I can remember the trip in detail.  Just skip through. There are several movies served by youtube.

April 10 - Barcelona arrival, Hotel Castanza, Sagrada Familia, Gothic cathedral,
April 11 - Barcelona, Montserrat, Lunch, Department store
April 12 - Ramblas, Market, Palua de la Musica, Lunch, Arc de Triumph, Bruc 33
April 13 - Block of discord, Montjuic, Art museum, Hotel mixup
April 14 - Car rental, Zaragoza, Hotel, Church, Walk around,
April 15 - Tapestry museum, Drive to Burgos, Fancy dinner
April 16 - Passport, Amazing cathedral, El Cid, Hike around Burgos
April 17 - Leon, Parking problem, Family party, Glimpse of cathedral
April 18 - Beautiful stained glass, Basilica of San Isoidoro, Drive to Santiago de Compostela, Irish friends
April 19 - Magnificent cathedral, Incense, Passport stamp, Nice lunch, Dinner with Irish friends
April 20 - Drive to Oviedo, Hiked around, Dinner with sidra,
April 21 - More hiking around Oviedo, Monument hill, Drive to Bilbao, Guggenheim museum, Chicken dinner
April 22 - Wonderful drive to Huesca, Nice hotel, Cathedral, Guinness, Upscale meal
April 23 - Drive to Barcelona, Four star hotel, Return car, Nice dinner
April 24 - Flight to Istanbul, Flight home!

April 10 Sunday - Arrived in Barcelona. We had our usual breakfast in our cabin. We are going to self-disembark. We packed up and left the ship. There was a line of taxi's waiting to pick people up. We got the taxi and went to our hotel - Hotel Canstanza (link). We checked in and took a look at our room.
   The hotel is new and modern. The room was in the back. It seemed a bit "industrial" - no carpet, ultra modern fixtures, tile floors and walls. The balcony looked out on a construction site and the backs of apartments. Quite nice however.

Today we wanted to go to the Gaudi Bailica - Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family in Catalan)(link). We were strongly advised to have a reservation so the hotel desk guy got on line and printed out out tickets.

We hiked the several long blocks. We nipped into a nice looking church for a peek. We then walked around the basilica and took a look. We were rather early so we nipped into a small looking tapas place. We had a glass of wine and admired the large selection of tapas. Expecting to have more later we opted to just have two or three. Quite nice killing time here.

Finally we walked around the basilica and found the entry. No problem getting in. We've been there before but I must say it is spectacular! You should look at my previous report. It's stunningly beautiful and like nothing you've ever seen. The sun came out a few times and lit the place up. Amazing. You can't quit gawking. After a while we decided to check out how to get up to the higher levels. We should have bought tickets for it while buying our entry tickets.

After a time we left and started our trek home. We got a bit lost and walked through a park in a round-about. Interesting.

I'm not sure what we did when we got back other then hitting a small supermarket for some wine later. We probably took a nap.

We then hiked over to the Ramblas which is the big walking street in Barcelona. It's about three good sized blocks from our hotel. We saw a pillow fight going on (Movie). The big market is closed on Sunday. We hiked over to the Gothic Quarter. We entered the cathedral but there was a mass going on so we weren't able to see much. We stopped by the Hotel Colon where our friends John and Francis had stayed. We took a look around and sat down and had a beer and looked at the cathedral (Movie).
   We had an interesting hike back to our hotel where we took note of where the music hall "Palau de la Musca Catalana" is located for a later visit. We also saw an interesting piece of public art.

Most places are closed on Sunday so we ate at a place near our hotel. We ordered a bit too much but had fun. Then back to the room and probably played some cards. The TV has only Spanish speaking stations so not much use looking at that.
Top
April 11 Monday - Today we took a taxi down to the post office square near the water front to meet our guide, John, and group for a tour of Montserrat (the serrated mountain)(link). We had a bite for breakfast at a little place nearby.

We loaded up into the van. Deb and I had the front seat. The driver, John, liked to talk. We asked him quite a few questions. I think he said he was from Eugene Oregon. When asked about living in Spain and the Spanish he said he found them rather aggressive, loud and tended to invade your space by standing too closely. However he really liked Spain.

The trip was up up up through the mountains. He pointed out the quaint town where we were going to have lunch later.

Finally we reached the place where he parked and told us where to be for pickup. He took us on a tour. It's basically a monastery(link) where real monks live. He pointed out a cross across the way. We looked at a courtyard then entered the church to see the Virgin of Montserrat(link). The story is some shepherd boys found the statue in a grotto nearby. The bishop ordered it to be brought to Barcelona. As it was being moved it got heavier and heavier apparently not wanting to be moved away.
   We entered the area behind the main alter, climbed a few steps and were able to have a good look plus touch the globe Mary is holding and (perhaps) say a prayer. I was told some people get somewhat carried away here.
   We toured the church and were told that a boys choir would sing around 1pm but to get there early if we wanted a seat.
   We then went on a rather tough walk out to the cross I mentioned earlier. Quite spectacular views. I talked to some friendly guys from Belarus who were nipping on a bottle of "Jim Beam". I'm hoping they send me a picture and I can send them my website address. Lots of fun.
   Back at the monastery we checked the sidewalk sellers, the gift shop and bathroom then went into the church. We were pretty early. As the place packed up we had a bit of an encounter with an older Russian lady who was trying to get her family seated. The mass went well then the boys showed up and sang some songs. The songs were modern and some modal. Very nice.
   We went out and were the last ones in the van.

Down the hill to the little town for lunch. They were expecting us. No concession to English, they translated the menu for us. I got a pork cutlet. Excellent, perhaps the best meal while in Spain. We had all the wine we wanted plus appetizers and dessert. A very nice meal in a quaint place with nothing held back.

We continued down and out to wine country where we visited a vineyard and toured the winery. I noticed some pig damage here. We had a few tastes and bought a bottle of very good wine for 13€.

Back to Barcelona where John was going to drop us off near our hotel. Nope. He missed. We had a pretty good hike and had to ask various people including some policemen carrying guns for directions. We finally made it home.

After a rest we hiked over to the big department store "El Corte Engles" near the Ramblas looking for a GPS. The GPS's were fairly expensive so I needed to think about it. We hiked to the Music place and took a look in. We then walked over to the big market "St Josep" on the Ramblas. An amazing place. We checked out some specialty stores on our way back.

We had dinner at the upscale tapas place, "Bruc 33", attached to the hotel - I think.
Top
 April 12 Tuesday - First our usual breakfast - coffee and a chocolate croissant at a place around the corner. Today we are going to the modernista music hall "Palau de la Musica". We stopped by and bought tickets for 1pm.

We walked on the Ramblas again and visited the big market "St Josep". An amazing place!

We then cut down a small street where we found a nice looking restaurant. Supposedly with tapas and hamburgers. I ordered a hamburger. Unfortunately it took forever for it to arrive. Finally we had to tell the waitress that we had to go. They did not charge us for the food we never received.

Then on to the "Palua de la Musica". After watching an introduction movie we took a tour before entering the theater. Because they were rehearsing we needed to be very quiet and could only sit in the balcony and look the place over. Quite an amazing place. It was not huge but stunningly beautiful. I had wanted to be sure to tour it when the sun would be at its highest because the centerpiece is lit by the sun. We also admired the side entry. (movie)

On the way back we got a bit lost. We ran across a little place with a reasonably priced lunch. We sat down to a rather good feed. It may have included a bottle of wine.

We took a look at the Barcelona Arc de Triomf then back to our hotel for a rest.

Apparently we had a small bite and a drink at a place because it's too early for dinner.

We dropped into the upscale tapas place next to the hotel "Bruc 33" where we had a wonderful dinner for a reasonable price.
Top
April 13 Wednesday - We hiked around the corner to the place where we like to have breakfast.

Today is the trip to Montjuic (link) and the art museum. We first hiked over to look at the apartment building designed by Gaudi. It's on the "block of discord", so named because there are several conflicting modernista buildings here. The crowd was huge. We have visited it before when it wasn't so crowded so we didn't go in. We walked around a bit then got on the metro to Montjuic.

From the metro we could see the big hill, the fountains and the art museum at the top. Quite a sight.

We hiked up up up taking escalators when possible. Still quite a hike (Movie).

Of course the view is amazing. When we entered the museum we found it was free for seniors - thank you very much. We spent a considerable amount of time touring the place. We split a croute madam for lunch. The museum is very beautifully done. Very nice presentations. It felt like you could touch the works of art. What a great layout including some furniture by Gaudi. Unfortunately not a great collection of art, but adequate. We've been there before so we knew what to expect. 

We hiked back down the hill. Strangely enough the fountains were turned off.

We metroed back to our area and hiked to our hotel. When we entered the desk guy told us we were supposed to have checked out yesterday! What?!? Deb checked and sure enough we were to have picked up our rental car today and stayed in Zaragoza tonight. OMG! So after some consternation I had the hotel guy call the hotel in Zaragoza and tell them we wouldn't be there - of course we have paid for the room. I also tried to cancel the car reservation. What a mess the car thing was. I had the reservation changed from Dollar to Hertz to be picked up tomorrow. We stayed another night at Hotel Constanza. The hotel guy went above and beyond to help us with the reservations and car.

We went out for a bite. Next to the hotel is a marijuana club. I supposed you need to be a member to get in. You could smell it near the door.

We had a nice dinner at "Bruc 33" again.
Top
April 14 Thursday - Off to Zaragoza. First we need to get to the airport to pick up our rental car. I was told by a taxi guy that getting to the airport is 45€+. Darn. We lugged our bags down to the lobby and had the hotel guy call for a taxi. It was a girl taxi driver. We hopped in and took off. When we got to the Hertz place in terminal 2 it was like 30€. I gave her a decent tip.

I thought I'd cancelled our rental car from Dollar and signed up for one from Hertz. When we got to the desk we found that Hertz, Dollar and a couple others were all one company. As I recall they couldn't find our reservation. However, they talked us into a larger vehicle with a GPS which would come out about 100€ more then a small vehicle with a rental GPS. Ok. But as we were talking somebody checked on our Dollar reservation and found it was not cancelled. Hmm. We now had a choice. We decided to go with the Hertz larger vehicle with the built in GPS for more money.

We went to the parking slot and found the car. We decided to put our destination into the GPS. It was not intuitive. We had to call a guy over and get a lesson.

Finally off we went. No problem except it seemed to be taking us south along the coast then we turned north and started toward Zaragoza. The highways are really nice though they are often toll roads. Getting off and driving through Zaragoza was really no problem. However when we got close to the cathedral the GPS told me to turn right. It didn't look right. It looked like we were going to turn onto the plaza in front of the cathedral. Yikes. I turned and somehow got off the designated lane. Then we saw the entrance that takes us down under the plaza. After some backing around, down we went. No problem. We came up the elevator (ascensor) and found the hotel (link). The whole trip was about three and a half hours.

Quite a location. From the second floor or so we are looking directly across the plaza at the cathedral. What a beautiful view.

We went into the huge cathedral. It's pretty amazing. No pictures allowed. The story is St. James in the year 40 was not having much success in converting the locals to Christianity when he stopped here along the Ebro River to pray. Suddenly Mary appeared to him on a pillar and gave him encouragement. After that he began to have success. The pillar was preserved and a church built here on the spot. Several churches have been built here. Inside you can see the pillar with a statue of Mary on it. Her vestments are changed daily and people donate them in hopes they are blessed. You can go around in back where there is an opening where you can touch or even kiss the pillar. Rather moving to see people taking it so seriously.
   If you meet somebody named Pilar they are named after this pillar.
   Half the church is blocked off today. It's obviously a very wealthy church. It's not actually a cathedral because to be a cathedral it must be the church for the bishop. There is another large church on the end of the plaza that is the cathedral.

We had an interesting lunch of tapas and wine. Deb had some sea urchin. 

We walked around and down to the old Roman wall, then back up to the real cathedral. We couldn't get in because a mass was going on. We walked out to the river where there is a rather spectacular bridge. Possibly Roman. We walked around and back to the plaza. We had some pizza or something for dinner then went to our room where we played gin rummy until bed time. Deb had been concerned because some Trip Adviser people had said the plaza was noisy until 2am or later. Not tonight. It was rather cold and the place was quite empty by 9pm or so.

Unfortunately we only have one night here.
Top
April 15 Friday - In the morning we got some breakfast, which was compt by the hotel because of the reservation mix up. We then revisited the big church and went down and took a look at the official cathedral. This time the church was fully open. But if I remember correctly it was not sunny so things were rather dark and dull. Plus no pictures allowed(?).

We found a tapestry museum here for 1€ each so we took a peek. Some school children were taking a tour and seemed quite interested.

We packed up and started off for Burgos. This is also supposed to be a three plus hours drive.

Into Burgos.(link) The GPS led us on a merry chase. Somebody said Burgos doesn't have enough street signs. As we went toward the cathedral and our hotel we got into some very narrow one lane medieval streets - narrow, curvy and steep with cars parked on both sides. Deb was sure I was going to knock a mirror off. We got near the cathedral where we came to a post in the road blocking our way. I pulled to the left into a small area facing what looked like a garage door. Deb noticed that the hotel (link) was across the street! She jumped out. I stayed with the car hoping I wouldn't have to move. After what seemed like forever she came back with the hotel lady. The lady took our rather heavy bags and took off. Deb said we were facing their garage door and that they would open it soon. Sure enough up it went revealing a steep narrow drive down into the dark. Our space was 18. The place was very tight. There were only a few cars parked and lots of big cement posts. We hacked around and got into our spot. I wish we had backed in because getting out looked very difficult.

Up we went to the building where our room is. We had to push a button and tell them our room number and then they buzz the door to let us in. Damn, the door was sort of stuck. I had to lift it to get it to open. In fact I had to struggle with that door every time we went in or out. In we went. Our bags were there in a sort of lobby area. We left our bags and went to check out our room. Deb was disappointed. It was small, though clean, but no view of the cathedral. Deb went back and complained. They showed us another, larger and more expensive room. Sort of a suite with two rooms. The view here wasn't directly at the cathedral though you could see it from one of the rooms. Deb wanted to see something else. I thought it was OK. We looked at another room. Me and the lady agreed the other room was better. So we moved in. It's large with two sleeping areas and two TV's.

It's raining off and on. Deb bought the last umbrella from the hotel desk. We hiked around but decided to not go into the cathedral at this time. It's 6€ so we don't want to pay twice. Also it's discounted if you are a pilgrim and we plan on being pilgrims.

We nipped into a hopping little place and had our only sangria. Pretty fancy.

Tonight we had the fanciest and most expensive meal of the whole trip. Because it was raining we entered the hotel and asked about getting to the restaurant. They led us through an underground series of hallways into the restaurant. Arriving at 8:30pm or so we were way too early. Another family of tourists arrived and that was all. A party did start downstairs a bit later. We were seated by a window with a view of the cathedral.
   We ordered some nice wine - a 2011 Muga Rioja, and the special Burgos dinner. First was a pretty good soup with quite a bit of bread in it. Next was the famous blood sausage presented gourmet style. It's made with pig blood, rice and spices.  I had some difficulty with it. The first couple bites were ok then the metallic taste and the thought set in. Next was a leg of lamb in a clay bowl with about an inch of grease. It was quite good but nothing special. We did a pretty good job eating this. Finally two different desserts. I had the traditional Burgos soft cheese with honey and walnuts. It was rather bland. Deb had some flaming dessert that was recommended by the waitress. That was really good. The whole thing, with tip was over 100€. Quite expensive by Spain standards.

Back to the room for some wine and cards. We've lost the nice wine opener.
Top
April 16 Saturday -

We went into a busy place on the main square for breakfast.

We went back to the room. We watched some brides and grooms getting pictures taken in front of the cathedral. Some of the guys apparently were military.

The weather is nicer. It's cool. Some cloudiness and threats of rain. We went into the ticket place for the cathedral and asked about getting a "passport". They sent us to a hostel. Deb gave them our real passports and they signed us up. They asked if we were walking, biking or riding a horse. Deb said "walking". The place was quite interesting. It seemed to be a beehive of activity. We saw a couple with bikes totally covered in mud. A couple girls with backpacks were signing in. Their passports had dozens of stamps. I looked into an adjoining room and saw dozens of people at long tables talking, drinking beer and fooling with their stuff. The place is six stories tall. It must be one of the busiest places on the "Camino".

So here is the explanation. (link) This has been a pilgrim route for over a thousand years. It's the path to where Saint James is buried (Santiago). The modern classic route starts in France and is about 500 miles long. There are several paths but the one through Burgos and Leon is the one we are interested in. Many people do the whole route. It's featured in the movie "The Way" with Martin Sheen. Along the path are hostels and camping places. In modern times you can get an official passport and have it stamped in many places along the way - churches, motels, hostels, restaurants, museums, etc.

We cheated and drove the "way". We got stamps wherever we could, including our hotel in Burgos. The passport can sometimes get discounts in places. We got a discount to enter the cathedral in Burgos.

We visited the cathedral. (link) This is one of the most amazing cathedrals I've ever seen. It apparently was built as a normal Gothic cathedral in about 1230. It originally looked a lot like Notre Dame with the flat columns in front. Then they hired an architect who had worked on the Cologne cathedral. He added pointy spires with fancy trim. Then the strange thing is they began adding chapels onto the church. There were several chapels that were like churches within themselves. One is called a cathedral within a cathedral. It's just amazing. There is a clock that when it chimes the hour a mechanical man opens and closes his mouth - an early automaton (Movie). You can't enter the front doors unless you are going to mass.
   This is the final burial place of  Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar - El Cid. I had read the poem for class.

After touring the cathedral I wanted to go to the Burgos museum  to see El Cid's sword - Tizona. We hiked out through the medieval gate "Arco de Santa Maria" and towards the museum. It seemed we couldn't find it. We went back and had a little lunch then hiked along the river looking for the statue of El Cid. We found it at last. I decided to take one more crack at finding the museum. We did find it exactly where expected. Apparently it is closed at this time of the year. Darn! There was an exceptionally nice supermarket across the street. We bought some wine and cheese for the room.
   We got a picture of Deb with the pilgrim resting on a bench.
Top
April 17 Sunday - Here are the cathedral bells calling people to mass. (Movie) Today the breakfast place is not so hectic. We then packed up, carefully exited the tiny garage (very few cars so it was not difficult) and headed to Leon. Hopefully about a three hour drive away. It's raining off and on.

We got to Leon. The GPS took us to a place where there was restricted access. I passed it and the GPS took us around and around about four times before I decided to illegally park and assess the problem. I went into the Burger King and found a young guy who knew three words of English. He indicated Plaza Mayor was up the street in the old closed off section. Seeing we were illegally parked I asked Deb to hike in and ask the hotel people where the parking lot is. She took off hiking. She came back a few minutes later and said it was confusing and probably a long way off. Meanwhile I moved to a somewhat more legal parking spot. I went into a friendly looking little bar and asked. Nobody knew any English. The owner led me out and pointed up the street Deb had just hiked. I decided to give it a try. Off I went. Over hill and over dale. It was nearly a mile through twisty medieval streets. I finally found the square and the somewhat obscure hotel. They gave me the address to the parking. Back I went. Luckily I'd taken note of most turns. I got finally got back. We entered the address and voila we were there. Up the elevator to Plaza Mayor and into the hotel.

This was a really spectacular modern hotel.(link) I believe it was four stars. Beautiful.

We were a bit hungry so we started exploring for some food. At 2pm most places are closed for siesta time. We did find a place open with a few people at the bar. Deb took a look and said there was an area downstairs that looked interesting. We went down and took a seat on a bench. I went to the bar and ordered some wine and asked for some snacks. He gave us some bread as I recall. The drinks were like 3€ and quite good. The place started to pack up. I ordered another wine and a beer. This time he gave us a generous serving of olives. Probably because I'd tipped him before. The place filled up and was quite noisy with loud music. It dawned on us that it was probably a family party.
   There was the most responsive baby we'd ever seen entertaining people. Deb tried to talk with people. I pulled out my phrase book and explained I was a grandfather. Suddenly I'm holding the baby! Yikes! They left her with me for what seemed a long time. Finally we decided it was time to leave.

We hiked out and found the cathedral. It's a classic Gothic cathedral. No fooling, straight forward Gothic. It does have some frilly trim on the right spire. This was added to compete with the one in Burgos. It was closed. Too bad because the sun was directly shining on the big rose window. We hiked around to the left into the cloister. It was open here because a service was going on in a little side chapel. We took a look then exited. A choir of kids was walking around the city making singing sounds. They were headed to the front of the cathedral for a picture. I got a nice (movie) of them heading over there. Much fun.

We had a very nice upscale meal in the hotel for a reasonable price. We played some cards and went to bed.
Top
April 18 Monday - I'm not sure about the timing of this story... We needed money so I asked at the hotel desk. She indicated it was just up the street. I started walking and walking and walking. I stopped a couple people and asked where I could find an ATM "donde ATM?". A gentleman about my age smiled and started leading me to an ATM. OMG he didn't know where one was. We went on a several block wild goose chase. He asked several people for directions. I was totally lost. We ran across a bank. He smiled, shook my hand and left... I wiggled the locked bank door handle a few times and they let me in. Sure enough there was an ATM! Getting back was quite tricky. I had to ask "donde Plaza Mayor?" a few times. I finally got back. Yikes!

Seeing we have to leave today we got right over to the cathedral. This cathedral has more stained glass then any other cathedral other then Chartes. Guess they don't count Sainte Chapelle in Paris. Of course stunning interiors. It's impossible to capture the beauty of stained glass because of the back lighting - it's either too bright or too dark. We did our best. We got our passports stamped.

We also visited the Basilica of San Isoidoro a Romanesque church. Note the heavy walls, small windows and round Roman arches - unlike Gothic arches which are pointed. Isoidoro is the most celebrated academic and theologian of the Visigothic period. He compiled an encyclopedia of the worlds knowledge and saved many ancient texts and information.
   We got our passports stamped here.

After a breakfast of coffee and chocolate croissants we are off to Santiago de Compostela. The scallop shell is the symbol of Santiago and the Camino.

Probably 3-4 hour drive. Parking was a bit of a trip. We drove around a couple of times. Deb knew it was a public parking garage near the cathedral. We weren't one hundred percent sure but we entered a parking garage. It was several floors up to street level so we left our big suitcase. In fact we may have left most stuff. We hiked up into the area and found the hotel. Yes we were parked in the right place. We checked into this very nice small feeling hotel. (link) We were very near the cathedral and all the activity. As I recall we hiked down and got our stuff. It was too difficult to bring our larger suitcase.

We then walked out looking for a place with some vino. Unfortunately at 2pm or so most places are closed. We sort of glanced at the cathedral knowing we'd see it in detail tomorrow. We found a place with some flowering trees nearby and sat down for a rest and a drink. As we were sitting there looking over the folks we somehow noticed a couple near us who looked friendly. Deb invited them over to our table. They came right over and we hit it off immediately. Fintan and Therese are from Galway Ireland. What a hoot. So we were drinking perhaps too much when a couple guys sat down near us. I think Fendan noticed they had Irish accents. Two seconds later we were all friends! They were  a priest who had just finished the "Camino" with his friend. Fintan and Therese had also done 100K of the "Camino". However they stayed in nice hotels and ate well on their tour B-).

While gabbing away and having a grand ol' time we decided it was time to eat. Unfashionably early for Spain. We went down the street to a place somebody said was good. OMG! We six sat down at a table and the food and drink began flowing. Fintan ordered a bottle of wine. Somebody said "make it a big one". Somebody else said "make it two big ones". We proceeded to eat like kings and drink like pirates. We even had naked octopus. Deb says she doesn't remember dessert. It was outrageous. I was dreading the bill when Fintan announced he'd taken care of it. Thank you Fintan. A night to cherish and remember. Much conversation.
Top
April 19 Tuesday - While having breakfast in our hotel Fintan and Threse showed up and had a cup of coffee.

We visited the cathedral(link). Very large with many interesting things. We were a little beat so while Deb and Therese wandered around and, I guess, got the passports stamped. Fintan and I basically sat in a pew and looked over the church. I read the Rick Steves description again and noticed what he was mentioning. The main alter has three representations of Santiago (San Diego) one on top on a white horse slaying Moors, a middle representation of him as a pilgrim and a bottom version wearing gold and jewels as a saint. The saint is pointing downward to where he is buried.
   If you go around in back of the alter you can go down a few steps and see the box where his remains are kept. If you go up some stairs you can put your hands around the golden saint figures neck. A brother is sitting there watching that you don't try to steal a jewel or something. You can look out at the church pews from there.

One of the famous things about this church is they have a botafumeiro or censer with incense which they occasionally swing. It's scheduled thirteen times a year and this isn't one of those times. The rumor is they used to do this to cover the smell of the pilgrims back in the day. It's only done during "pilgrim" masses - twelve o'clock mass.

So as we are sitting there they suddenly turn on the lights lighting up the altar. Wow. The pews started to fill up. Deb and Therese returned. A nun came out and taught us to sing some "hallelujahs". She had a great voice. Of course it was 99% Spanish. Finally the priests came out and mass started. It's been a while but I went along with the program pretty much. We did sing the hallelujahs. Finally when it looked like we were about done. Some brothers in red robes came out. They lowered the censer and lit it! They started swinging it! Amazing! Had I known I'd have been in one of the cross parts of the church. Here are a couple movies of the action. (Movie) (Movie)
   According to Rick Steves if somebody donates 300€ they will do it. The rumor was there was a Japanese tour group that chipped in and paid to have it done. Arigato Gozimus.

We took our leave of Fintan and Threase and went to find the place where you get your passport finalized seeing you have reached your goal. It was down, down and down past the front of the cathedral. We found it. It looked to me like they were going to give us the quiz. Nope. I think they sized us up and let us pass. We went to another room and a very nice, kind and peaceful girl gave us a certificate for 3€. It will soon be framed in our house. We'll probably go hell for cheating.

On the way back up it was nearly 2pm. We stopped to eat in a small place. Very interesting. There were about a dozen tables crammed together. We ordered what amounted to dinners off the menu. Voila a bottle of wine came with it. How nice. We spent some quality time enjoying this repast. My God look at these lunches. (extras)

We had another dinner with Fintan and Therese. Lots of good conversation of course. Us Irish like to talk. 
Top
April 20 Wednesday - We packed up. Had breakfast. Bought some gold charms and collected our car. Off to Oviedo.

When we arrived we easily found the hotel. (link) The problem was parking. We drove around the block and noticed across the street about three parking places reserved for the hotel. We parked and Deb went across. A lady came out and had us move up a space so we would be in the correct parking space. We unloaded our bags and gave our key to a hotel employee who drove off with it. If we need the car they will go get it. Unfortunately Deb was concerned because I'd left the credit card in the car and she'd left 35€. I went with the guy to retrieve things. It was quite a hike and about three stories underground behind several locked doors. It looked very safe. We moved our bags in.

We then dropped into a "cafeteria" for a bite before exploring more. It was threatening rain. It was a bit late in the day but the sun stays up late in Spain. We noted from our map that Oviedo has quite a collection of public art in the form of statues of people. We hiked over in front of the cathedral. It looked old and tired. It was late so not open. We hiked around some more but were mainly lost. But the city is small in this area though with those medieval streets. We picked up what we thought was cava - Spanish champagne. We finally found our way back to the hotel.

For dinner we decided to hike to an area "gastronomic" and see what was there. We went into a large noisy place with a sign in front indicating they had "sidra" or cider. It's a local thing. We wanted to try it. We looked over their rather large menu in Spanish and couldn't decide. Meanwhile we got the cider. They do a fancy pour (Movie) then you have to chug it. Mainly because it tastes a lot like piss smells.

They sent over the waiter who speaks English. We got some delicious deep fried thingies then some mussels in garlic and butter sauce (I'm not a big fan but had a few) (Movie). We had a good sized piece of fish which we shared. It was delicious and super fresh. For dessert we had two heavy chocolate ice cream balls. Also a bottle of house wine. It was our second most expensive dinner. Lots of fun.

Back to the hotel and bed.
Top
April 21 Thursday - This morning we had a rather larger then expected breakfast at the hotel restaurant. We did a little more hiking around. Sort of looking for the statue of Woody Allen. We didn't find him. We then checked out.

Off to look at some pre-Roman buildings. There was a visitor center here but the actual buildings are privately owned. We hiked up to Santa Maria del Naranco (link) and took a look around. The lady there didn't feel like letting us Americano's in so we just took pictures. Then we hiked up to San Miguel de Lillo (link) the other nearby ancient building. Both are very interesting in beautiful settings with views across the valley.

We entered the GPS set and off to Bilbao. No problem finding our hotel. (link)  The parking garage was right next to the hotel. The hotel was in the busy downtown section. It was a bit late in the day so we got a taxi (6€) to get to the Peggy Guggenheim museum designed by Frank Gehry. (link)

We walked around the exterior of this fantastic building. The lighting could have been better. Finally we entered. We were told "no photos in the galleries". The place is three floors. Each floor has displays of very few artists. We saw a large installation by Richard Serra (link). The second floor (or was it the third?) was devoted entirely to Louise Bourgeois (link). On the main floor was a large room displaying something like 120 nearly identical prints by Andy Warhol.
   They appeared to be setting up for a reception in the main lobby (Movie). We should have been taking shots of the interior of the building. It was fantastic - as are other Gehry buildings.

We hiked back. We went around the corner where there is like a street of restaurants and stopped into a place for a bit of wine and cava. We looked around a bit and noticed a place roasting chickens, rabbits and pork.(Movie) I sort of insisted we eat here. The price was certainly right at about 5€ each plus a bottle of wine for about 5€. It looked great but the chicken was a bit over cooked. Deb was not happy with this meal.

Back to the hotel and bed.
Top
April 22 Friday - We have an interesting drive to Huesca ahead of us. It was delightful. Was this where we got off the main highway for a while and went through some small towns and countryside? It was a fun and interesting drive. Lots of interesting tunnels and a drive down by a lake. We crossed a narrow bridge and stopped to make a decision which way to go. Sometimes the GPS sends you the shortest way which isn't always the best way especially if you are looking for interesting scenery or it's raining.

Finally into Huseca. (link) OMG! Finding the hotel was impossible. We went round and round. The GPS tried to send us down an alley that looked like it might be one way the wrong way. I went over to a small cafe and asked directions. The guy knew about five words of English but insisted we go down the alley and turn right down another alley. Hmm. I noticed a car coming out of the alley. We decided to give it a try. Voila there it was! Our hotel! (link)

The hotel was very nice. Right across from a modern Burger King. It had a nice "cafeteria" and a nice formal dining room. We checked in and found everybody helpful. We had a drink and bite before heading out to explore the city on foot. Our goal is the cathedral. Unfortunately it was pretty overcast so stained glass windows are not going to show up well. We hiked through the main part of town and up up up to the cathedral. On the way we stopped at a tourist information place to ask about nearby ruins. The girl showed me a map and pointed out a place nearby. An English guy stepped in and told us of a much better place. Hmm. It's about a 40 minute drive away. Guess we won't be seeing any ruins. We noted an Irish pub on the way up...

I found the cathedral quite interesting. (link) It looked like an early Gothic design with just a few flying buttresses. It had the classic entry. Very nice. I'm sure it has been in use since it was built in 1273. I was looking forward to seeing the alabaster alter. Unfortunately it was not brilliant white as I expected. I guess all the years of candle smoke darkened it. Oh well.

On the way back we stopped into the Irish pub. Deb had a Guinness and I had a Heineken.

Later we had an elegant dinner at our hotel. We were the only people in the fine upscale restaurant area. It's all glass so we felt like we were in a fishbowl.
   We had ossobuco. A very strange presentation. It was a piece of sheep neck/spine bone, I think. Spinal cord and all. We had to pick it apart. Some meat, some fat and some marrow. Nice enough though. We had some desserts.

We went to the room, played cards and opened the cava we had bought in Oviedo. Whoops! It tasted pretty bad. Suddenly Deb identified it as sidra/cider. Yuck.

Top
April 23 Saturday - In the morning we had coffee and chocolate croissants in the cafeteria area. Now off to Barcelona.

At some point I made a wrong turn and we had to go miles to get turned around. I stopped for gas and was surprised to find the station guy spoke perfect English. He'd lived in the States for a few years. We also stopped for some pictures of the red poppies. Very beautiful and interesting.

Finally into Barcelona. Thanks to Deb's sharp eye we found the hotel(Link). Wow! A four star airport hotel. We checked in and got settled then I filled up the car and took it back to the Hertz rental car place - no problem. I needed to take the hotel shuttle back. I was supposed to call from the terminal. A girl at the Hertz desk tried to call for me. Nope. So I went outside and stood around where the hotel shuttles are supposed to stop. No shuttle. Then I noticed the hotel shuttles were actually stopping across about eight lanes. I hiked over and got on. No problem.

Back at the hotel we had an expensive drink in their bar. Back to the room for a nap and another glass of wine before dinner - mainly to get rid of it. At dinner we had a very good gazpacho and seafood paella (I'm not a big fan) plus dessert. A very nice wine was 12€.

Now the problem is the flight is at 6am. We are supposed to be at the airport at 4am. The hotel recommends we be in the lobby for the 4am shuttle and be there early because it fills up. We got to the lobby at 3:30am and found a nearly empty shuttle getting ready to leave. After a bit of fooling around we were in line by 4am. Finally they opened up and we got checked in, through security and into the waiting area.

We flew three hours to Istanbul where we had a two hour layover. The layover was a trip... Our flight wasn't listed on the board for over an  hour. We spent time in a cafeteria waiting. Finally it popped up - gate 505. We asked  where it was. Jeez it's about a mile away - literally. In walking through the airport we saw people dressed in various middle east garb. Finally we got to our gate and had to go through another security check. This time I had to remove my shoes. After some waiting we got on a bus to take us to the airplane. We walked the tarmac and hiked up the stairway into the rear of the plane. No problem with our carry on bags. There was a guy from Slovenia sitting in the window seat. He said he was trying to move closer to his wife. He did. We ended up with a spare seat between us. NICE!
   Off we went for a 13 hour flight to SFO. It was deadly. I drank, I ate, I watched movies, I read, I tried to sleep, I walked around, I went to the bathroom. It was interminable. I'm surprised I didn't cry.
   Lo those many hours later we hit SFO at about 4pm. We got a call from the taxi guy. We went through customs and finally got our bags. Deb went to the bathroom and after a bit of a hassle we got in the taxi and drove home.

An amazing trip. After a week we are still working on our jet lag.
Top
Comments -
- The euro was $1.14
- The car got about 30+ mpg or 7.7l/100km
- Gas was about 1€ per liter
- Roundabouts are not a problem - just go around again
- Not much concession to English
- When getting gas usually nobody spoke a word of English
- Serve yourself gas. Except at one place out in the country.
- We probably spent around 100€ on tolls
- We found the wine the best in Europe. We often bought wine in supermarkets for 6-8€
- The Spanish seem to have their big meal around 2pm then the restaurants close up and reopen around 8pm. Drinks and tapas at 10pm. We had difficulty with this schedule.