Park Guell, Barcelona, Spain (Good-bye Spain)

Park Guell Barcelona

Park Guell Barcelona

Gaudi Town, Barcelona Revisited

We had visited Barcelona, what I call Gaudi Town, for a week about 90 days ago as the termination point to our trans-Atlantic cruise.  Antoni Gaudi has four wonderful architectural master pieces in Barcelona, including Sagrada Familia which still being built 120 years later, Casa Milá and Casa Batlló.  We will now get to see a fourth major work by Gaudi, Park Güell.  We are concluding a 90 day, clockwise visit to the Iberian Peninsula.
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Madrid, Spain

Madrid Av del Ensanche de Vallecas 51

Madrid Avenida del Ensanche de Vallecas 51

Bullfighting would be more likely associated with Madrid, Spain than its architecture.  However, the draw for me was some uniquely designed buildings and staircases.  The bullfights had ended about a month before my arrival.
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Sex and Scandal at the Prado Museum

Prado Museum, Madrid Spain

Prado Museum, Madrid Spain

SEX and SCANDAL at the Prado Museum in Madrid!

Your lucky day!  You have scored FREE admission to a short, but memorable tour to the world famous collection of European paintings at the Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.  No long line for you as your epic tour is just a few clicks away.  I guarantee you will learn something new, will be amazed and astonished….
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Seville, Spain

Seville Metropol Curve

Seville Metropol Curve

Seville, Spain Metropol Parasol Structure

Our Seville rental, or as the Spaniards say, Sevilla, immediately appealed to me since another Calatrava masterpiece would be in view from our balcony and immediately outside the front door.  My mistake.  As it turns out, this world’s largest wooden structure is not a Calatrava at all, rather it was built by some German unfamiliar to me, Jürgen Mayor.
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The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville

The Barber of Seville

 

When tourists come to Europe there are required places to visit when in those cities for the first time.  In Paris, one certainly must visit the Eiffel Tower, Louvre Museum and Notre Dame.  In London one certainly needs to see and hear Big Ben and in Rome you tour the Vatican.  What to do in Seville, Spain?  Get a haircut.
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Plaza de España in Seville, Spain

Plaza Espana Blue Hour

Plaza de Espana at Blue Hour

Although this large open square, Plaza de España, may look several hundred years old, it was built relatively recently, 1929, when Seville, Spain hosted the World’s Fair.  Access to this plaza and the huge adjacent gardens is free and it is so large it is never very crowded.  Great local music was being played and echoing around the tiled hallways as I explored this plaza.
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Alhambra Fortress and Granada, Spain

Alhambra Sunset

Alhambra Sunset

The Alhambra is a Moorish palace and fortress complex located at the top of a hill in the city of Granada, Andalusia Spain.  It was built in the 8th century by the Moors, or if you are a fan of the Seinfeld Show the Moops.
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Valencia, Spain Home of Santiago Calatrava

Valencia Oranges at the Train Station

Valencia Oranges at the Valencia Nord Train Station

Valencia, Spain is home of the Valencia orange, many olive groves and birthplace of famed futuristic architect and engineer, Santiago Calatrava.  One of his larger installations is in Valencia, named the City of Arts and Sciences.
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