Santa Barbara Photographer Goes to Europe (2010)
Part 10: The Finale in Barcelona
~A Photo Story~
We had just arrived at the Madrid airport from Amsterdam, and decided to buy a ticket to Barcelona. We walked all over the airport trying to find the cheapest flight. When we got to Barcelona, we were very hungry and in need of a well-balanced meal, so that took priority. It was late, but we were happy to find a place that would still take us. After our meal, it didn’t take long for us to realize we were in a bad situation.
No hotels had any vacancies! At one point, we accidentally drove completely out of the city through a toll, and you couldn’t just turn around and go back through the toll. We had to take a little country road back into Barcelona…it was nighttime, and it was eerie. At one point, we had to slow the car down because a wild boar was slowly crossing the road. We finally found a hotel around 4am.
We had hoped to stay in the same place for two nights since we had been doing so much moving around, but they told us we could only stay the first night. The next day, however, they miraculously told us we could stay in our room another night. That left more time for my main goal, which was to see Gaudi. That might be obvious because 7 out of the 10 pictures are of Gaudi’s architecture.
The first picture is Casa Milá. The second picture is La Sagrada de Familia. The third picture is of a Coke can. If you know me, you know I love Coke. The next picture after that is Park Guell, a completely amazing Gaudi experience. I actually got dizzy from taking so many pictures. Underneath the big open area, there are a bunch of columns and extremely detailed mosaic ceilings. Nearby, those cute little buildings look like gingerbread houses. The park is incredible, with unique paths going every which way. This is something incredible to photograph, but even better to see in person.
The last couple pictures are night photography shots taken on the last night. After that, we went back to our hotel and prepared to drive back to Madrid the next day. In Madrid, we had one last hoorah with Dan by sharing a bottle of wine we got in France. It was one of the best bottles of wine ever, but those Spanish tinto riojas were pretty incredible as well. The next morning, we had the last of our fresh-squeezed juices and cortados. I hurried to grab one last jamón sandwich (did you know they even have little individual-sized olive oils and balsamic for dipping?).
We ended up visiting seven different metropolitan areas in thirteen days. All I can say is, our next vacation will be in one place! I wouldn’t change this experience for the world though.
