Espana

So, Abby had to return to the states early, and I had to head to the middle east, so I spent the last day of my vacation in Barcelon. It was a busy day, but I got to see lots of the city. I basically walked everywhere, and I was exhausted at the end of the day. There were times I wondered if I would be able to pull off seeing so much in one day. I spent the early morning in the old city. Since it was Monday, there was a lot closed, like the Picasso Museum. Bummer, but there was plenty more to see in town. I stopped in a lot of churches. I love visiting churches, because there is a reverence there that allows you to escape the rest of the world. Regarldess of religion, these are holy places where people come to worship. Many are the product of peoples' lives, having taken years to painstakingly build and create. There is also often a quietness there, which allows worship to occur. (I'm always careful to show respect and reverence when photographing a church. I have mixed feelings about photography in churches, but it allows us to capture some of the beauty of these places.)

I also stopped by a couple the Gaudi homes. Unfortunately the second had just closed for a private event, but the first was fascinating. La Pedrera has the scuptures on the roof that you'll see in the pictures below. The inside chambers are actually very different from what you might expect if you'd only seen the outide. Of course, mixing styles seems to be characteristic of Gaudi, so I should probably not be surprised. Anyway, they were great fun to see.

Of course, I also stopped by the Sagrada Familial, which is a church still being built and worked on, but it's another Gaudi work, which may be evident from the styles. I found this church to be very interesting, but it didn't carry the same quietness that the others did. There's also no way to capture it all in a picture. It's enormous, cavernous, and brightly lit. At any rate, it's quite the site and experience.

Before it got too dark, I headed down to the beach, and took a short walk in the Mediterranean. I couldn't resist the chance to get in, even if just for a little bit. I'd originally planned to go diving here, but it turned out to be too difficult to coordinate with my other trips, and include the requisit time out of the water before flying. Still, I've managed to get into the Red Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Carribbean, and the Pacific Ocean in the last year. More diving needs to happen!

I struggled to come up with that one picture that I could take at twilight. If you've seen some of my other pictures, you'll probably notice that I really like taking pictures at twighlight, just before it becomes night. I honestly didn't find a well lit place, but this turned out quite nicely. No additional lights, just the ambient light of night and the city on this one. (Actually, there were lights there, but they weren't turned on. Go figure.)

I loved Barcelona. It was a fun place to visit, and I wouldn't mind going back. I can see why Abby enjoyed it so much. Anyway, here's some pictures, without further ado...