Friday, March 11, 2011

Back from . . .

Barcelona!  Give me 5 minutes (maybe an hour) and I'll be ready to go back again.


A portion of the city from way up high

One of the old town's wider streets
Boats and Barcelonetta
One of many Gaudi-designed buildings.  This one is across the street from our hotel.
Catalonians dancing.  Plenty of little squares like this one.
One of Gaudi's most famous buildings.  Plenty of others, though.
One of about 50,000 stunning buildings.
As you can see, Barcelona is chock full of beautiful architecture.  For every plastic Walmart bag flapping in a tree or blowing down a road in the United States, there is a beautiful building in Barcelona.

About a year ago, I was "complaining" that the only vacations we took were when my husband had a conference somewhere.  I don't go go all of the conferences, though.  I'm somewhat afraid to go to Asia and have to go places alone while the hubby is working.  I missed the Dearborn, MI, conference a while back.  I've put my foot down on a few other locations for various reasons, mostly lack of interest.  Then I stated that I wanted to pick a place, by golly.  So I picked Barcelona.  I did good.

14 comments:

Dr. Monkey said...

I wondered where you were. I'm happy for you, yet I'm jealous I didn't get to go! ;o)

angela recada said...

Gorgeous photos. Love that Gaudi!

p said...

you mean this was ALL ABOUT YOU AND WHAT YOU WANTED? wow
:)

Colleen Kole said...

wow is right. inspiration for years to come. wow glad for you !

Martha C. Hall said...

What a fantastic trip! Love the Gaudi architecture - is that where the word comes from? ;-)

ArtPropelled said...

Oh how wonderful!Did you find any markets? Though I never made it to Barcelona I went to amazing markets in Madrid.

Kim Hambric said...

Wish I could have sat around in a cafe with all of my favorite bloggers. I did get to pick the location, but each of us got to pick our top two choices. Lily choose the aquarium and the zoo. We filled in around that. So, it wasn't ALL about me. Yes, there is inspiration for years to come (unless I forget everything I saw -- possible). I'm not sure if "gaudy" comes from Gaudi, but I'm thinking it's very likely. I don't think Gaudi was gaudy, though. Did get to a couple of markets, though we did seem to find them after we had already eaten. Probably a good thing. I'm thinking that if did return, we might also visit Madrid.

Susan said...

Oh Hogie, you definitely did good. I love the Gaudi pictures. Awesome. Let the inspirations flow. Lucky girl.

red-handed said...

Sweet. Very sweet, to see the sky be crowded by good things for a change.

Dana Barbieri said...

Glad you got to pick and what a choice it was. Looks beautiful!

Chris said...

Lucky girl! I'm thrilled for you. Traveling is the BEST.

Sharmon Davidson said...

You must have had a blast; this looks way better than Dearborn, Michigan! (no offense intended, Michiganers!)

Sharmon Davidson said...

p.s. Yes, that is the origin of the word 'gaudy'- I love his architecture, but you can see the relationship, right?

aimee said...

oh i am sooooooo jealous!! these pictures are amazing -- thank you so much for the tour. this is one of my top five "must visit" places!