Aug 2004

Barcelona and Montserrat

Here we start out visiting Gaudi's Sagrada Familia. This "Holy Family" church has been in construction since the 19th century and may not finish for another 50 years. We walked up a very famous circular stairway that is very small, dark and lacking in air quality. Its a very long climb, and if any single tourist freaks, everyone pays a price. Could not wait to get out of it.

We took a tour bus to Montserrat, which is a monastery that houses the well known "Black Madonna". The line was too long to get a close glimpse at the madonna, so we settled for a long shot from inside the main area of the church.

The tourists in Madrid were nearly totally from South America, while tourists in Barcelona were about 50% English speaking, at least from my Gallup poll on the tour bus. I had always noticed that Californians visited Barcelona but seldom Madrid.

On the last day, we took in a pro soccer game at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Stadium. The Spanish do a lot of chanting and singing during the game, so much so, that I wonder if they are paying attention to the game. When the game ended, a majority of of the fans demanded it be continued, rather than finish on a 1-1 tie. What was that all about?