As is usual, the last days blur into travel, recovery and getting back to normal life. Our last day in Barcelona was quiet. We went back to the beach but it was a cool day. we dipped our toes in the Mediterranean. It was freezing. Did some window shopping, packed and enjoyed our deck and last Spanish wine. Went back to the Indian restaurant for another great meal. We had Tandoori. You could tell they used a real clay oven to bake the chicken. We spent the following night in a Madrid airport hotel (which cost almost as much as our Sevilla apartment for the week). Flight home was fine. We were rescued at the airport shuttle office in Athens by friend Cindy (long story). She got us home quickly, which we very much appreciated. We have survived the jet lag and Spain quickly becomes the past, which is hard to believe.
Some thoughts on the trip before they are forgotten.
We were exposed to some of the most amazing artwork (painting). The Prado houses immense collections. But to see the masterpieces of El Greco, Velasquez and Goya in one afternoon was a real privilege. We later went to the Picasso Museum in Barcelona. One room was entirely made up of studies/interpretations of a Velasquez work that he had seen at the Prado. I need to research this to see if he put down his thoughts on these studies. The architecture was, also, so impressive. So much history is seen through the buildings and gardens that were built, back to the first century. The history was, also, interesting when viewed in todays context. For some 600 years Spain was under the control of the Moors. But, from what we were told, the Moors, Christians and Jews lived in harmony. This period of time was an era of great scientific, artistic and social development. Assuming this is true, you wonder why it isn't possible today. The history of Spain, also, demonstrates the excesses of power. This is ironic, as today, Spain appears to be very focused on its ecology and energy uses. Very efficient ways of managing the environment and energy have been developed.
This trip, once again, put us in a country that has a public sanitation system and many aspects of its infrastructure that surpass the US. I don't know why the US has lagged behind in the areas. Spain/ Europe have had the same, if not worse, economic hardships as the US. Maybe it is the size of our country that makes it difficult to keep up. It would really be nice to have a train system like that in Spain. It is a great way to travel. They have traffic issues, as well. But a lot of pressure is taken off highways, etc, by the trains.
Best of all, they have chocolate and churros.
This trip seemed to have more than its share of obstacles. New camera breaking, blog difficulties (thanks Google) that added much time to the preparation, lost glasses, tooth problems, a rogue tour operator (never use Naturanda and don't let the tour agencies use them either), and others. But we persevered and did not let it get in our way. Good teamwork.
No comments:
Post a Comment