Barcelona, Spain.

After a hop, skip, and a jump (two planes, one train), we ended up in Barcelona for the first part of our trip. The weather was sunny and crisp--cooler than I would have wanted, but better than the weather for the rest of the trip.


The plaza at Las Ramblas. I love all the mini city centers located in each "neighborhood". I cannot even begin to tell you the number of tourists everywhere, even this late in the fall.


A cathedral just off the main street at Las Ramblas. This was a courtyard--beautiful with the ducks and fountain.


The Summer 1992 Olympic Games were hosted in Barcelona. This is the tower built to broadcast the televised games. It represents an athlete holding the Olympic torch.


A part of the Palace at la Plaza de Espana. We stayed in the plaza at the Hotel de Catalonia and this along with the Barcelona Olympic facilities, a botanical gardens, and other sites were within walking distance.


La Sagrada Familia. Such a visually interesting building--so many styles including Vegas-style signage on one side--a work in progress.


The Fall of Christ facade at La Sagrada Familia. This cathedral is still under construction and is not finished, even though the project started in the early 1880's with Antoni Gaudi--the Pope visited the weekend after we were there. We also stopped to see a few other works that Gaudi had created around Barcelona--wild stuff.


Torre Agbar. This is a business tower built by a French architect. You should see it lit up at night--blue and red glowing LED. It looks out of place to me, but I am no architect or designer!