Travel Tales: Spain

We had a lot a lot to do in a short amount of time, and our bible for the trip was the “Let’s Go Spain & Portugal” My friend used it to book all our hostels and find the trains and buses that would get us from city to city. I did my part by offering to carry the book in my messenger bag wherever we went, but pleaded “unable to read maps” anytime I was requested to open it.

We began our trip by flying from London to Madrid. The first spot we visited was the Plaza Mayor. Although I tried to establish myself as a stupid American by purchasing a lollipop whistle and blowing it constantly, the plaza was overflowing with so many people, noises and distractions that I was only a small contributor to the din. In contrast, this 3-D panoramic image of the Plaza is totally empty. Use your mouse to simulate standing in the middle of the Plaza and spinning in place.

The rest of our Madrid stay was devoted to the very serious task of museum-going. We spent most of our time at the Museo del Prado. The Museum’s Web site provides a virtual experience of we saw in three hours at Del Prado. I couldn’t believe I was actually in Spain looking at Goya paintings. One of my favorite works wasn’t by Goya, though: it was the Correggio painting, Noli Me Tangere, which I liked because it reminded me of a sonnet that uses the same phrase.

As soon as we’d seen a little bit of everything there was to see in Madrid, we were off to our next stop. The picturesque views on train from Madrid to Seville didn’t begin to prepare me for what would be the most idyllic and aesthetically sublime activity of our trip: our visit to the Alcazar Royal palace. It was our first exposure to the discipline and passion behind medieval architecture. Throughout the trip, we wondered why modern technology was so lacking in refined detail.

We left Seville before dawn to board a train for Granada, where we would tour a far larger and more famous Moorish palace, the Alhambra. Tickets for the museum tend to sell out early, and though we were happy to get in line by 10 am and secure a tour, we were incredibly fatigued by time we entered the epic architectural sprawl. But sleep was the last things on our mind as we became transfixed by gardens, mountain vistas and medieval Islamic art. However, we were less than thrilled at 11 pm that night to embark upon a 14-hour bus trip to Barcelona instead of going to bed.

When we arrived in Barcelona at lunchtime, we were drained from the intellectual over-stimulation of museums, cathedrals, Moorish palaces and the intangible horrors of an overnight bus ride. Given that our favorite thing about the Alhambra had been the falafel we ate after we toured it, we decided our first day in Barcelona should be as mindless as possible, as long as it didn’t involve a nap. We agreed instantly that the aquarium was the next “must-see” for our trip. I can assure you that nothing will rejuvenate your spirits quite like penguins.

Once we’d recharged, we were ready to inhale the architectural, artistic and cultural wonders of Barcelona. While we were there, we were constantly moving and marveling. It felt like there was no way to see everything, but we did try. We made a particular effort to see all of the major Gaudi structures, beginning with the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. As we were already well-versed in the awesome intricacies of medieval cathedrals, the highly modern and innovative Sagrada Familia was the perfect end to our crash course in architectural history.