Shando asked me what country we were when we woke up in Barcelona, as we had changed location quite a few times in two and a half weeks.  We had heard so many languages during this trip.  Spain is a gem of a place (and yes, I do mean Catalonia, which has a very special place in my heart).  We made some impressionable memories during our visit with a particularly spacious and inexpensive Airbnb, where we got to have two cats remain with us, which made us miss our dogs even more.

This was Alex’s fourth time to Barcelona with me, and of course I grew up in Toerella de Montgri, part of Catalonia closer to the French border, when my dad was stationed in Estartit the 1970’s.

Alex had gone into Sagrada Familia the last time she was in Barcelona and said she could see the progress made since then and was thrilled to get a chance with her last minute plans to join us to get in within a reasonable amount of time.  There are only eleven more years left until this structure will be completed, which isn’t a lot when you consider it got started in the 19th Century.

This was the first time for me to actually go inside the basilica, so I’m really glad we had made reservations for a walking tour with a guide during our relatively short stay in the city of Barcelona this year. Unfortunately the battery in my headset ran out during the tour, so I had to stand uncomfortably close to the woman who was giving the tour, but I explained why in Spanish, which I think she appreciated. Pictures of course cannot demonstrate the way the light is used to tell stories in this place.  The acoustics of the choir must be amazing, but unfortunately all we heard was a lot of construction taking place on a regular weekday.

Pictured with me in one picture is my friend Hugo and his Valenciano partner, Agustin.  They were instrumental in making sure we went into the cathedral and some other parts of the oldest part of Barcelona that I had also never seen before.