Trip to South Carolina – July 21-26, 2015

A friend of mine from work asked me to go with her to SC very spear of the moment for for her daughters softball tournament. Luckily I was able to switch my vacation and go with her. Her daughter plays softball and she did not want to drive alone. I had not been to SC since June of 1995! We packed up on Monday night and left early Tuesday morning. Three girls and two adults in a sedan car for about 13 hours. fun, cramped and silly. The other girls were sisters and the daughters of another softball mom my friend knows. Their mom could not drive down until Friday

We made good time and arrived in Florence, SC that evening. The next day, Wednesday,  I drove us to Myrtle Beach for the day. That was much needed beach time for me. We waded in the water (yes mindful of sharks due to the recent and prevalent attacks in NC and SC) and I took pictures, some of the girls took pictures. I grabbed some sand and shells for my collection also. We wandered on the boardwalk, shopped, rode the Sky Wheel, ate, visited the pier and shopped some more. The girls all got selfie sticks and had a good time using those. We had a memorable experience with a weird guy on the beach (laughing out loud!!)

I could have spent more time at the beach but I was content for what time I did get. I definetly started my tan while at the beach. We drove home, hung out at the pool at the hotel, had pizza and finally fell asleep.

We spent Thursday in and around the pool at the hotel. There were other members of the softball team staying there and they set up a tent and cooked out almost every night. Our room was really close to the pool. That afternoon, well evening I suppose, we headed to the softball fields for opening ceremonies and the activities. They had a HR derby, fastest runner, land ongest toss games for the teams. It stormed a tad bit but nothing too horrible. A large group of us ate at Ruby Tuesday after the opening ceremonies. It rained the rest of the night but that was the only day it rained. Florence was a nice place and pretty easy to navigate as well.

Friday the softball tournament started. The girls lost the first game but came back and won the second. Saturday they beat the number one seed and they were a SC team. They did not take it with good sports like attitude. The team or at least some of them were staying in the same hotel and they broke a light in the pool on Friday night. when we came back from the park Saturday the pool was still being filled. we chilled, grilled out, teased and joked around while that team caused havok while waiting for the pool to open.

Sunday, the final day of the tournament and the girls were doing well. They had to play the other team I mentioned and lets just say the tourament officials did not want an OHIO team winning. The girls had the bases loaded with 2 out, down by 3, batter foul tips out of catchers glove, rolls to backstop and batter goes to first un-challenged (catcher never made an attempt tp throw to first, run scores. Umpire says nope, batter out and game over. Oh there was an uproar let me tell you. It was a bad call and a horrible thing to do to the girls who would have at least tied if nnot gotten the lead. One parent got tossed. The girls got 3rd place and a plqque. We stayed to watch a bit of the next game between the winners out our game and the other team. It was already about 4pm and we needed t get on the road to make our way home. The last we heard from parents who stayed was the other team playing that team was winning, I hope they lost.

Portsmouth, Ohio – Celebrating Roy Rogers

Saturday August 8, 2015

I went down to Portsmouth to the Roy Rogers Festival with my family on August, 8 for my birthday. My mom grew up with his TV shows and movies and used to come down to Portsmouth a lot when she was a youth. There are some family somewhere in the hills and in Sciotoville and Lucasville. My mom’s birthday is July 28th so the last few years we have combined our birthdays as far as activities go.

She had been wanting to go down to Portsmouth for a while even besides the festival so I made it happen. The trip is about 2hrs give or take.

The drive is pretty. My town is a bit flat and southern Ohio is hilly. We found the Holiday Inn where the festival was being held pretty easy. It faces the south and the Ohio River. The conference room in the hotel was full of vendors and some of the celebrities who came to the festival. This was the last day of the festival and dress up day. There was a man dressed like John Wayne and Tonto and among others as well.  We bought our dinner tickets to the evening banquet with the stars and then wandered around the vendor area. We spoke with Steve Connors, the son of Chuck Connors (Lucas McCain). Chuck was the star of The TV show The Rifleman (1958-1963). He was such a nice man and humbled by the out pouring of love everyone’s bowed towards his father. Johnny Crawford, (Mark McCain/The Rifleman – also a former Mouseketier) had been at the festival earlier in the week but had to leave for a concert performance with his Band (the Johnny Crawford Orcestra). A lady there with Steve showed us a picture of him from the other day.

After we looked at the vendors we left the hotel and took a drive to the Murals along the Ohio River. Sometime after the river flooded in 1937 they built the flood walls. Rather than just have plain walls they put murals on the walls to commemorate Portsmouth’s  and Ohio history. It’s done very nicely and a site to see to be sure. I bought mom a Roy Rogers ornament in the Vistors Bureau.

   The flood wall depicting Ohio’s famous Indian, Tecumseh who was from the area. In Chillicothe, there is an outdoor drama performed in the summer months telling the story of Tecumseh.

We ate at Penn Station (our first time actually) and did some antique shopping in downtown Portsmouth. Since it was my birthday she bought me a few things as well. I’m not picky and I like a vast number of things. So, I ended up with a Clint Eastwood photo, a Joe Nuxhall baseball card, a bracelet and NKOTB trading cards. Some combo huh.

After we shopped we headed back to the hotel lobby, looked around and relaxed. We had dinner in the conference room. They introduced the stars, and had an auction. We left before that was completely finished since it was 9:30.

We had a nice, peaceful day and it was beautiful weather as well.

  Steve Connors

 The Ohio River

Montserrat & Barcelona, Spain

This morning we had our last breakfast in Valencia. As I savored my last glass of truly wonderful orange juice (Valencian Oranges!!!) my thoughts turned to the bus trip to Montserrat and Barcelona. It has been 6 years since my first time there.

Brad gave mom and Dianna the daily pain medicine. We wandered back upstairs to grab our bags. Goodbye Valencia and hello Montserrat. We walked to a block down to the main street to catch our motor coach. The street where our hotel is was too narrow to come right up to the hotel. We left the city and soon began to see the blue Mediterranean Ocean. Port Adventura Amusement park was visible at one point by the roller coasters on the skyline. That was nice to see. I had heard about it it but obviously never seen it.

We stopped at a bus stop on the highway. These are much more than just roadside rest areas like we have in America. They more closely resemble the large truck stops like Love’s or Pilot but even then they do not compare. They are larger and are much nicer. Dianna and I ended up buying some Sangria here for later. *wink wink*

We headed first to Montserrat. This is a monastery that is literally built on a mountain. The road up the mountain is pretty breathtaking besides winding and steep. If you have ever been to Sedona,AZ it is like that only much higher. While climbing to the top you are treated to the view of the Pyrenees Mountains which create a natural boundary between Spain and France.

As you can imagine, the streets and parking area up there is pretty narrow. That being said, there were at least 7 motor coach buses there besides regular cars. We were let off the bus and made our way to the main building for a bathroom break. The building was being worked on so some areas were not open. Hugo led us down the rather long bridge to the actual monastery. I am not fond of bridges but I did not mind this one. The view of the Pyrenees, the tram train and the monastery itself. Once we reached the small little community as I called it, we stopped for lunch in the cafe there. Ah, memories. While mom, Dianna, Juanita and I were eating, one of them said the man sitting at the next table looked like Barney Fife. Sure enough, he did. It was creepy!! That was pretty funny. After we ate we watched an educational video (geared to smaller children I think but interesting none the less. The museum depicted the history of the monastery with videos, photos and relics from the past. We wandered up the stairs to the courtyard and the actual monastery. This monastery where the “black virgin” is housed. The statue has been blackened over time by the candle soot. This is Catalunya’s most revered religious symbols. She holds an orb that people can touch and it is said they are blessed if they touch it. You are not allowed to speak in the monastery either. Once we left the monastery we had a wine tasting in the gift shop for the adults. Hugo did not like the way the lady administered the tasting. I guess she acted oddly. I did not catch what she said since it was in Catalan not Spanish. Either way it was a nice experience. Shortly after that, we headed back to the main building and back to our coach.

We headed back down the mountain and headed to Barcelona. (YAY!!!!!)

It is only about 25 minutes south to Barcelona. I knew when we were coming into the city. I recognized things. Though, when I was last in Barcelona, I approached from the southern part of the city rather than the northern part. We came in by the port of Barcelona and Castel Monjunic (A fortress on top of a hill, near the Olympic Stadium). Our hotel was relatively close to this area. We were dropped off at the hotel, got checked in (and let me just say, being in Spain, my last name is NEVER mispronounced.  I love it!!) My room was a front facing room and with a very nice view of the city. We cleaned up and met down in the lobby and headed off to La Ramblas. We had some free time once Hugo pointed out the Christopher Columbus statue at the start of La Ramblas. Mom and I walked with Juanita and Dianna, bought some souvenirs and I looked for some of the places I saw in 2009. I just love that street. Vibrant, bustling with life and entertainment. I pointed out La Poma, the place me, mom, Stef and Donna ate at our last night in Barcelona in 2009. Ah, memories! I felt like wonderful and so happy to be in Barca.

We met Hugo at the end (or beginning depending on which end you started at haha) near the Gran Via (a block down) and near The Hard Rock Cafe. I asked  Hugo about a few streets so I basically knew where I was. My last hotel was on the Gran Via so it wasn’t too far. We walked back to the hotel and after some mingling and socializing we went to bed. Mom and I ended up in Dianna and Juanita’s room. We had ourselves some sangria! Madison came in, had a taste and we had a good time giggling.Good times!!

Tomorrow the long awaited Sagrada Familia Cathedral. SUPER EXCITED!!! to see the changes in 6 years!

Valencia, Spain

Today we had an early wake up call at 6 so we could be ready for the train trip (Renfe) to Valencia. Hugo arranged for us a “take away” bag for breakfast since we were leaving before breakfast. After a short delay we were on our way to the Atoche Station. We had about a half hour to wait and the trip took about 1 1/2 hrs to arrive in Valencia.

Once here we boarded our bus and made our way to the Hotel to check in. We then had a small walking tour of the immediate area. We all had free time and then met the local guide at 2:30. We toured the Valencia Cathedral, visited other spots such as old colleges, post offices, city hall, other buildings and façades of the cathedral. We had free time and then dinner at 8 at el forret resturante. Tonight we dined on traditional Paella from Valencia (no rabbit only chicken). We then had a 30+ min walk back to the other end of the city to our hotel.

Tomorrow we visit the Market and the Art and Sciences and the Oceanographic museum.

Toledo, Spain

March 24

Hola! Today we had a day trip from Madrid to Toledo. A motor coach picked us up near the hotel. Once we arrived we took in the city by a panoramic view from above with views of the Cathedral and Palace. The Tajo river runs along the border and creates a natural defense on one side where the other side of the city is surrounded by walls. After the pano view we went into town and stopped at the Sword making shop. This shop makes jewelry, trinkets, swords (Lord of the Rings swords) and other items with inlaid gold. We watched a blacksmith and an apprentice at work. Once we finished that we went into the city center with a local guide for a walking tour of the city. We saw the Cathedral de Toledo, Santo Tope cathedral to see the painting by El Greco (Burial of Count Orgaz), we had free time for lunch and shopping.

We met after lunch and started the trip back to Madrid via our bus. Once we returned some students with with Señor to Estadio Bernabeau, where Real Madrid plays futbol (soccer). The rest shopped and wandered at their leisure around Madrid until meeting time for dinner. We had dinner as a group at Prado Tope. We all enjoyed this restaurant. The food was excellent.

Tomorrow we have an early day. We catch a train at Atoche station at 8:40, to Valencia.

Spain 2015 PHS Trip Day 1/2

Bienvenido! Saturday March 21 we left Port Columbus for JFK Airport in New York. We did leave a bit late and we had a gate change but all went rather smoothly.
Spain blog

Bienvenido! Saturday March 21 we left Port Columbus for JFK Airport in New York. We did leave a bit late and we had a gate change but all went rather smoothly.

After a 4 1/2 hr layover in JFK we finally left New York at 7:50 pm Sunday March 22 and officially began our journey to Spain. The flight took roughly 6 hrs and 34 minutes. The food was decent. I think everyone was surprised by that.

The sunrise was gorgeous as we entered Spain and began our descent to Madrid. We landed around 7:45 am local time and made our way to the Customs/passport area, which included a tram to another section of the terminal. After passing the passport area we headed to the baggagage claim and then met our guide, Hugo. We promptly boarded the bus and headed into the city. We soon discovered there was a marathon being run in the city. We circled once then found a traffic cop and were allowed to make our way to our hotel, El Regente, located off The Gran Via in the city center. Some of our rooms were ready some were not. Those rooms that were ready we used for storing the bags.

We met back in the lobby and were on our way to The Royal Palace of Madrid a short walk from our hotel. We had an appointed time for our tour at 11 am. After a short wait and passing security we entered the courtyard to the Palace and made our way to the entrance. We retrieved our headphones to better hear our guide and the. Began at the Staircase of the Palace where we learned about the frescos on the ceiling, took a few photos and then began the tour of the Palace. Now all the rooms are open and some were open this time that were not previously (at least that was the general consensus). Two of my favorite rooms was the Stradivarius violins rooms and The Thrown room. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We then had free time to explore the courtyard. Some of the students took pictures of the courtyard and the front of the Palace, visited the Palace gift shop, the park area and the Cathedral opposite to the Palace, Almudena Cathedral. We met with our director, Hugo around 1pm and made our inside the Almudena Cathedral.

After a short visit to the cathedral we visited Plaza de La Villa, then stopped for lunch near Mercado de San Miguel (this is a modern market popular for lunch) near Plaza Mayor. The student split up in groups and explored the market and surrounding area. A short walk was Plaza Mayor where street performers entertain the crowds. There are shops and restaurants also in Plaza Mayor. Once our hour was up we headed into Plaza Mayor with Hugo and learned some interesting facts about the plaza’s history and famous entry ways. We proceeded to Puerta Del Sol. This plaza has the famous Bear and strawberry statue, shops and 0 KM. This is very similar to 0 mile in Florida. All point in Spain start here and branch out.

We returned to the hotel at this point for a small break and to determine what we should do since it was raining. After and hour, it was still raining but it did slack off and stop. We decided to walk to the Chueca quarter. This area is known for shopping and mostly shoes. This area is also known for its modernista building designs.

We broke for some free time along the shopping area and met back at Mercado In the area. After our free time we walked back to Puerta del Sol area to our restaurant, La Catedral. This is a sit down place we had ate at in the past. The food was excellen as well as the atmosphere. During our dinner the Madrid and FC Barcelona futbol game started and when we left many tapas bars and places were watching El Clasico as it is affectionately called. Some of the students stopped for ice cream on our way back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we will see a bull fighting ring, The Retiro Park and The Prado Art Museum.

After a 4 1/2 hr layover in JFK we finally left New York at 7:50 pm Sunday March 22 and officially began our journey to Spain. The flight took roughly 6 hrs and 34 minutes. The food was decent. I think everyone was surprised by that.

The sunrise was gorgeous as we entered Spain and began our descent to Madrid. We landed around 7:45 am local time and made our way to the Customs/passport area, which included a tram to another section of the terminal. After passing the passport area we headed to the baggage claim and then met our guide, Hugo. We promptly boarded the bus and headed into the city. We soon discovered there was a marathon being run in the city. We circled once then found a traffic cop and were allowed to make our way to our hotel, El Regente, located off The Gran Via in the city center. Some of our rooms were ready some were not. Those rooms that were ready we used for storing the bags.

We met back in the lobby and were on our way to The Royal Palace of Madrid a short walk from our hotel. We had an appointed time for our tour at 11 am. After a short wait and passing security we entered the courtyard to the Palace and made our way to the entrance. We retrieved our headphones to better hear our guide and the. Began at the Staircase of the Palace where we learned about the frescos on the ceiling, took a few photos and then began the tour of the Palace. Now all the rooms are open and some were open this time that were not previously (at least that was the general consensus). Two of my favorite rooms was the Stradivarius violins rooms and The Thrown room. Our guide was knowledgeable and friendly. We then had free time to explore the courtyard. Some of the students took pictures of the courtyard and the front of the Palace, visited the Palace gift shop, the park area and the Cathedral opposite to the Palace, Almudena Cathedral. We met with our director, Hugo around 1pm and made our inside the Almudena Cathedral.

After a short visit to the cathedral we visited Plaza de La Villa, then stopped for lunch near Mercado de San Miguel (this is a modern market popular for lunch) near Plaza Mayor. The student split up in groups and explored the market and surrounding area. A short walk was Plaza Mayor where street performers entertain the crowds. There are shops and restaurants also in Plaza Mayor. Once our hour was up we headed into Plaza Mayor with Hugo and learned some interesting facts about the plaza’s history and famous entry ways. We proceeded to Puerta Del Sol. This plaza has the famous Bear and strawberry statue, shops and 0 KM. This is very similar to 0 mile in Florida. All point in Spain start here and branch out.

We returned to the hotel at this point for a small break and to determine what we should do since it was raining. After and hour, it was still raining but it did slack off and stop. We decided to walk to the Chueca quarter. This area is known for shopping and mostly shoes. This area is also known for its modernista building designs.

We broke for some free time along the shopping area and met back at Mercado In the area. After our free time we walked back to Puerta del Sol area to our restaurant, La Catedral. This is a sit down place we had ate at in the past. The food was excellent as well as the atmosphere. During our dinner the Madrid and FC Barcelona futbol game started and when we left many tapas bars and places were watching El Clasico as it is affectionately called. Some of the students stopped for ice cream on our way back to the hotel.

Tomorrow we will see a bull fighting ring, The Retiro Park and The Prado Art Museum.

Viaje a Espana – Coming Soon!

I have an upcoming trip to Spain coming up, March 21 through March 29th. I hope to live blog while touring the country. I do not want to blow out my data usage but I want to blog my experiences. I may actually blog it first at my LiveJournal site and then copy/paste and modify over here after that initial post.

I will have a brand new Canon Rebel to use in my journeys so I am uber excited!!!

My (tentative) Itinerary is as follows:

1. Saturday March 21, 2015, departure from Ohio en-route to Madrid
2. Sunday March 22, 2015 Arrival Madrid, Spain
   1. Visit Palacio Real  & Garden – The Royal Palace
   2. Visit Plaza Mayor
   3. Puerta del Sol/shop
   4. Free time
   5. Dinner
3. Monday March 23, 2015 – Madrid –
   1. Visit The Prado Museum (Art)
   2. Visit The Retiro Park; Crystal Palace, The Alfonso XII Monument
   3. Visit Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas (Largest Bullring in Spain)
   4. Visit Taurino Museum
   5. Shopping/Free time in Cheuca area
   6. Dinner
4. Tuesday March 24, 2015 – Excursion to Toledo
   1. Visit Sword Maker
   2. Local guide provided to tour Cathedral de Toledo
   3. Visit The Church of Santo Tome – Which houses El Greco’s Burial of Count Orgaz
   4. Free time
   5. Dinner/Return to Madrid
5.  Wednesday March 25, 2015 – Ave Train to Valencia
   1. Walking tour (with guide) of Valencia
      1. Barrio del Carmen
      2. The Cathedral (said to house the Holy Grail Chalice)
      3. Free time
      4. Dinner
6. Thursday March 26, 2015 – Valencia
   1. Mercado Central
   2. The Science Museum
   3. I’Oceanografic (World’s Largest Marine Park)
   4. Dinner/free time/night life
7. Friday March 27, 2015 – Bus to Montserrat
   1. Renaissance Basilica (houses La Moreneta)
      1.  Bus to Barcelona in afternoon
      2. Visit La Ramblas/Free time
      3. Dinner/night life
      4. Monumento a Colon (Christopher Columbus monument at the end of La Ramblas)
8. Saturday March 28, 2015 – Barcelona
   1. Visit Parc Guell (Gaudi)
   2. Visit Barrio Gotica (guided) and enter Cathedral
   3. Visit Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family) Cathedral (audio guide)
   4. Free time (I plan on going to El Camp Nou – Home of FC Barcelona – Futbol Club)
   5. Dinner and a flamenco show/night life
9. Saturday March 28, 2015 Return Home
   1. Depart from Barcelona arrival late evening

Nashville & Cincinnati Trip

I always enjoy a trip. Nashville is such a nice city and makes any trip worth the drive!

I left town on Friday June 6th, with my sister and mother for our trip. We live in Ohio, so it’s about a 9 hour trip with bathroom/gas stops. Of course, the road conditions in KY certainly slow the trip. That’s a completely different post. haha. We always stop in White House, TN, which is about 10 minutes North of Nashville. White House, is a very nice small TN town. I’ve gone a number of years down to see Bryan White and the last few years, rather than drive down and straight back, we have been staying in White House. We stay at the Best Western there and it could not be any nicer! If you ever plan on going to Nashville but do not want to stay in Downtown, you should consider staying in White House. (Trip Advisor Reviews Here)

If you are not familiar with Bryan, he’s a country singer and 1996 Horizon’s Award Winner (CMA). He has had 17 singles on Billboard and six of them went to #1 including “Someone Else’s Star” and “Rebecca Lynn”. Bryan is from Oklahoma and a tremendous guitar player as well.  He sang “From this Moment” with Shania Twain, is close friends (and toured with) LeAnne Rimes, helped Hunter Hayes in the early days. Hunter actually performed at a Fan Club Party a number of years ago with Bryan.  You can read more on Bryan White at his website www.bryanwhite.com or at Wikipedia.

Bryan is celebrating 20 years in the business.He started in 1994 and has came a long way. Bryan is a truly wonderful person to whom I’ve had the chance to meet many times along the last 20 years. He doesn’t have the Big Head. He’s still the same boy next door. He’s down to earth, humble and a real person. Saturday’s party, as is the normal, was a casual get together to share stories, new music and give back to the fans who have supported him all these years. His voice may not always be perfect. So what? he’s spent his life singing/entertaining and such is the life that you have that. We don’t care. Bryan always remembers you and we can always reminisce about past times.

Bryan tuned up his guitar (always misplaces something, usually it’s in his pocket! haha), sang a few songs, we talked, some shared stories from back in the early days. I love his story about the time he miss spoke about the lakes in MN.  He once said something like, “Thanks Minneapolis! The land of a thousand lakes!” Of course, it’s the land of ten thousand lakes.

my sister, me, Bryan and my mom

Bryan brought his friend Andrea Pearson with him. She sang a few songs and just always blows me away! She is quite the singer herself! I had the chance to talk to her while the meet and greet was getting organized. She is such a nice person herself. Please check her out on her website, www.amandapearson.com and she is also on Facebook.

Bryan’s wife, Erika Page White, and their two sons, Jackson and Justin were also there. You may have seen Erika on TNT’s Private Lives of Nashville Wives. Erika is an actress who has appeared on One Life to Live. I only watched Private Lives of Nashville Wives to see her and Bryan. When I spoke with her at the party, while she was cutting up the anniversary cake, I told her I was proud to know her and Bryan and that I respect them both for their integrity they maintained throughout the show.

Erika never lowered herself to the other wives’ level. She’s a true person and she stuck to her strong family values. Whatever “so called” bad habits or personality traits those wives  may have thought she had  are inconsequential! The “sponge” factor she was dubbed for was ridiculous. The life she and Bryan have made for themselves and their children is part of the family value and I love it.

She was really appreciative of my praise for her. She told me that she knew she had the support of Bryan’s fans and that is part of what kept her going in some ways. I mentioned to her that I would yell at the TV and she laughed and told me, “So did Bryan!”

Bryan, as usual is just so loving. He called my mom, mom and gave her his usual big hug. We talked about my niece, who a long time ago was so shy when meeting him she wouldn’t talk. he signed her bandana and made her feel special. A few years back, he spoke to her on the phone at the party also. He was overwhelmed when I told him she was almost 21 now and living in MS. He said she needed to come out and see him when he’s in Meridan. He’s such a wonderful soul.

The next part of the trip, on Sunday was the trip back home but on the way back home to Ohio, we took in a Cincinnati Reds game. Cincinnati is one of my favorite cities. I also love the Reds. 🙂

Usually we arrive early to the game so arriving late was strange to me. We bought bleacher seats but didn’t bother to goto them. We hang out at the Power Stacks in Right Center Field with other Reds fans. We hadn’t seen them yet this season so it was good to catch up with them. We had some good excitement during the game and won. After a win, we waited outside the garage for glimpses of the players. We save Todd Frazier and finally, Brandon Phillips. Brandon was supposed to stop for his daily game doughnuts from Chuck D #1 Reds fan but he was late leaving and didn’t stop. Chuck interacts and talks to Brandon a lot. Chuck D is a bit of an eccentric and exciting fan who has the opportunity to talk to many of the players.  After we saw the players we went to Long John Silvers (they offer a free platter for Reds fans on game days) with our friends, including Chuck D.

 

So, it was a good trip. No major problems or issues. I mention this because I’ve had incidents in the past.

 

Travel Memories /Barcelona Spain

Ah travel memories. They are wonderful are they not? I have been privileged to have many travel memories and experiences. Photos, momentos, souvenirs, clothing, cars, people, sights, sounds and even food can remind us of times gone by while traveling.

As I changed my Facebook profile this morning I was searching through pictures from my first trip to Spain 2009. I spent quality time with my mom and I won’t forget that time. What a lovely time it was! That trip was the trip of a lifetime. I had never been to Europe and planned the trip with my good friend Stef. She was well traveled, even then. I had always hoped I would make it to Spain one day but I had resolved that it wouldn’t happen and if or when I did make a big trip I would have to settle for England. I know, right? Imagine someone saying they would settle for England. Don’t get me wrong, I would absolutely love to see England. But for a woman who has the Spanish in her blood I guess it was natural. Though I was not raised to speak Spanish, I always had an interest in learning the language and learning the culture and rich history. The dream of some day being able to visit a wonderful place was at that point out of the question, or so I thought.

Stef and I had discussed places to plan a trip to and she mentioned it. When we got serious about it I was so excited. I remember thinking, “my lord, is it really going to happen? Will I really get to goto this place?” Once things were finalized and booked I was thrilled. I would finally be able to use what little Spanish I knew and see the sites of Spain.

When I stepped off that plane on Spanish soil it was amazing. Though Stef and my mom knew basics, Donna, Stef’s mom knew practically nothing of the language. I was expected to read and navigate. I think even if they didn’t expect that, it would have happened. Everywhere we went the people looked to me to translate or reply. Hmm, dark hair and eyes and the Spanish look in general must be why. (Laughs)

My true “OMG” moment was when I saw La Sagrada Familia Catedral (Sacred Family Cathedral) in Barcelona. If you are not familiar with this Cathedral let me enlighten you.

This is Antonio Gaudi’s unfinished cathedral. Construction began in 1882 (Gaudi joined in 1883) but was slowed considerably for many years after his unfortunate death in 1926. The construction relied on private donations which were slowed by the Spanish Civil War in the 1950’s and General Franco’s dislike for the Catalan area. It wasn’t until 2010 that the project passed a midpoint in construction with an estimated completion year of 2026.

For more facts about this go here to Wikipedia.

Now back to my wow moment. We had gotten on the “Hop on Hop Off” tourist bus and was headed to this site. I could see it of course before we arrived. My first glimpse of it was through a break in the buildings and trees turning a corner. I felt giddy. I believe I even stood up and gasped.
I was snapped pictures when I was able through the buildings.

We arrived at the bus stop and exited the bus. You had to walk through a little grove of trees and sand to get to the front of the building. It was like the sun poking out of a dreary sky after a storm. The trees gave way and then BOOM! There it stood before me like a giant in a fairy tale story. I snapped pictures of course. Haha, from all sorts of angles. Then I just stood there. I wasn’t aware of what my party was doing to be honest. They all knew this was what I came here to see. I stood and said [to my mom, I think], “OMG I’m really here, in Spain, standing in front of La Sagrada Familia!” I was totally amazed. Eventually we moved on and found the end of the long line to tour it. I did not mind. I was able to stand and take additional photos and hear the bells chime at the noon hour.

Here is one of my favorite shots from when we were standing in line.
Sagrada Familia – Barcelona, Spain 10/4/09

So we paid our 21€ ($25 or so) and entered the Cathedral. Again I was awestruck!

The ceiling is incredible. The natural light flowing into this place is extraordinary!

Checkout my Flickr Spain album

I mostly kept quiet while inside. Construction, though not currently being done, was evident all around inside. I snapped pics and just looked around everywhere I could. The stained glass reflected colorful rays around the place. Just stunning to stand there.We wandered around the crowds at a slow pace and made our way to the other facade. One totally different that the first. The original facade, old, blackened and very gothic. Again, the wonderment I felt seeing this mammoth structure.

Eventually we had to leave, having not the chance to goto the top of the towers because mom wasn’t up to it, the elevators, and the line. I’d have gone alone had it not been for mom. I told her next time I will do it.

A funny story about this time was after we left we wanted a drink so we stopped at a little place across the street. We never fail to have people come up to us, especially Stef. LOL. This time it was mom. A short, heavy set old lady approached us and made a gesture (at her mouth like she was eating) with her hands and said, ” pobre.” She repeated it over and over. I knew she meant, “poor”. I laughed and told them what she said. Anytime you travel you have to beware of this and pick pockets so we just ignored her but it was a funny experience.

Hopefully, next year when I return to Barcelona in the Spring, I will have the chance to goto the top of the towers. I hear the scaffolding and cranes are no longer there! :).

❤️ ¡Ten cuidado Barcelona volveré! I miss you!

Spain 2013 Pictures

Spain 2013 Pictures

 

Flamenco Dancer, Sevilla,ES

Alahambra, Granada, ES