D. S. Friberg Blog

April, Part 3: Spain

From Paris, it was off to Spain.

When we left for Belgium last August, I had three countries in mind that I would like to visit: Greece, Italy, and Spain. As we were planning our big spring vacation, we talked more about going someplace beyond our northwestern corner of Europe. Meanwhile, we had a standing offer from an old family friend, Linda Okerstrom (Linda used to babysit Josh and me in West Chicago), to use her time share. She looked up what was available in Europe during the dates of our vacation, and there was one place in Sweden and one in Spain. We booked the one in Spain and then designed a 5-day vacation-inside-a-vacation around it. Thank you, Linda!      

Saturday, April 10th, we flew from Charles de Gaulle to Barcelona International, rented a car, and drove three hours south along the Mediterranean coast to our hotel near Peniscola.  Actually, it wasn’t quite that easy. In fact, we faced long lines and chaos to check-in at the airport, a delayed flight, a mixed-up car rental reservation, and a freeway closure (the Pablo Casals Freeway, incidentally).  To top it off, as we were pulling into the insanely tight parking garage at the hotel, I put a deep scratch in our brand-new (7 km on the odometer) black Peugeot.  But, we made it, and as they say in Minnesota, “It could have been worse.”      

View Larger Map      

We stayed at the Aparthotel Jardines del Plaza, which was more like a condo than a hotel.  Our unit was two levels, with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen, living room, balcony, and front porch.  It had a treacherous granite staircase to which Wes seemed drawn, and we had to keep an eye on him so that he didn’t tumble down.  The condo was just across the road from the beach, and a few miles from Peniscola, a picturesque old city on a rocky outcrop by the sea.  The N in “Peniscola” should have a tilde above it, by the way, but I can’t figure out how to make one in WordPress. On Sunday we had blue skies, so we walked all the way down the beach to Peniscola, where we explored the steep, narrow streets and toured the castle.  The castle was built at the end of the 13th Century by the Knights Templar, a Christian military order of the middle ages that was involved with the crusades and the Reconquista of Spain.  Previously, I had known of the Knights Templar only from The Da Vinci Code, so it was interesting to learn more about them and see evidence of their actual existence.  From 1425-1423, the castle was home to Pope Benedict XIII.  Benedict XIII, or “Papa Luna,” was an antipope of the Avignon line during a period following the Great Western Schism.  He was excommunicated after the Council of Constance for his refusal to abdicate, and moved into the castle as a refuge until he died.  The castle of Peniscola was also used as a set in El Cid.  Anyway, it was fun to explore and offered terrific views of the coast.      

Monday was rainy and cool, so aside from a drive to the small mountain town of San Mateo and a little beach time for Wes, we stayed in and relaxed. Katie and Cindy went to the hotel spa, and I got some practicing done.      

Tuesday we drove up to Barcelona. It was not raining there, so we got in a full day of sight-seeing. All of the good things that I had heard about Barcelona turned out to be true.  It is full of energy, good food, unique architecture, and plenty to see and do. We started off on La Rambla, the famous shopping street. There were a number of elaborately dressed human statues that would move if you gave them money. We wandered into the Mercat de la Boqueria, a street market where we found lunch. Next, we meandered through the medieval streets of the Old Town, stopping into the Museu Picasso for a couple of hours. Then up Passeig de Gracia to see two of Antoni Gaudi’s famous apartment buildings, the Casa Batllo and Casa Mila, and then over to his masterpiece, the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Familia.      

The Sagrada Familia, I have to say, is absolutely one of the coolest, most inspiring things that I have seen in my whole life.  Gaudi worked on it for 40 years, devoting himself to it entirely (even living inside it) during the last 15 years of his life.  The fascination for me lies partly in its design, and partly in the fact that it is still under construction, and has been since 1882.  As Gaudi said, “My Client is not in a hurry.”  Having seen a number of cathedrals by now, it is amazing to me to see the construction process unfolding in our own day and age. Even with all of our modern construction techniques and equipment, it is still a mind-boggling achievement.  The sheer force of human will represented in this project is in itself astonishing.  Since Gaudi is dead and many of his designs were lost in the Spanish Civil War, a number of architects and engineers have stepped in over the years to bring the vision to fruition. The two main facades show just how different the various components of the church are, while still coming together to form a strange and unified whole. The Passion Facade, designed by  Josep Maria Subirachs, has clean lines and gaunt, modern figures, while the Nativity Facade, designed by Gaudi, is a melting web of ornate details.      

The interior is beyond huge. Like most cathedrals, it seems impossible to photograph. Dave and I took an elevator to the top of the Nativity facade, where we had up-close views of the construction and panoramic views of the city. Every inch of the church is covered in symbolic carvings and statues of various sorts, some of which are bizzare. The Sagrada Familia is so wholely original and monolithic, that I am certain I will never see anything like it again. I do hope to revisit Barcelona after 2026, the scheduled completion date.     

While Dave and I were up in the church towers, Wes made a friend at the park who was from China.  He also played with the gate, currently one of his favorite things to do.  We had tapas for dinner and then drove back to Peniscola.  Katie lost her phone, but the restaurant called the next day to say they had it.     

Three interesting facts about Barcelona:  they speak Catalan there, not Spanish; Gaudi died when he was hit by a tram; to park your car in a central parking garage for one day costs 24 Euro.     

Wednesday we drove the other direction from Peniscola to Castellon, mainly so that I could talk to someone about the scratch in the car.  I was nervous because I could not read my Spanish contract and was unsure of what insurance coverage, if any, I had opted for.  As it turned out, my maximum liability was capped at 760 Euro, so I immediately felt at least a little bit better.  For dinner that night back at the condo, we boiled artichokes, which we had seen growing in fields all around our hotel.     

Thursday morning we picked up Katie’s phone at the Barcelona tapas restaurant, and went straight to the airport.  Mercifully, the rental company did not charge me for the scratch.

Up next: volcano eruptions and more of Belgium.

Leave a Comment so far
Leave a comment