September 11, 2019

September 11, 2019

We are on the move again. We leave our Madrid hotel and travel to the train station and catch the high speed train to Barcelona. This line reaches speeds in excess of 180 mph as it whisks us east to the coast.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia. Spain is an amalgam of provinces that speak different languages. Spanish is only spoken in the center and south. In this region, Catalan, another Romance language is the mother tongue.

We have celebrated the Independence of several countries, including Canada, France, Belgium, Chile, and Brazil. But this is the first time that we have celebrated Un-Independence. Today is the National Day of Catalonia. It is a combination celebration of their local culture and protest in support of independence from Spain. On September 11, 1714, Barcelona fell to the Spanish army and the region lost their Independence. Catalan culture was suppressed for many years.

On this holiday, many residents are displaying the Catalan flag, wearing a turquoise solidarity t-shirt, and massing in several areas around the city. On the way to our hotel we get caught in traffic at one protest site near Barcelona’s Triumphal Arch.

From our hotel we walk to the Ramblas boulevard, the main pedestrian zone of Barcelona. In medieval times it was the stream that 'rambled' past the city wall. Along the way, Aimee gets into the spirit of the holiday and acquires a Catalan flag that the locals use as a cape.

We stop for drinks and Tapas at a restaurant along the route. Unfortunately we were getting into the merriment and a waiter took advantage and stiffed us with an overpriced tab. Just another reminder that we are never too old to learn a lesson.

We booked an evening tour of Barcelona’s icon, the unfinished Basilica of La Sagrada Familia. But we have to get there. After failing to find any empty taxis, we walk to the nearest Metro station. We literally have to push our way into the subway car because it is packed with locals travelling to one of the protest sites.

At Sagrada Familia, we circle the exterior taking photos. There are two construction cranes working on the project. Eight towers have been completed but many more are in the design. The finished towers to me look like melted Gothic.

After going through a security check, we join our English tour. We picked an evening entrance because at this hour the sun lights the interior through the stained glass. Beautiful! The church is a design of Antoni Gaudi, a pioneer in a local Modernisme architecture style. He took over the project in 1883. Unfortunately he died in a tragic accident in 1926. With his death and the later Civil War, the project languished. Barcelona and this project got a new breath of life after the city hosted the 1992 Olympics.

Our guide gave us an architectural review of the interior. The most striking feature is the many structural columns that look like a forest of trees. They branch at the top to support different elements of the church. From Sagrada Familia, it was an easy subway ride back to our hotel.