One Year Ago

Rita Barcelona


Watching the rain falling on a chilly autumn day in Vancouver got us thinking about where were last year at this time, which was in Barcelona and on the island of Mallorca, where there's definitely more sun this time of year than there is here in the Pacific Northwest.

We stayed in the Old Town section of Barcelona - which turned out to REALLY be in the old town part of the city. Had all of the scuzzy ambience of Southeast Los Angeles, but at least it put us close to the center of things, and was easy getting around on their Metro to see the sights. The city really is unique - you're not going to mistake it for anyplace else you've ever been, mainly due to the influence of a man named Gaudi on the local architecture. It's as if Dr. Seuss had a few and then been given free reign to design & construct some of the buildings.



One of Gaudi's Buildings

The city traces its origins back to Roman times - in fact there are still sections of the old Roman walls visible in places. Of historical note was the fact that the "Barca" from which the Roman Colony originally took its name was a family name of its principal citizen at the time...who was the father of Hannibal - the Carthagenian General who attacked Rome by taking his army thru the Alps on elephants.

We did a couple of day trips via the local rail system to some of the outlying areas near the city, one of which was to the old Monastery at Montserrat - the place was built as a fortified position several hundred years ago during the Middle Ages, and the primary way to get there is via cable car. The ride takes about 20 minutes and elevates you from the valley floor to the site of the monastery itself about 1500 hundred feet above.


Montserrat

Stayed in the little town of Fornalux on Mallorca, another ancient hillside town that must be the prettiest village in Spain. From there it was a pleasant hike down the valley to the town of Soller. From there you could hop on the local train down to the Port of Soller - really picturesque and with lots of great local hikes out into the countryside. During our travels we take special note of those places we like enough to consider a return visit someday, and Mallorca has to rank near the top of the list. Admittedly, the quality of the local Cava may have helped sway our opinion a bit.


The Port of Soller


Local Transportation to the Beach