June 1-June 8: Madrid, Segovia, Barcelona, Tarragona and Figueres, Spain

In Madrid, we had a horrible day of trying to locate a clinic to get our final Japanese Encephalitis shot in the vaccination series. We were sent on a wild goose chase, from one place to another, until all of the clinics were closed for the day. Disgruntled and slightly lost, we made our way to the nearest metro stop and happened upon the plaza de toros (bull ring). We bought tickets for the corrida (bullfight) later that night. We watched six separate toreros (bullfighters) try to impress the crowd…only one succeeded. The rest were imprecise and dragged out the bull’s death far too long. The people around us were shouting insults and reprimanding the fighters, telling them to go home, and “congratulating” them that they were trying to fight a bull that was so injured it could hardly move. One torero was excellent, warranting “ole!”s from the patrons.


Dragging the dead bull out of the ring

We also took a day trip out to Segovia. It’s an old town that has a more than 2,000 year old Roman aqueduct, as well as a castle (only a reconstruction, as the original burned down some time ago) which is said to be the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle at Disneyland. On the outskirts of town is an opulent palace, La Granja, with extensive gardens and fountains built by the first of the Bourbon kings in Spain. We unfortunately missed the supposedly spectacular fountain show (they are only turned on once a day) because we had to catch our train back to Madrid.


The Roman aqueduct!

We later went to Barcelona for several nights. We stayed in the Barri Gotic, a very old neighborhood with narrow streets and countless cafes, restaurants and bars. Nearby, there was an enormous, permanent outdoor market where we bought picnic supplies a couple days. Locals and tourists shop there, and it is a very cool sight. Vendors sell produce, cheese, raw meat (including chickens with their heads and feet attached, tongues of various farm animals, tripe, brains, and many other unappetizing things), deli meat, eggs (chicken, duck, goose, ostrich, quail), more kinds of seafood than you can imagine, olives, and many other goodies. One day after picking up our picnic things, we went down to the beach and had a lovely, relaxing afternoon, despite the amount of people and beach vendors. In addition to the standard topless sunbathing women, we saw several men in the nude. One man with a very round gut (Jeff and I call him Tan Man…no tan lines…) stood facing the main road, showing off what he had to offer, for a good long hour. Another man was in our line of sight towards the water. We call him Thong Man, I don’t think I need to explain why. He had a receding hairline and thin ponytail, and clearly spent too much time working on his tan. At one point he decided to remove the thong, and sat with his legs spread, back to the water and facing everyone else on the beach. When we saw him pack up to leave, he put on jeans and regular tennis shoes. Perhaps he made an unexpected visit to the beach and that is his normal choice of underwear?
Another afternoon we took a bus up to Antoni Gaudi’s Parc Guell. It is a difficult park to describe, so it’s best to just look at our pictures haha. We also, of course, went to see the Sagrada Familia cathedral, considered Gaudi’s masterpiece. It has been under construction for about a hundred years, but still only has two of its four facades completed. It is estimated to be finished in 2025, I believe. Its breathtaking exterior shows scenes in the life of Christ. The two that are finished are the birth and the passion. It is definitely a must-see.

Sagrada Familia


Jeff "surfing" at the Parc Guell


Jeff with sheep's heads...yummyyyy

One night Jeff and I went out for tapas in our hotel’s neighborhood and Jeff ordered a 1 liter beer. We picked out various little things to eat and the bartender kept asking if we wanted some of their pulpo gallego (Galician-style octopus). Apparently it was a specialty at this particular bar, so we said okay. She gave it to us a few minutes later: a dinner plate full of octopus. I told her we only wanted a tapa size, and after she said they can’t do that, I asked how much it was: twenty euro. Ridiculously overpriced! We said we were sorry, but that it was not what we were expecting and to take it back. Jeff and I got nervous about the pricing at the bar and got our check. The 1 liter beer? Thirteen euro! He’s still pretty bitter about the whole situation. Oh, and we of course had to pay for the tapas.

We took a one night trip out to Tarragona, the old capital of the Iberia peninsula in Roman times. It has many ruins to see and Jeff and I tried to combat as many as we could despite the heat. We had heard the wharf area of the city offers great seafood, so we decided to check it out. After waiting for a table, absolutely starving, for a half hour, we finally got to order an assortment of barbecued fish and shellfish. Soooo delicious! We both agreed it was the best we have ever had.
Our last stop in Spain was a town called Figueres. It is very close to the French border and has the Salvador Dali museum. It is such a fascinating museum, with more than just paintings, that it is called a “theater museum.” Check out the pictures!

Hard to see, but the title of Jeff's favorite piece: "Self Portrait with Grilled Bacon"