Coming back into Spain from Morocco, we meandered for a few days up the Mediterranean coast. The cold waters of the Atlantic side not only changed in temperature, but the colour went from a deep green to a shimmering sky blue. It’s as if nothing moves below the surface, and the clear waters are more like a lake than a sea. The hot weather crept along with us up the road. We enjoyed basking in the late summer sunshine, swimming in boardshorts and letting the saltwater dry on our skin.
As we drew north we entered Catalonia. The spirit of this small territory is exciting. The people love art, they love partying and are deeply passionate about everything they do. This feeling is encapsulated perfectly in the capital of Barcelona. It’s a fantastic city!
As with most of Europe, the old meets the new in an intoxicating mix. Everyone rushes and bustles through the metro terminals, up and down cobbled boulevards and in and out of the many churches. There is shopping, food, sightseeing, history and art: A tourist’s wetdream.
There is one church we visited which was particularly inspiring: The Sagrada Familia. What an incredible feat of engineering!
This is a modern gothic masterpiece of a building, which started construction in 1882 and is not planned to be complete until around 2026. It is saturated with artistic symbolism, which was masterminded by the architect Antoni Gaudi.
It is like being inside a living being, walking through the halls, seeing its life and watching it still grow. I am often critical of religion, but when something so beautiful is before you, you can’t help but wonder if something that magnificent would be possible without an extra driving force such as a devotion to God.
The church was certainly Tara’s favourite single church we visited on our trip and right up there for me. It’s a must must must do if you go to Barcelona.
After spending all day exploring each crevice of the building we floated to dinner near La Rambla, the main strip of Barcelona.
We found a great vegetarian place called Organic. The Paella was among the best we have tasted, and the organic beer was a pleasant fizz to finish the day.
The next morning we picked up the coast trail and crept a bit further north to the birthplace of Salvador Dali, Figueres. There is a wild museum there, which was created by Dali himself and is touted as the largest surrealistic object in the world.
Gold eggs and bread-rolls cover the façade, and statues sit like sentinals around the building. Inside there are instalments and of course the crazy paintings, which made Dali so famous.
Without a doubt Dali is our favourite artist. It was a privilege to go to the town where he grew up and inspired his beautiful, yet egotistical mind. I cannot begin to comprehend how someone’s brain could work like his. It would be hard to imagine a common ground where anyone could fathom what went on inside that surreal coconut.
There is a great quote on one of the walls from him, which read. “Without an audience, without the presence of spectators, these jewels would not fulfil the function for which they came into being. The viewer, then, is the ultimate artist.”
With minds well and truly boggled we once again settled into Snowflake and set course for two countries we never really thought we’d go to. Switzerland and Germany.
- Tim
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