Fifth Stop: Barcelona, Spain~ Part Two

Once back on the bus with green tinted windows, I started taking more pictures. In this first picture, I was trying to capture the building in the distance, but once I saw the picture I got so tickled. The shrub growing near the street seems larger than the little car driving by.



(Just feel free to ignore me at any time.)

This next picture is of some water fountains that we saw. We were told that Barcelona had been suffering through a very long period of drought, so normally these fountains were not running during the day. (Melissa and I like to think that it was God's little surprise just for us.)



And interestingly enough, the day that we were in Barcelona, it was finally raining, which was great because they were in so much need of rain.

Like Italy and Croatia, Spain has so many beautiful flowers. I thought that these purple flowers were just magnificent!



I'm so sorry, but I just cannot help myself. These "Smart Cars" just crack me up.
Notice the size of the parking space compared to the size of the car.



(And just so you know, that probably will not be the last "Smart Car" picture that I will share with you. I'm just giving you fair warning.)

This next picture is of "The Plaça de l´Arc de Triomf." (Try saying that three times quickly.)

It was the monumental gateway which led to the enclosure of the 1888 World Fair.



You can see in comparison to the people standing near it, that it is huge!

I'm not sure what these columns were for, but I still took the picture just to give you some more of an idea of what Barcelona is like.



I believe this was a monument or fountain. There was construction going on all around it. (I'm sorry that I am not more knowledgeable, but it is hard to hear and comprehend everything on a moving tour bus with green tinted windows).



The next four pictures that I have to share with you are of two more Gaudi buildings.

This first one is called the Casa Mila.



What makes this building so unique, is that it does not have any "corners" on the building. All of the edges of the structure are rounded off or curved.



This next picture is of a building called the Casa Battlo.



It is hard to tell looking through the green tinted bus windows, but this building was so colorful. It was beautiful (in a gaudy sort of way).



(Is it just me, or do the balconies all over the building look like skeletal remains?)

Here is a picture of one of the structures that was built for the 1992 Olympic Games that were held in Barcelona. I think this was supposed to represent the Olympic torch, but please don't quote me on that.



Here is a quick peek inside the Barcelona Stadium that was used during the Olympics.



And this is the building that Bon Jovi was playing in on the very same night that we were there. Sigh.



(And unfortunately, Melissa and I did not get an opportunity to meet Jon Bon Jovi that day. Sigh.)

Here is a very bad picture of a sky tram car. You could ride on this and get an incredible view of Barcelona. (Much better than the view that you would get say, from a tour bus with green tinted windows.)



Barcelona is a large, beautiful city with a gorgeous mountain view.
I know that it is hard to comprehend that from the pictures that I have shared with you, so you are just going to need to trust me on this one.

These next two pictures are of Melissa and me in front of the Sardana Dancers Statue.



(It's nice to see something outdoors as opposed to through the green tinted bus windows, isn't it?)



Well, after a fun filled day spent in Barcelona, Spain, it was time to head back to our ship.....The Carnival Freedom.



That's all of our time in Barcelona, Spain, my bloggy buddies. So, I bet you all know what that means will be next......You guessed it; more posing nonsense followed by a delicious dinner.

Sigh.

Fifth Stop: Barcelona, Spain

Come join Melissa and me as we take a bus with green tinted windows tour of Barcelona, Spain.

(Please feel free to just ignore us once again.)



One of the first things that we saw as we started our tour of Barcelona was this bride and groom having their picture made.



Sigh.

I just love wedding pictures.

And for two homesick girls, this next sign we saw through the green tinted bus window was a welcome sight, as well as a sweet reminder of home.



Sigh.

(And just to let you know, our bus was that close to the Starbucks' building....I did not zoom in with my camera. Shiver.)

If I remember correctly (and the jury is still out on this), these next two pictures are of a monument dedicated to the memory of Christopher Columbus.



It is difficult to take decent pictures from the inside of a moving tour bus with green tinted windows, and this monument was so tall that I had to take two shots of it to try to let you see the whole thing. (I was very dedicated to taking pictures of everything to share with you, my bloggy buddies.)



I have no idea what this next building was, but it was really beautiful.



And I'm sorry to say, that I also have no idea what the name of this building is either, but it was stunning. (Of course, I do realize that there is a name on the front of this building, but I just don't have any idea of what it says.....Do you?)



If you have read this blog even once before, then you know that I am a girl who gets a kick out of the "little" things in life. So, you'll understand when I tell you that I really got a kick out of these chocolate covered almonds that I bought in Barcelona.



Sigh.

They were sooooo delicious! And you will all be very happy to know that I did share some of these yummy chocolate covered almonds with Melissa, unlike my cannoli.

Melissa was posing with her salty treat from Barcelona, much like one of Bob Barker's Drew Carey's lovely ladies on "The Price is Right."



(Can you guess how many Euros for this bag of salty treats that I can't pronounce the name of?)

This next picture is of a sign in the bathroom at the little store in Barcelona that all forty of us ladies on the tour bus had to use the bathroom at.



When we read this sign, we got so tickled! (Especially when we thought of Kenny and Yvette.)



It was so funny, because there was no way to really mess up the water closet, because there was no toilet paper or paper towels in the water closet.

(Is it just me, or does water closet sound much more proper than "the bathroom?")

Once we were able to compose ourselves, Melissa took this picture of me "showing" you "The Price is Right" style the empty toilet paper container.



Thank God, I am a lady who doesn't leave the house without a roll of "Charmin To Go" in my bag, so Melissa and I were okay......But I can't speak for the other thirty-eight women.

(FYI~ If you ever decide to go to Europe, take several rolls of "Charmin To Go" with you; bathrooms not having paper was a common occurrence during our trip. But I will share more about that in a later post.)

After we were finished with all of our bathroom nonsense, we had about ten minutes to look around outside. The little store with no toilet paper was located right across the street from this magnificent church building, which is still under construction.



"Isn't that church 'gaudy'?" you ask.

Well, it's very funny that you should ask me that. It is indeed very "gaudy," but not in the way you think.



It was created by a "now" famous architect with the last name of Gaudi. He is now deceased, but when he was alive, everyone thought his designs were ridiculous. (I will have more of them in the next post.) But after his death, people became intrigued with his work.

His name along with his designs, is where we get the term and definition for the word "gaudy."

Gaudy:
1: ostentatiously or tastelessly ornamented 2: marked by extravagance or sometimes tasteless showiness

The name of this church is the Sagrada Familia.
I can't remember the exact dates and times, but they have been working on this building for many, many years, and it is going to take many, many more to see it through to its completion.



It is a massive structure, and it's unbelievably gaudy ornate.



In order for you to appreciate how massive this church building is, click on the picture below to enlarge it. You will notice over to the left hand side of the picture (almost half way down the photo), that there is something resembling a white dot. The white dot is a full grown man's tee shirt.



Pretty incredible, huh?

Well, right before getting back on the tour bus with green tinted windows, Melissa had me snap a picture of this lady's "interesting hair do." Melissa wanted so badly to take a pair of scissors and cut that little "rat tail" off of her head.



Melissa was just saying is all.

That's all for now; I will torture you all with more from Barcelona, Spain, next time.