1. Vacation Travel • Поездки

Spain (09.2011)

Two weeks in Spain - certainly not enough to take in or absorb all there is to see in the four cities we visited - Madrid, Alicante, Valencia & Barcelona with a day trip to Toledo. As always, we did too much, though our beach break in Alicante helped. It's easy to understand why Europeans love to vacation in Spain - fabulous weather, varied landscapes, history, culture & style.

Such striking architecture from the Medieval to the contemporary. Oh those Spanish masters - artists & architects - with their indelible contributions to civilization. Oh that sweeping history from the Romans to the great empire; and, yes, its tainted past filled with dictators & despots leading to the Inquisition, colonial cruelty, & the Civil War.

Spaniards certainly haven't lost their lust for life despite teetering on the edge of default. Their cities seem to never sleep with hordes of Spaniards & tourists wining & dining, and walking & talking until the wee hours of the morning. Glad we weren't there in high season as the crowds were a bit overwhelming even into early October. Each of the cities we visited could use another go-round, but of course, there are so many other Spanish cities to explore...

I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills, Coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain... "Beauty" ~ John Edward Masefield
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Cap of a staircase bannister.
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Cap of a staircase bannister.

ИспанияSpainEspañarusurusu photographyБарселонаBarcelonaCasa BattloGaudiAntonio Gaudi

  • The Bimbo store underground in the Madrid metro.
  • Gaudi's Casa Battlo entrance.
  • Rustem in front of Casa Battlo. Built between 1904-1906, the house was commissioned by a wealthy textile industrialist.
  • Casa Battlo windows.
  • Casa Battlo balconies.
  • Cap of a staircase bannister.
  • View onto Passeig de Gràcia through a window at Casa Battlo.
  • Swirled ceiling & lighting in Casa Battlo.
  • Casa Battlo doors.
  • Beautiful forms - there are no straight lines or 90˚ angles in the house.
  • Casa Battlo light.
  • Casa Battlo interior courtyard. The Battlo family resided in the house until the mid 1950s.
  • Beautifully tiled interior courtyard and windows. Casa Battlo is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
  • Looking onto the rooftop from inside Casa Battlo.
  • Listening to the audio tour on the roof of Casa Battlo.
  • A service room in the attic of Casa Battlo.
  • Rustem admiring the arches arches in the attic of Casa Battlo.
  • Casa Battlo rooftop chimneys.
  • Rustem near the 'dragon's back' on the roof of Casa Battlo.
  • Three dimensional cross atop Casa Battlo.
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