Sunset on 2016

As I sit on the ship's deck watching the sun set on the Mediterranean Sea, while wearing my new favorite traveling map socks, I say good bye to 2016 and wish everyone a fabulous 2017!

Be flexible and go with the waves as they come . . . 

Happy New Year!

Barcelona and the Mediterranean Sea

Cathedral of Tarragona

The Cathedral of Tarragona was built at the highest point in the city over the old Roman religious and administrative buildings were once located. The first Christian church was built on the location by the 3rd century from reused and "recycled" stones in the city.  It was first designed as a Romanesque cathedral in 1171 AD but a Gothic facade and interiors were added in 1282 AD.  The cathedral was never finished after the black plague came through the city in 1348 AD.

The mixture of the styles is clear inside of the have as golden high alter was added in 1434 AD.  The domes are Romanesque and the high alter is Gothic.

Another style is present in the Chapel of Saint Thecla, the patron saint of Tarragona.  The baroque style chapel was completed in 1775.

The organ is locates in the center of the have and is enormous! I was fortunate to hear it being played while I visited. I recorded a minute or so and will post it when I return.  The organ was installed in the 16th century and is 20 meters high, carved of oak, cypress, elm, and poplar.

I realized when I returned to the ship that I did not take a photo of the cathedral with my tablet, just my camera! I do not want you to have to wait, so I snapped a shot of the cover of the book I bought to bring back.  It shows the Gothic facade, but you only get a hint at the Romanesque exterior on the sides.

Roman Tarragona

While it does not quite make up for not seeing Rome, I saw aqueducts today!!!!

When Tarragona was the provincial capital, it was an important city, so access to fresh water was key to its success.  The portion that is still standing is 4 km from the city.  It has two rows of arches that are 26 meters high. It was built in the first century AD.  The majority of aqueducts were underground, but there were areas where the best way to maintain the constant flow of water required them to build aqueducts as bridges.

There have been people living and building in Tarragona for more than two thousand years. They recycle stones from old buildings, borrow the arches of an existing structure, and sometimes that causes some interesting choixes to be made. Below is the corner of a building erected using stones from many places throughout the city.  Unfortunately, they included grave stones as well!

Tarragona was a significant ancient Roman city.  It was even the 

imperial of the Roman Empire between 26-25 BC when Caesar Augustus was living there while emperor.  Among the structures were temples, mansions, forums, a circus, and an amphitheater.

Below are the ruins of the spectator seating of the circus. The levels provided seating for 30,000 people to watch chariot races.  The circus was built near the end of the first century AD and separated the provincial and city government forums and administrative buildings.

The only other portion of the 325 meter long circus is the head of the circus where the racers would sharply turn for each pass down the long stretch. Charioteers would race around the long track seven times - once for each day of the week. I picture ancient NASCAR, but with literally two or four horse power! 😁

The last major structure built by the Romans in Tarragona before the collapse of the Roman Empire was the amphitheater.  It was built outside of the city walls because they had run out of space, but its location next to the sea makes for a beautiful view.  The amphitheater was built in the second century to accommodate gladiator fights.  After the fall of Rome, the Visigoths built a temple in the center of the amphitheater in the sixth century and in the twelfth century, a Romanesque Christian church was built on top of that as well. The only parts of those buildings left are the foundations that are shaped as a cross.

A benefit of the aqueducts in the Roman cities was the fresh running water available to all of the citizens.  Those fountains can still be found throughout the city today. The fountain below is one of a matching set located at the base of the stairs leading to the Cathedral of Tarragona.  It still works and I saw several people drink from it today.

This was the best that I could do for a picture of me with the aqueduct.  The area with the best view was too crowded for a selfie.  Unfortunately, I have not mastered the selfie stick enough to capture my true reaction!

Walk Around Tarragona

After about an hour on a bus from Barcelona, we arrived at the city of Tarragona, Spain.  The city became part of the Roman Empire after the Second Punic War against Carthage in 218 BC.  At the time, it was known as Tarraco and became the provincial capital for centuries.

At one time, the wall below, surrounded the city. Now, there are only sections of the wall left standing.  The rest was torn down as the city grew or were used as part of new architecture throughout the city.  The large stones along the bottom were part of the Roman wall built in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC.  The smaller stones were part of the medieval expansion and the part coming out from the rest of the wall is a fortification built to defend against Napoleon's invasion.

At the top of the hill, we came across a parade with the man of many noses or L'Home Del's Nassos. 

It is a Catalan tradition of a nose on his face with as many days as there are left in the year.  The story goes that he is ashamed of his face until December 31st when he come out and look like a normal person. When he comes out, he throws caramels to the children hhile he leads a parade through the streets. Our guide happened to have grown up in Tarragona and knew the parade route, so we were there at the start and the end, but were able to see other parts of the city in between because thw crowds were with the parade.

Tarragona has a Rambla as well. At its base is a monument to Roger L'luria who defended the city.  He is facing away from the Mediterranean Sea and facing the city.

The Balco Del Mediterrani is a 40 meter high balcony that provides a beautiful view of the sea.

Growth of Modern Barcelona (Today)

Today, Barcelona continues to grow as technology and global companies set up shop and it continues to attract tourism and wealthy visitors.

The old pier with Columbus standing guard is now a private pier for yachts of all sizes!

The Torre Agbar is a recent addition to the growing number of skyscrapers that are coming up in the newer parts of the city.  It has 4,500 LED lighted panels that move to reflect the sun to conserve energy during the day and can be controlled at night to change colors for holidays and celebrations.

The Port Olimpic was part of the design of they 1992 Games and was the site of the sailing competitions.  Today, it contains more sailboats than I could count!

Sant Sebastia Beach was formed when the sea break was built and the tide lowered from the area.  On the left side is one of the newest buildings, Vela Building, which was designed to resemble the sail of a sailboat.

Not quite warm enough for beach weather, but the breeze was pleasant.

Growth of Modern Barcelona (1992 AD)

In 1992, Barcelona hosted the Summer Olympic Games.  The city is relatively small in available land for building because of the surrounding mountains, rivers, and the sea.  So, they had to be creative iin the construction choices that would serve the Games and later the city.

The main stadium, Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium was first designed and built in 1929, but was not large enough.  So it was renovated rather than completely replaced in 1989 in preparation for the Games. It is still used today for sporting events and concerts, holding 17,000-24,000 people depending on the event.

The area to the east of the port along the Mediterranean Sea was once an industrial district, but late in the 20th century, the buildings and factories were sitting empty or with limited use.  So, most of the factories were demolished and replaced with the Olympic Village where the athletes stay during the event. Oncs the Games were over, it took less than a year for the village go be converted into a community that included apartments, schools, retail, and other services.  Below is the entrance to the Olympic Village that still contains the flag polls in the center of the road.

There is a respect for the industrial history  the area and water towers like the one below are visible throughout the area.

Growth of Modern Barcelona (1929 AD)

The second wave of change came from the 1929 International Expo. I had seen part of the buildings earlier this week when I saw the Spanish Village, but this building was where the main event was held.

It was only meant to stand for eight months, so once they decided to use it for an art museum, they had to rebuild the foundation and provide more supports for the dome.

One of the tour guides said that this building iis nicknamed the Royal Palace because the king of Spain spent one night there during the 1929 exhibition.

Today, the building is an art museum that houses a thousand years worth of art from Spanish artists in a wide range of styles from Romanesque to art nuevo in the Museu Nacional D'Art Catalunya.

At the front of the museum, the balcony provides a panoramic viww of the city with the mountains in the background.  In the center, is a forum that once contained other portions of the exhibition. Today, it provides an open air meeting place and will be the location of the city's New Year's Eve celebration.

Growth of Modern Barcelona (1888 AD)

Today's return to Barcelona was an opportunity to learn even more about this beautiful city. In the previous tour, we focused on the oldest parts of the city from both ancient Roman and medieval times.

Today, we looked at four waves of change that swept through Barcelona and expanded the city each time.  Barcelona had been a major shipping and trading city for centuries, but its first wave of modern change occurred with the World's Fair of 1888.

Spain demonstrated iits imperial and cultural significance through artictecture and art, some of which still stands today.

The Arc de Triumphe (below) was made as the entrance to the World's Fair and was designed by Catalan architect, Josep Vilaseca. This brick arch was so loved that while the rest of the facility was torn down, the arch became the entrance to a garden square that houses ths local government's parliament.

You can see the tree lined garden with the arch in the background.  The stone building to the back right is the government building.

Below, the Christopher Columbus Monument was built at the entrance to the city from Port Vell.  It also marks the end of LA Rambla, an open air market that is still thriving today.  It was built as part of the 1888 event to celebrate the imperialism of Spain because Barcelona was where Columbus returned to meet the king and queen after his journey across the Atlantic Ocean.

At the base of the column, the Spanish king and queen are carved along with symbols of the regions of Spain that supported Columbus on his voyage including Catalonia, Argon, Castile, and Leon.

Best Laid Plans...C'est la vie

I woke this morning to find that the ship was rocking more than it had last evening, but I assumed that it was due to winds as I was bumping into furniture and struggling to keep my balance. As I was preparing to head out for breakfast, they made an announcement that due to mechanical problems, we were running four hours behind our planned docking at Toulon, France.

I took advantage of the nice morning to sit on the balcony and try to get my bearings.  A couple of hours later, the captain came on the speakers and informed us that the engine could not be fixed with onboard materials and we were heading back to Barcelona for repairs.

He then told us that the cruise would not be continuing on to any of the other destinations. 😢

So, nearly 12 hours later, we are still heading to Barcelona at a very slow speed hoping to arrive sometime in the night.  I am planning to spend the day further exploring the city and wait to see what happens next!  I do know that I will make it to Rome soon, even if it not on this trip! ☺

(Below) The sun setting on the Mediterranean Sea from my balcony.

Barcelona

Today was my day to explore Barcelona, Spain and it was a lovely day!

Our tour started with a drive around the city to get a look at the overall feel of the city. I found it to be clean, friendly, and comfortable.  My tour guide was named Connie and she took great pride in her city.  She often pointed out the many positive improvements that were made after Barcelona hosted ths Olympics in 1992. They made sustainable use of the Olympic Village by converting it into residential communities with public sporting facilities.  The stadium is also used for professional football (soccer).

My favorite part of the tour was the older part containing both Roman and Medieval sections!

On the edge of the cathedral of Barcelona, there is a section of the original Roman wall. (There is a photo at the bottom oc this section.). Barcelona was not a major Roman colony because there was little trading this far west at the time. However, it does still have a Roman presence including the streets and aqueducts that still bring water to some drinking fountains.  When it was Roman, the city was called Tarragona.

There is evidence that Christianity came to the Catalonia region of Spain and Barcelona as early as the 3rd century AD and there has been a religious structure at the site of the Cathedral of Barcelona since before it was first mentioned in texts dating from 599 AD. It was dedicated to Saint Eulalia in 877 AD. The story I was told was that she was a Christian in the time of the Romans who would not acknowledge the Roman gods, so she was tortured at the age of thirteen.

The cathedral is a combination of Romanesque design and beginning in 1317 AD, it was continued in a Gothic style.

You can see the differing styles that were completed over several centuries. The nave is surrounded by 32 chapels, each one was sponsored, designed, and paid for by the various guilds of the city.

The Grand Organ, below, took two years to build and was completed in 1539 AD. All of the wood in the catheral is oak from northern Spain

The cathedral was the site of the 1519 gathering of all of the sovereigns of Europe in the Order of the Golden Fleece.  They met as an assembly of peace. According to my tour guide, they claim that this meeting was the inspiration for the United Nations, which was formed after World War II.

The spires and the facade on this side of the cathedral were completed in 1913 based on a competition begun in 1882 at the cost of 1,700,000 pesetas. To understand the value, when the Spanish converted their currency from the pesetas to the euro iin 2002, one euro was worth 166 pesetas and today's conversion of euros to US dollars was 0.96 euros for one US dollar.  That is one expensive façade!

Below, you can see what is left of the Roman wall that once surrounded and protected the city.

Flamenco in Barcelona

In the middle of the of the Spanish Village, there was a tiny restaurant where they performed flamenco.

I learned that flamenco is not just the dancing, it is also the guitar music and the singing. Several performers entertained us while we had a lovely meal.

Most interesting to me was that the origins of flamenco are not completely clear, but it does see!m to include a bit of cultural diffusion!  Talking with people at my table, it seems that there is more than one story being told about which groups contributed to the creation of this unique entertainment hhat can be compared to American jazz in its improvised communication though dance and music. 

Among those groups mentioned as having influenced flamenco included Indians, Moroccans, and eastern European gypsies.  According to the guides, all of these groups immigrated to Spain around 500 years ago and it is believed that as these groups worked the anvil as blacksmiths, they created this form of communication to tell stories.  I was not able to follow the stories iin the dance or song, but I could certainly tell that there was conflict and tension! 

I was able to get some video, but the Wi-Fi is not strong enough to upload it because it is too long. I will upload it when I return.

Carmen was a famous flamenco dancer who performed at the 1929 World's Fair.

Barcelona's Spanish "Village"

After getting settled in my room, I was able to go on my first excursion of the trip!  We drove through the city of Barcelona in the dark.  I was not able to see everything...that will be for tomorrow, but I got a preview of the Olympic stadium, many interesting buildings, and some monuments including one for Christopher Columbus.

Our purpose for going out was to see a flamenco performance in what my tour guide called the Spanish "Village" built in 1929 for the World's Fair Exhibition.  The pictures below are from the village.

As part of the exhibition, they designed a village that would represent all of Spain for the eight months that it was meant to stand before being demolished.  However, it was so popular that they chose to keep it standing.  The exteriors are exact replicas of actual buildings throughout Spain, except for the fact that they used concrete and wood rather than stone.

The buildings in the first picture were originally hollow inside until renovations were made to create artisan work space along with retail space.

The church tower below was helpful in repairing the original when it was bombed and destroyed in World War II. Architects came to the village to study the intricate designs.

Dulles Airport

One last selfie before going into the airport :)

Security was quick! For the first time in a long time, I was able to keep my shoes on and not take all of my electronics and liquids out of my bags! :)

Now I can sit at my gate with a book and a tea from the Starbucks next door until I board my plane! Next stop...Barcelona, Spain!

Almost Ready for the Mediterranean!

Devices are charged, documents are packed, and my to-do list is almost complete!