~Spain~

My stay in Spain was amazing! God blessed me with safe travel and I arrived in Barcelona and Madrid safely.  I fell in love with the architecture in Barcelona. Anotoni Gaudi was the architect who built some of the most amazing buildings I've ever seen! Influenced and inspired by both gothic and modern style art his buildings are unforgettable masterpieces.

I also saw a soccer game in Barcelona (I mean.. Fútbol!), which was phenomenal! FC Barcelona stadium is one of the largest stadiums in the world, and the stadium was nearly packed- It was unbelievable!

In Barcelona I visited Barceloneta Beach. The water is beautiful and clear- I could see easily the ocean floor. Interestingly enough, there are little to no waves- you can bring floaties on this beach! The beach also had a really neat artistic structure built into the sand and AMAZING gelato! YUM! :)

 

The buildings throughout Spain (or España) are SO different from most of the buildings in California. The buildings here are hundreds of years old, and much less roomy! Many of the residents still dry their clothes on a line!

Madrid was a spectacular and beautiful city rich in history.  The architecture was immense and beautiful.

 

 

 

I spent a lot of time in Madrid at the various plazas. I also shopped at one of the most popular flea markets in Spain, El Rastro. It was SO busy! I was, however, able to get some great bargains on European style fabrics.  :)

 

The parks were amazing- lush and full of extensive gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

Near the center of the Park is the Crystal Castle:

 

 

 

 

 

Surrounding the Castle is a beautiful lake full of ducks, turtles, and a variety of bids, including swans.  I was fortunate enough to snap a picture of two black swans leisurely paddling around the lake.

 

 

 

One of the most fascinating stories I heard, involved the statue below:

 

 

The statue pictured is actually a re-make of the original and is located in Plaza Mayor (King Phillip III is situated on top). There are two stories that surround the statue and the belly of the horse. The locals told me, that the original statue was destroyed during a rebellion.  The second story relays that the horse tipped over during construction.  The interesting part is that both stories agree that when the statue tipped over and broke, the horses belly was full of dead birds!!! There were skeletons and the blood of birds everywhere! It was discovered later that in the original statue, the horse’s mouth was left open and the belly hollow. For many years bird would fly into the mouth of the horse and would become trapped in the belly. After the rebellion ceased, the statue was re-made, except this time the mouth was sealed.

While the architecture, history and pastoral scenes were spectacular, my favorite thing in Madrid was the food! 

 

My favorite meal was at Botín, the oldest restaurant in the world! Opening in 1725, it is older than the United States of America! The food was fabulous and decadent.

 

 

 

Plus I visited the establishment on my birthday- the waiters even brought me a birthday cake adorned with a candle.It was a wonderful day.

 

 

 

Another favorite was San Gines.  Well-renowned for their chocolate, this place is one of the oldest and most famous chocolaterias. I ate chocolate churros here-which were amazing! Interestingly enough, it is not the churro itself that is chocolate, but rather a cup of hot chocolate is given on the side to dip your churros in. It is not the hot chocolate we know and love, but quite literally a cup of melted chocolate! Delicious!!!