We arrived in Barcelona and were taken to… somewhere in the City. I only recently located Carrer de Saragossa in the north-west as our insertion point. The bus couldn’t or wouldn’t drop us off any closer to the hotel, so we walked with our bags a couple blocks maybe to our first home-away in Spain. (Remember I blew frames of actual film on these photos. But it was all novel and new, and only partly to prove to my parents that we were well accommodated.)
First impressions walking around were buoyant. Long avenues stretched in every direction and there were balconies with greenery everywhere. It was a beautiful day and I was in a strange and wonderful place. There was a guy in a suit on a motorcycle! Mind-blowing, apparently. We walked Las Ramblas and saw street performers and vendors. I got a Coke and they put lemon in it. I don’t recall ice but it was very refreshing.
We walked between the Venetian Towers and up the hill to the Palau Nacional. I remember being impressed… by outdoor escalators. Yes the buildings were beautiful and impressive, but young me didn’t consider that they were specifically built to be impressive. Buildings just were. While at the top we took in the vistas and enjoyed various other features of Parc de Montjuïc. The Olympic staduim stood out to me as noteworthy with the Olympic torch still burning away.
Next up we went to La Sagrada Familia Cathedral; under construction. I didn’t really understand that the unfinished nature of the building was a feature of the site, it just seemed like any other old place that had fallen down and needed to be rebuilt. I must have been staring up when they told us it started construction new in 1882 and was still going.
We spent some time near the harbor. I don’t have any distinct insights I recall from there. That statue was kinda crazy I guess. Oh and the group photo! Remember when you had to sit there while one person worked their way through a pile of 15 cameras so everyone had a copy? Wow. Simpler times I suppose. The final picture is a mini-golf course on top of a shopping mall. We departed Barcelona for Majorca from the harbor on an overnight ferry. We had a cabin (pictured) and there was a disco with lights and music and dancing (not pictured). I vaguely recall that there were some Spanish girls there who were interested in kissing American boys. I got the heck out of there, of course.
The next port of call for 8th Grade Spain is