Want to Come for Christmas?: Chapter 12: Final Days in Europe

1/2/2014: We spent the day walking around Gaudi's buildings: the Music Theatre, the Block of Discordia all were cool looking buildings but I'll be frank: we've just about spent all the money we can on Museums this trip: and Barcelona is the most expensive of all! Just to go in the Music Museum and stay for 1 hour wold have cost us 50€, (which is about $70). So, since it was so warm, and since there were so many street side wonders to take in, we acted like we belonged on the streets of Barcelona (which we did).

That night, we went looking for another building we hadn't been near, but knew was there: the Agbar. It was designed by Jean Nouvel, who wanted to pay homage to the Sagrada Familia, and the mountains of Montserrat. HOWEVER, ther have been a lot of people who may not know that little bit of info, and they say things like, "It sure looks phallic to me!" And they're right but the COOL thing about this building is that it is completely lit up at night: every square foot of this 37 story building! We took pix away from it so we could get the whole thing in, and we took pix standing not 10 feet away.

We then found Glories, The Modern Part of Town and found the kids skating in a peewee ice rink (in 60 degree weather, no less) with McDonalds and Starbucks, and Burger King: we got right back on the subway and headed out to Pura Brasa, again, to have some ribs and a couple of beers. As we were walking in, this couple was walking out. They looked at us and both said at once, "Do you remember us?" They were a Japanese couple we had met at a place we ate dinner in Madrid, right after the Reina Sophia. How'd they remember us, a week later, coming out of a restaurant? But it's good that we remembered them also. Andy and I often said afterwards, "I wonder where our friends are today?"

1/3/2014: The Final Day

We woke up to a rather cloudy morning, with the thought that we take the funicular up to Mont Juic and walk around a little. Met a cool couple from, well, they were from all over, but the guy had lived in Greensboro. Two cute little kids, and some time away from Siberia (or at least somewhere that sounded like to other end of the cold, cold earth!) Up there, in Mont Juic, it seemed like we were mountains away, too. We ended up walking around the 1992 Summer Olympic Stadium and observing the now empty playing fields and venues. The cell tower that is often tied with the 1992 Olympics is still there, but rusted. Our Dream Team was in Barcelona, almost a lifetime ago for Grace and Alice.

And then we found an escalator and rode down to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya level, which is two levels above the place where we watched the Magic Fountain the other night.The sun came out as we were here, and we saw a birds eye view of the whole of the city, with the Sagrada Familia rising out of the houses and apartments, the Agbar rising just as much and the ships sailing around the harbor. So absolutely spectacular!

As we were getting ready to leave the art museum venue, a we started noticing that young people were dancing around a float, and it was playing music: they looked like they were practicing for a parade, or some such thing. They were! January 6, just three days from today, is Three Kings Day for Spain: the time when all little kids need to be good, or else the Three Kings won't come to their house! (and leave what? frankincense and myrrh?) it was then time to sit and watch and be still and realize that this whole trip was coming to an end: although we don't want it to...we are kind of excited to get back home. Andy used his "nose for a restaurant" and found our last one. It was evidently a working man's place, but everybody seemed to know about it. And don't even think about speaking anything but Spanish.

After a little exploring during one evening near our block (but which turned into 3 Metro stops away) we had one last drink on the boulevard. This would definitely be our last one for a while. It would be back to Kitty Hawk tomorrow.