Now an adventure from Spain:

Barcelona, May 2003
Visions of Spain are still dancing in my head. It doesn't take much to recall standing on one of many narrow stone steps leading high into the heavens, almost above the clouds (though there were none), hundreds of feet above the tiny tour busses and taxis waiting in the street below. It was a God-like view of the world. I looked down on the miniature town as if in a low-flying plane. Only moments before, I was emerging from the subway. The view from the Metro stairs leading to the street level was awesome.  

I can't describe it. The city sprawls for miles at the base of this monstrous creation. It stands as a beacon of one man's imagination. It is a cathedral, actually he calls it a church, made of stone but shaped like wet sand with towers and spires and stained glass and heavy stone columns and thin needle-like supports -- both modern and old, calm and busy, elegant and clumsy.   The tiny stairs circled upwards, almost in darkness, meeting narrow passageways that connected one tower to the other and to more passageways, small rooms and outdoor bridges that held the spires together and where the views caused traffic jams. Candy colored tiles crowned the tippy-tops of more than eight of these giant round and narrow towers.  

The place is still under construction even after 100 years. The huge cranes and pulleys are dizzying as they beam from areas that still have no roof. An hour in this church and one's religion changes. It will make you think and wonder about how far an idea, a dream, one's imagination, can go.   This is the "Segrada Familia", the greatest work of the "Modernismo" architect Antonio Gaudi. His other creations are equally awe-inspiring. Many, like candy houses, decorate these streets. You'll find inhabitable art like this church, homes and apartments and a well-designed park on the hill here in Barcelona, a large city on the northeast coast of Spain.  

This is the land of "tapas" bars (sounds like topless), street cafes and street performers. From the hotel we walked a few narrow medieval alleyways to the "Ramblas", the large walking street that connects the Mediterranean port at one end with the rest of the city at the other. Here crowds of people ramble along with an ice cream cone, a lovers hand, a child and his sister in a wagon, a grandparent in a wheel chair and a very care free attitude.   Near the huge market where everyone in the city gets their groceries, you will see performers standing still, completely still -- until your Euro coin ($1.20) hits the coffee can. Then they move, squeaky in their shoes, they might aim the bow and arrow, fold the newspaper or wield a magic wand. These people are usually painted head to toe, even some a metallic bronze, looking so perfectly like whomever they sought to represent.  

The most popular man was dressed in white with a white hat, his skin painted completely white. He sat on a porcelain toilet. (I don't know how he got it there.) Others were dressed as beasts and Michael Jackson or politicians. Two enchanting fairies sat together wearing glitter and wings. A cowboy and an Indian stood side by side.   Dinner at one restaurant in particular was an experience. We got there early since a long line was sure to form once they opened. This place must have been plugged into an endless energy source -- food maybe. We sat at stools without knowing just what to order. It seemed this was the way to do it. I asked for the vegetarian option and the others ordered seafood or meat, and soon we were off on a culinary journey not to forget.  

Busy and quick, the waiters gracefully danced around each other in the narrow space behind the bar while cooking up the most amazing dishes and aromas. Steam and smoke mesmerized the customers. Each, maybe twenty patrons with twenty more waiting behind them, sat on stools along the counter as the waiters synchronized their stirring, chopping, tossing, pouring, blending on the other side.   Between each place mat on the counter was a bottle of red or white wine. My bottle was white and my glass was never empty. One attentive man wearing a white chef's suit filled my little glass to the rim after every sip. He must have marked the bottle at the start and at the end of every dinner served that night. One pays, not by the glass, but by the amount of wine missing from the bottle at the end of your meal.   The deep fried artichokes were better than French fries! You can try "pan con tomate" in your kitchen. (Toast thick bread and sprinkle salt on top. Then rub the cut end of a clove of garlic into the crunchy surface. Then rub the cut end of a tomato into the crunchy surface over the garlic and salt. Pour generous amounts of olive oil on top. Mmmm.)  

I led two Of Global Interest trips this spring to Spain. The first was with Gena Fine, my first two-time traveler(!). She and I were together for 18 days. We mainly toured Spain but also spent a day in (on the rock of) Gibraltar, crossed the Straights of Gibraltar by ship and explored Morocco for three days. My second tour was with Marcy and Donald Gray. The three of us spent 12 days together in Spain with one day of serious bike riding. In my next adventure journals, I will describe a few of the highlights of these tours.  
Thanks for reading. Happy Summer!

Heather O'Neal
Of Global Interest LLC Adventure Travel
Ann Arbor, Michigan
(734) 369-3107
www.ofglobalinterest.com