The Istanbul adventure was but a wee trip, totaling I think four days. We returned to Odessa early the next week and by then had caught the travel bug. The next journey took us from Odessa up to Minsk, in Belarus, and from there to Barcelona, Spain; Paris, France; Lisbon Portugal; Brussels, Belgium (I had originally slated in North Africa and in particular Tangier, but it got nixed as we sort got strung out with the pace of it all--adding in other non-specified factors), out to Tenerife in the Canary Islands (a joyful and unexpected detour resulting from a miscommunication about the terminal at the Brussels Airport); Madrid, Spain; Vilnius, Lithuania, and then back home to Odessa. The first night we were back sleeping in bed in Odessa we both kept waking up and wondering where we were.... I think at one point I thought we were in Spain and so on. It was a true whirl of wind, whirlwind tour of Europe. The first of two major expeditions. You stick around this blog, and you'll see it all. Starting with...
Yeah.
Indeed.
We had lunch in Barcelona (after flying there from Minsk) across the street from this beauty. There is this ornate architecture in Barcelona, technically Catalan or Catalan Modern, which becomes really clear when you visit Park Guell, where the Gaudi museum and other memorables reside. Antoni Gaudi was of course the great architect and inspiration behind the world "gaudy"! Right on!
This is actually after we made this long sojourn to Park Guell, in the glow of having successfully navigated the streets of Barcelona by foot. (Some of the photos of us are blurry, unfortunately.)
In Park Guell, which sits essentially on top of the large hill overlooking all of the city of Barcelona. Truly spectacular views of Barcelona...
From the park.
Barcelona from the viewpoint in Park Guell.
This was part of the park, but I forget the specific architecture. It was not the Gaudi Museum (and in fact I seem to have lost many photos of Barcelona!).
Park Guell.
At the very apex of the park, atop the hill overlooking the city, we have this. Getting to the park by foot from the city center is actually quite a chore, and even once you get into the park it's extensive, and you still trudge up a few kilometers to get to the top. So people are sort of celebrating up here.
I believe this was the Gaudi Museum, strangely less gaudy than Gaudi was known for.
In the Gaudi Museum in the park.
The big waterfront mall and shopping center in Barcelona at night.
The boardwalk and waterfront in the Barcelona city center at night. It's beautiful, and there's an energy in the air, charged in part by these African street vendors who lay out huge spreads of mahogany wood furniture and items for sale. When you walk down to the water, you sort of walk through this open air market of weirdness. It's a little difficult to explain how it fits together into the experience, and unfortunately I'm not sure any photos of it have survived.
From our walk in Barcelona at night.
Happy girl. Happy guy.
Barcelona night life. Taxis are very expensive in Barcelona, and unfortunately by the time we figured out the bus schedule we had walked most of the way back to our hotel. I remember walking for like, hours, at night covering several kilometers, and then slowly realizing the bus would have taken us down the same route. Oh well.
Hmmm. Barcelona... something. Somewhere.
Oh, the fun!
Known colloquially as "Man with dog." (Not true.)
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