Gracie Goes to the Beach on a Bus

....but not on her own!!!   Gracie hasn't written a blog entry for me in a lonnnng time and she's been nagging me to let her.

So, here goes....you've been warned.

OHHHHH DAAAD!!!   I'm not that baaaad!!!

Hi everyone!!!!  My name is Gracie (Gray-C).  I'm an American, but I lived in Ecuador, South America for 7 years and now I'm living in Palma ....Mallorca....of the Balearic Islands....of Spane...Europe.... World....Earth.  I guess I'm a Gringa.

This is me!  I am 9 years old.  But, here in Spane when they ask how old you are, you have to respond like 'I have 9 years'.  That is stupid.

This is my patio where I go poop and pee.  It's much bigger than this photo!  During the summer, Dad just leaves the patio door open but when it got cold in the winter, Dad built me a doggie door so I can go out and come in whenever I feel the need.

My Dad (his name is Dano) isn't the greatest about taking me for walks.  BUT, since we moved to Espana (Spane) he takes me along when he goes to the gro...guroh....grosuree store.  He also did some research because he heard dogs can ride on the busses and some beaches allow dogs.  Woohoo!!  He discovered there are 7 bus routes that allow me to ride!  They require I wear a nozzle on my nose and I am on a leash and he must pay 30 cents for me.  He also red there are 9 legal doggie parks in Palma!

One day, he decided to surprise me by taking me for a ride on a bus and go to a legal doggie beach!!

This is how I react when my Dad mentions anything about 'going for....' or if he says 'walk' or if he's even THINKING about it!!!

CLICK HERE on this thing Yes, right HERE!!!

Like I said, I have to wear a nozzle on my nose so I don't bite anyone on the bus even though I woodint.  I'm a good girl.  When he put that %$!@*#&^ thing on me I did not like it at all.  I tried to wrestle it off of me while he was trying to walk me to the bus stop.  I finally gave up when we were on the bus and I just sat there and stared at him like this.  I also farted a few times.

This is a stretch of beach and land that is directly under the flight path to the airport.  The runaway is not very far away.  So, they don't allow any development under the flight path because the aeroplanes fly very close to the ground.  So, there is a lot of room to run around.  There are trails in the brush and pine trees.  And, there is a people and bike path that follows along the shore and there are some strange ruins, too.

That is Palma in the picture below, where I live, in the background.  I don't live in the background, I live in Palma. You have to slide the photo back and forth to see it all.  And, behind Palma is the Dramatana.....Trauma tana....dammit...(Gracie...it's TRAMUNTANA and quit your cussing!  Dad) mountains.  They are a You Ness Ko Whirled Heritihg Site (whatever that is).

Now turn around and you can see what it looks like the other direction.

I'm so pretty!!

My Dad had to take this photo because I don't know how to do selfies.

Dang!  I was blinking!

I AM NOT TAKING A POOP!!!!

I am just sitting down!

Resting on a beach wall after our walk and waiting for the bus.

I shoulda been a model.

UH OH....here comes that damn nozzle again!!!

I farted on the way home, too

This is me when I was a baby and I had my first bath!

GRACIE!!  You're supposed to be writing about living in Mallorca, not your entire life story!!!  (Dad)

Til next time...

Gracie

If there is one.

Dad

Barcelona Quickie !!

Hola Everyone!!!

What do I mean by 'Barcelona Quickie'??

No, not the kind of 'quickie' you're thinking!!  It was a 'quickie' because I flew to Barcelona in the morning for the sole purpose of seeing the Sagrada Familia in the afternoon, and flew home that  evening.

In my younger days, I used to be quite a spur-of-the-moment kinda guy.  Just take off and go somewhere or do something without giving it much thought.  I even had personalized license plates that said 'IMPLSV1' (impulsive one).

I have a lot of opportunity to do things here that don't require much planning.  For example, Barcelona is only a 30 minute flight from Palma and because of the 75% discount I get (for being an island resident) the airfare for this particular trip was only 43 Euros (about $50 bucks) roundtrip.   I can even take a ferry to the island of Ibiza which is only a couple of hours away and take my scooter along as well!  Ditto for the island of Menorca.

Enjoy the photos of my 1-day trip to Barcelona!!



NOTE:  When viewing some of the larger photos, you can scroll left and right to see more of it.

Venetian towers.  150ft tall, completed 1929 for the International Exhibition.

The National Palace just down the street from the towers.

Plaza Espanya with what LOOKS like a bullfighting arena behind it.  BUT....it's the Arenas shopping mall!!  The structure was first used as a bullfighting arena but was reconstructed and designed into a commercial centre in March 2011. Arenas de Barcelona is now a shopping, sports and music centre with a 360 rooftop view of the city.

THE BASILICA SAGRADA FAMILIA

Construction of the Sagrada Familia started in 1882.  Antoni Gaudi took over as Chief Architect one year later.  He worked on it until his death in 1926 (age 73) when he was hit by a streetcar.  He is buried in the crypt below the Basilica.  

Construction has continued since then, based on Gaudi's plans and drawings.  The main source of funding for the construction is the ticket sales from tourists that visit the site.  The 'SF' receives about 3 million visitors a year.

Gaudí's original design calls for a total of eighteen spires, representing in ascending order of height the Twelve Apostles, the Virgin Mary, the four Evangelists and, tallest of all, Jesus Christ. Eight spires have been built as of 2010, corresponding to four apostles at the Nativity façade and four apostles at the Passion façade.

The completion of the spires will make Sagrada Família the tallest church building in the world at almost 600 feet.  

Plans are to complete the construction by 2026 (100 years from Gaudi's death).

To view the interior you must buy a ticket.  Because the 'SF' is such a popular tourist site, it's best to buy tickets online and get your timeslot reserved, else you'll be standing in line for a lonnnnng time!

The ticket includes an audio device you wear around your neck and hold like a phone.  You can choose from multiple languages.  As you walk around, there are signs with a number on them (ie; 7).  To hear detail about that area (ie; 7), you press '7' on the handset and listen to the recording.

A model of how the Sagrada Familia will look when completed.
(but not all in that color!)



4 of the apostles spires (12 when complete) and the spire of the Virgin Mary (fatter one in front) under construction.

Can you imagine the coordination that has to go into building such an unconventional structure????

This is the Nativity side.   I've always thought this side looked like a huge nuclear meltdown, when viewed from afar.  And, the opening is a big gaping mouth letting out a horrific moan.

But....that's just my take.  LOL!!!

Almost everything about the 'SF' has a meaning behind it.  For example, the green tree (with white doves on it) you see in the middle of the photo, represents the tree of life.

This is a good photo to zoom in on to see the detail.
Notice the harpist in the upper right corner.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH A VIDEO OF THE INTERIOR

Gaudi wanted the interior to represent a forest with the tall, thick columns being the trunks of the trees, branching out to a canopy of (albeit very modernistic) foliage.

This 'tube' is a round elevator that travels up the center of one of the spires.   It can only fit 5 or 6 people, but this is what we took to go up the spire and experience fantastic views and see the arhictectural detail up close.

Sheaves of wheat and chalices with bunches of grapes, representing the Eucharist.

Looking down from one of the spires as we descended the stairs.

We had to walk down, not take the elevator, because it was needed for getting a line of  people UP the tower.  The 'stairwell' was very tight and narrow.  Anyone with bigger hips than mine may not have fit!!

In 2010 an organ was installed in the chancel by the Blancafort Orgueners de Montserrat organ builders. The instrument has 26 stops (1,492 pipes) on two manuals and a pedalboard.

To overcome the unique acoustical challenges posed by the church's architecture and vast size, several additional organs will be installed at various points within the building. These instruments will be playable separately (from their own individual consoles) and simultaneously (from a single mobile console), yielding an organ of some 8000 pipes when completed!!!

That's the choir loft (bleechers above) which goes along both sides of the Basilica and can hold 1,000 singers.  Musical notes are integrated in the iron railings.

The colors of the windows on the east side represent the morning sun, joy of life, birth of Jesus...whereas on the west side represents sunset, suffering (redish colors).

I don't know the significance of this shroud coming down from the ceiling, but it makes me think of jellyfish.

The Passion facade on the other side of the church from the Nativity facade.

Pope Benedict XVI visiting the Sagrada Familia in 2010.

Til next time...

Dano