MAGICAL MALLORCA!!: November 2018

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

Ok, so it's not about Mallorca. I CAN write about my travels stemming FROM Mallorca, can't I? After all, it's MY blog!!!

I've always had an interest in doing home exchanges. But, I never did it in Cuenca because, at first, I lived out in the countryside (most people want in-city accommodations), then when I moved in-city I had a B&B operation which is really not a conducive trade either.

I met a couple from Budapest who ended up buying a condo of mine in Cuenca. They told me about www.homeexchange.com. They've done several successful exchanges around the globe. The premise is: You have a place in city X. Someone has a place in city Y. You're interested in visiting city Y and it so happens 'someone' from city Y is interested in seeing your city X. Members on HomeExchange have profiles with photos of their home as well as a description of their home, the area, and of themselves. One party solicits the other via the website and proposes they do an exchange for particular dates. They either agree or not. Most times the exchanges are simultaneous, but they don't have to be.

That's it in a nutshell, or RDCV (Readers Digest Condensed Version).

It's an excellent means to see other places in the world, but at a reduced cost because it eliminates the expense of a hotel or Airbnb.

Here, in Europe, transportation is pretty inexpensive when you compare to traveling in the US of Trumplandia. The extensive network of trains is fast, frequent, and pretty cheap. Likewise, air travel is amazingly cheap, especially with so many discount airlines that exist here. On top of that, because I'm a legal resident of the Balearic Islands (Canary Islands qualify as well), the government of Spain provides a 75% discount on various modes of travel WITHIN Spain!!! That means, if I want to fly to Madrid and the normal airfare is 100 euros, my cost is reduced to 25 euros!! Can you believe that!!! Woohoo!!!

PS.....Dollars and Euros are almost the same in value. Euros tend to cost 10 - 15% more depending on the market on any given day.

So, back to my trip to Madrid. The airfare was 52 Euros...ROUND TRIP!!! On top of that, the apartment I stayed in was free because the owners of that apartment came to Palma and stayed in my apartment for the same period (5 nights). My only other costs were transport to/from the airports, subway pass, food, and any entrance fees to museums and such.

MY TRIP: as shown to you in 54 photos (of 90 taken) and 3 videos:

I got up at 6:30am for a 10:30am flight departure. Due to a storm passing through Madrid, planes couldn't take off. So we had to wait for our plane to come in. We finally pushed back at 11:45am, but only to end up waiting 20 minutes on the taxiway while a storm passed over us. Sitting on the ground, our plane was buffetted by the winds.

After an hour and 15 minute flight from Palma, I landed in Madrid. Madrid's airport is way outside the city...you can't even SEE the city when descending into MAD! Madrid has an excellent subway system. There's a line that connects each of the airport terminals to the center of the city. The system is on-time, rapid, smooth and very clean. They obviously put a significant amount of effort keeping graffiti at bay.

I rendevoused with my home exchange hosts at their airport check-in counter and we exchanged keys. Then I walked to the subway station stop and purchased my 10-ride pass for 12.50 via an automated kiosk machine. A subway 'ride' is defined as riding as many lines as necessary to get to your destination. Then, when you exit (come up out of the subway system to the surface), your '1 ride' is completed.

The subway station at the airport. Waiting for the next train!

Incoming!!!

3 lines later and a 300 ft walk, I arrived at my home exchange apartment around 5pm. Hungry, I walked to a chicken rotisserie place on the corner and ordered a combo #2. It came with a whole (small) chicken, large fries, 6 small empanadas, 10 onion rings, and a large 2 liter bottle of Sprite.....for 10 Euro!!! How do they DO that?

On Sundays, just a few blocks from where I was staying, several blocks are shut down for the huge Flea Market. The particular neighborhood is chocked full of antique shops. Given the fact Madrid is a very old city, there's lots of opportunity to find some great antique and retro stuff.

A warehouse-like store selling really cool retro furniture.

Antique typewriter, phones, light sconces, press, irons, sewing machine all out on the sidewalk.

Love this multi-colored egg-shaped lamp. It's about 2 1/2 feet tall.

Street performers are always at open-air markets working for tips. Thought this guy was very interesting.

CLICK HERE to Listen to this Street Entertainer Perform!

Typical old Madrid apartment building. Most, do not have elevators. I had to climb up 62 steps to access the apt I stayed in!!

Entrance to Plaza Major (pronouced My-Your). Funny, in a lot of Spanish cities, you'll find streets and plazas with the same names. Plaza Major in Palma looks almost the same, too.

On the square in the interior of Plaza Major. I took a panarama shot which caught the movement of a pedestrian...thus the chopped images of him.

Love Locks. A symbol of someone's undying love for another. They write their name and/or message on a padlock, then attach it to a railing (or fence, bridge, etc) so, theoretically, they can never be broken apart.

This is actually a scrim attached to scaffolding while the building is being worked on. It provides a nice, if not intriguing, aesthetic to the structure versus looking at the real constuction work. All of what you're looking at here is fake....painted on a scrim/cloth.

Another scrim covering the entire exterior of a building being worked on. Love the sense of humor.

Mercado San Miguel is a beautifully restored indoor market where dozens of vendors sell chocolates, tapas, cheese, wine, etc. VERY popular as you can see.

In the home exchange apartment where I stayed, they have this 100 year old iron clawfoot tub. Unlike modern versions, this one was lonnnng and deeeeep and, yes, I soaked for HOURS in it with a bottle of wine by my side. YES!!!!

Cathedral Almudena

You might be wondering how old this cathedral is, especially since everything in Europe seems to be 400+ years old!! Would you believe this cathedral (below) is only a little over 100 years old???

The interior ceilings are very different than most typical cathedrals. They may be shaped similarly, but the colors and the way they were applied are very unique. It almosts looks like fabric or tapestries.

The other side of the cathedral, facing the Royal Palace.

If you're wondering just how big this place is, take a look at how small the people sitting in the pews below look in relation to everything else.

If I'm not mistaken, the church purchased the old 'Mighty Wurlitzer' from 'Organ Power Pizza' in Pacific Beach (San Diego), Calif and had it installed here. Or....maybe it's from the old 'Lawrence Welk Show'. Can't remember.....

mmmwaaaahahhaaahhhahaa!!!

CLICK HERE to watch/listen to nuns singing in a church in Madrid!!

Next up. Yet another church. This one was just closing so I took a couple of quick snaps.

I had been killing time until 1:30pm when a highly recommended taco place was supposed to open for lunch. So, after I left the Cathedral Almudena, I hit the above church, then over a block or two to the restaurant. It was closed! Only on TUESDAY does it not open for lunch. Open for dinner at 8pm DAMN!!!

So, I hoofed it BACK over to the Cathedral Almudena and down a block to the 'Cripta de la Catedral Almudena' which is said to have 400 columns in it. Not hard to believe once inside!!! Opened in 1911, it was the first part of the overall cathedral project which wasn't finished until 1993.

Love the humor in some of the column motifs.

On the other side of the cathedral stands the 'Royal Palace of Madrid'.

A soccer ball for a light shade?

The Royal Palace of Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family at the city of Madrid, but it is only used for state ceremonies. The palace has 135,000** square metres of floor space and contains 3,418 rooms. It is the largest royal palace in Europe by floor area. (Wikipedia)

** That's almost 1 1/2 million square feet!!!

Some guys hanging out in the park across from the Royal Palace. They must've been pretty old as their dates were only 3 digits.

Next I walked over to Gran Via. It's THE shopping street for the elite, where all the 'hot' stores are located. The square, along with the surrounding buildings and enormous flickering LED signs made me immediately think of Times Square in NYC.

Click Here to Watch 360 view of the 'Times Square' of Madrid!!

I drooled over the architecture. Some of it Art Deco. The following photos are literally taken one building to the next building to the next building.