Travels through Spain – Part 4

Travels through Spain – Part 4 – Final

Back to Barcelona and Parts South

I was interested in touring the various parts of Spain that I hadn’t seen when I lived there 1973-74, where I had only visited several key parts. [When my friends and I had opportunity for week long vacations or holidays that year, some of us were more inclined to explore other parts of Europe (France, Scotland, England, Austria, Italy) than visit important parts of Spain.]

I was excited that this trip with my hubby would take us to the massive and beautiful Alhambra complex in the Granada area of southern Spain, the Costa del Sol (Sunny coast), Ma’laga, and more. We went through an area where people walk a “pilgrimage for miles and miles” on the “Camino de Santiago,” and also Pamplona, where they enthusiastically “run the bulls” every year, risking broken bones and even death.

But I was especially eager to get back to Barcelona where I lived for about ten months in a large brick/cement residence (“Residencia” in Spanish), where the caretaker’s family lived in the basement. The mother of the house made our breakfast, and also served dinner in early afternoon before “siesta” time.) A small group of Catholic nuns also lived in the basement, and kept a garden for fresh veggies.

Most of our fellow students were from the U.S., and ended up living with local families in Barcelona, the better to hone their ability to learn and use Spanish in the families they lived with. But our professor/organizer ran out of willing families to host us, and instead he asked for four volunteers to live in the residencia. I felt disappointed about not living with a family, but maybe a little bit noble in accepting “dorm” lodging instead. That turned out to be fun and educational also, especially when several Spanish roommates joined us in our rooms for second semester. (The University was closed for first semester after protesting students and others had forced the shut down because of Generalissimo Franco’s strict leadership running Spain at the time. Our leader lined up local professors to conduct private classes instead of official courses.)

I remembered that the University of Barcelona had grown exponentially of course over 47 years and our tour bus passed by those modern buildings, out near a large hospital complex. Several miles later, I saw what had to be the very building where I had most of my classes in 1973-74. I had come “home”!

I did not get a decent current photo, but here is one from my files from 1973 (notice those older cars!). Very near the university was a metro stop, and we could also easily walk from the university to Plaza Catalonia where people and pigeons met up and old men (especially) played checkers or chess. (Today it is called Plaça de Catalunya in the local language, “Catalunya.”)

I was also not able to take a metro to the residencia where I had lived, and for awhile I had hoped that maybe one of our tours would take us by that building. But it was not to be. I was a little disappointed but not crushed.

The main highlight of this part of the tour was seeing the greatly expanded and nearing completion Sagrada Familia Cathedral (The Sacred Family—meaning Mary and Joseph and their little ones). I had seen some soaring steeples of the place in the 1970s and pondered whether the interior would ever be finished. For awhile their finish date was set as 2026, but I understand it has been moved back some additional years. Interestingly, the construction of the church was carried out illegally for 137 years, until 2019, “when a building permit was finally issued by Barcelona’s city council.” Authorities only discovered the “anomaly” in 2016 that it had never been granted a building permit!

But my biggest thrill of this trip was being able to visit Gibraltar, which is near Seville. I had no idea of the size of the rock or the views we would be able to see of Morocco and Africa from Gibraltar. The weather was perfect that day. We had a great and funny guide who introduced us to the Barbary macaques, which are monkeys, and the history of Gibraltar goes back and forth from Europe (and England) to Spanish control and back to England. I’m thinking that my mother used to say something like “that’s as hard as the Rock of Gibraltar” when she was spouting off about something.

Studying and keeping warm in our room: no turning on heat until Nov. 1. My roommate was a student at Bridgewater College, Va., and the program we both used for study abroad is called Brethren Colleges Abroad.

Will I go back? I doubt it, there are way too many other places around the U.S., Canada, and the world to spend time or money going again. But I very much appreciated renewing my acquaintance with this fascinating, friendly country and history. Before we went, we were warned by various visitors from the U.S. who said Spanish folks were sometimes mocking tourists who are flocking to Airbnbs in Spain, making rent or housing purchase costs too expensive for local families. And we did not experience any pick pocketers, as we were usually walking fairly close together in groups.

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I must add that we were also so sorry to hear the news of the terrible flooding in the city of Valencia we visited soon after our two-night stop in Barcelona. If you recall, flooding happened about October 29 (less than 10 days after we’d been in the city of Valencia); 220 or more persons died in the flood waters and aftermath. Our tour director always kept a sharp look out on weather reports for us, and when I got home I emailed him about Valencia and he indicated they left Valencia early on October 29, which was a smart thing for them to do, before it got really bad.

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I must admit the travel bug came from my parents and we were able to take our children to a number of places in the U.S., and later they were able to travel some on their own too, to various countries, including South Africa and more. My husband has been an enthusiastic traveler for the most part, and we hope to enjoy that in our 70s, for as long as we are able. There is much to see, learn and experience in these explorations of new places, and becoming more aware of history and older times and other fascinating people!

And the nice thing about traveling with a bus driver? You can take a very long nap!

Speaking of Rocks:

Bible readers may reflect on a passage in Matthew 16: 13-20 where Jesus asked his disciples what people were saying about him, and then Jesus asked directly what they thought of him. Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Peter! … I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Of course he was not talking about Gibraltar, but I like the “rock” foundation that we can all hang on.

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Who or what is your rock?

What was your best trip ever? Why?

What was your worst one? Why?