Bravo Spain, Bravo!!!!

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  Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Well, today was my last day in Spain so I spent the morning sleeping in a little after the last couple of crazy days of sightseeing. Then I took the metro over to one of the biggest attractions in the city, the Sangrada Familia.

Yes, it's big, but it's pretty expensive compared to the other historic sites, and I would not have paid 12.50€ to visit what is essentially a massive construction site, but they don't tell you that when they sell you the ticket. Everything was closed except for one small part of the cathedral they let you walk through and watch the construction workers. Oh and you want to hear the audio tour? That's 4€, and the elevator to the top is another 2.50€, so I felt like I was, dare I say it, being gouged by Gaudi!

There is a huge underground museum with tons of models and paintings of what the structure is supposed to look like. And the place was packed with Gaudi fanatics. Seriously people some of the stuff he designed is cool, but a lot of it is kinda weird. Apparently Gaudi is buried in the cathedral, but you can't actually see his tomb because the chapel is closed, but they did have small little windows where you could see it, and they had a video camera pointed at the tomb and visible on a monitor. Honestly you would think Jesus Christ himself was buried there. After seeing 2,000 year old ruins and making a wish while touching an 800 year old wooden statue of the virgin at a remote monastery the day before, I just wasn't that impressed. So, I left and went and enjoyed an awesome lunch at a nearby Tapes Bar. It's only after a having a couple of beers that I began to realize the sheer magnitude of the cathedral under construction. Hmmm.... Maybe they should sell beer there too! It might make it more interesting LOL!

Then, against my usual instincts, I decided to to take my friend Mark's advice and I went to see a Flamenco Dance performance. It was a combination dinner and show, so first we were treated to a great buffet of authentic Spanish cuisine, then it was time for the show. The dancers were great and so were the spanish guitar musicians. They reminded me of a crude version of Tesla at the House of Blues. Seriously, it was kind of like an opera in Spanish, so I didn't understand a thing they were doing or saying. Something about a woman and a man falling in love, but her Mother didn't approve. I don't know, but I was pretty drunk so I didn't care. Expensive ($90), but a generous donation I received made the night possible. Thanks Mark!

So far Spain is my favorite country in Europe. Of course I've only been to 2, so I can't really judge, but this country has set the bar pretty high. Despite their high unemployment and coastal timeshare slums, the major cities of Madrid, Tarragona, and Barcelona contain a wealth of things to do and see. And all three cities have great metro and bus systems so getting around is really easy.

There is much more to see and do here, but now I must continue on to my next destination, France.....

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Other Great Sites at Cathedral	Interior of Cathedral	Stained Glass Window	Stained Glass Window
The Other Stained Glass Window	Sorry Everything Is Closed. That Will Be 12.50€	Glimpse of Gaudi's Tomb Through Small Window	People View Tomb with Site on Monitor
Cathedral From Across The Street	Awesome Tapes Lunch with Beer	Bailey's European Relatives	Great Authentic Spanish Buffett
Food at Buffett	Flamenco Dance Performance	Flamenco Dance Performance	La Ramla Street at Night   Comments!

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