Spain Madrid Temple

With our quickened pace, we hustled from Barcelona to Madrid to catch our flight home.

A full tour of Madrid will have to wait for another time, but we were grateful to be able to squeeze in the site we most wanted to see, the Spain Madrid temple!

We had a remarkable experience here.  NoFear was able to do service with a branch from Italy.  So while he was surrounded by Italian speakers, the session was conducted in Spanish, and the confirmations were conducted in Portuguese.  I had a similar tri-lingual experience during my service.  We marveled afterward that the gospel of Jesus Christ unites all cultures and languages.  It was such a privilege for us to be in the temple.

La Casa Del Senor - The House of the Lord

A familiar site on the grounds in Spain.  Families are forever.

Barcelona

Sunday morning, we bade farewell to the beautiful Costa Brava and hit the road for

BARCELONA!

We were blessed to attend church at a local ward there.

One of the things that Nathan had on his wish list of things to do was to rent electric bicycles.  With only an afternoon to spend seeing the sites, Barcelona provided the perfect opportunity to travel at a faster pace!  None of us had tried this before.  Electric bikes are awesome!  Need a little burst of speed?  Just push a button and you surge forward.  It's a little tricky near crowds, but it is a blast to tour around a city in this way.  We also made some fun friends from Bath, England on our tour.  We look forward to visiting with them during our time in the British Isles in the spring.

The Basilica of La Sagrada Familia

This famous church has been under construction for more than 100 years with the first stone being laid in 1882.  The architect is also famous, Antoni Gaudi.  Gaudi is responsible for designing many of the sites in Barcelona.  Although he died in a tram accident in 1926, the plans have moved forward.  The interior was finished in 2012.  The exterior has only 8 of 18 spires completed.  The plan is to complete the entire church by 2026 - the 100 year anniversary of Gaudi's death.

Barrio Gotico - Barcelona's Gothic Quarter

This is the oldest and most historically-rich area of Barcelona.  

We loved taking in the sites and sounds of this wonderful neighborhood.

Barceloneta Beach

Our tour led us through a number of the barrios, down the La Rambla, and along the very busy beachside area known as Barceloneta Beach.  The area teams with people, performers, shops, and attractions.  In fact, due to the cooler weather, the beach was the only uncrowded spot we saw!

El Raval

One of the most interesting neighborhoods we rode through was one that only a few years ago, would not have been considered safe as it was the central location in the drug trade.  However, a huge regeneration plan has been underway in the barrio known as El Raval.  While we were warned that pickpockets still abound, we were delighted with the charm and diversity of the this fun neighborhood.  Please note:  When riding an enormous cat, NoFear advises that one wear a helmet!

Costa Brava - The Ghosts of Cap Sa Sal - Begur

We loved our next adventure, but we were also a bit terrified at times.
It was more fun that way!

Our flight home was out of Madrid so we pushed hard through France in case there were any unforeseen delays.  Since their weren't, we had a couple of days to relax on the coast of Spain.  We rented a place that sounded ideal.  Coastal resort, ocean pools, mini-golf, all kinds of activities.  When we arrived, it would more aptly be described as really cool ghost town/resort.

We wandered into the massive lobby built out on a cliff and were in awe of our surroundings.  On the walls were picture of celebrities who had stayed here - Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor, Omar Shariff, Zsa Zsa Gabor.  As we were taking in our surroundings, a dog wandered by followed shortly by a cat.  No humans in sight.  Everything echoed.  We wandered around for a time, admiring the remarkable architecture of what was obviously an elite resort in its day, hoping that someone would show up to give us keys to our apartment.  An hour or so later, someone did.  The first of about 5 people we would see during our entire stay.  In the late 70's the resort fell into tough times financially.  Rooms were converted to vacation apartments and sold individually.  Perhaps this place bustles during the summer season, but in October?  Chirp chirp.  

Aerial view from Cap Sa Sal website

The view from our apartment was breathtaking and gave us new courage to go exploring.

 We took what seemed like the longest elevator ride ever down down down. 

Eventually the doors opened and we found ourselves in a long dark tunnel.

Flashlights on our phones, a very good thing.  They didn't stop NoFear, our leader, from becoming ensnared in some of the biggest cobwebs ever NOT seen!  About the time we were ready to turn and run, we spotted sunlight and rushed to the end.
Imagine our delight at what we found!

An awesome swimming platform set right down in the sea.

The next morning, we were up for a swim.

...all by ourselves....

Time to head on an adventure.  We read that a boat ride in the nearby Mendez islands would yield pirate ships and buried treasure so we were in!

Doesn't this cove look like the perfect place for pirates to hide?

Beautiful scenery.  The Optimist and I also got a quick look as some dolphins skimming by.

A glass bottomed area to view things close up.

NoFear - takes in the sights with the Captain.

 We didn't spy any treasure, but we had another beautiful day of sunshine in Spain!