October 21
Barcelona
[Continuing our first day in Barcelona, strolling about on Montjuic Hill . . . ]
[Appears to be a dead tree – oh, and the towers of the Palau Nacional (National Palace), a/k/a, home of the National Art Museum of Catalonia since 1934 . . . ]
[Basically, the view 90 degrees to the right of our first views of the city from the top of Montjuic . . . ]
[Looking back to where we were and where we returned in the following photos . . . ]
[Above and below, the hilltop views of Barcelona . . . ]
[This is the place . . . ]
[From which to get this view . . . ]
[The guy played terrific classical guitar. When I went to drop a few Euros in his case, he was gone. We ran across several excellent street guitar players on the trip . . . ]
[All this excitement created thirsts . . . ]
[I held the table while the others beverage shopped . . . ]
[And then you just keep coming back to this view . . . ]
[Did you notice the gull make an ever growing three-photo appearance?]
[We are so enjoying this . . . ]
[We too!]
[OK, Bill and I had a beer; Anne and the Super had gelato . . . ]
[And then we switched positions so they could be in the sun . . . ]
[Now we’re heading off to see what’s on the other side of the museum . . . ]
[We didn’t get far before I needed another rest . . . ]
[I am me; the statue is unknown . . . ]
[A nice tree-lined street . . . ]
[And now from the other side . . . ]
[At least this one is identified . . . ]
[This Olympic Bell was a gift of several German families and the German state government of Baden-Württemberg to Barcelona during the 1992 Olympic Games (waymarking.com).]
[Barcelona Olympic stadium (1992) . . . ]
[Barcelona Olympic Stadium Esplanade at Montjuic hill . . . ]
[Olympic spire . . . ]
[Again, the stadium . . . ]
[Then we walked around the stadium . . . ]
[But first looking back at where we came into the Olympic zone . . . ]
[Were any of you here?]
[So, we’ve circle around the stadium. It was a warm day, we’ve walked a long way, and starting to feel pooped . . . ]
[And now we’re heading downhill in search of the funicular for the final downhill dash. Along the way, there are breaks in the trees for views of the city . . . ]
[In the middle here is Sagrada Familia, where we would be the following mornig . . . ]
[A cable car – we would take a ride in a following day . . . ]
[Where the cable car alights . . . ]
[A garden adjacent to . . . ]
[The funcular . . . ]
[Which we rode to the bottom of Montjuic on our multi-ride subway tickets . . . ]
[And then on the walk back to our hotel we stopped at an outdoor cafe for fine dining. In front of me was my first of several Spanish salads . . . ]
[And the restaurant was Vivo. It was nice – and handily walking distance from our hotel . . . ]
[Buenos noches, y’all. In the morning we walk to Sagrada Familia . . . ]
[And the last photo of a marathon walking day. Why yes, Halloween is a biggie in Spain.]
Travel makes one modest, you see what a tiny place you occupy in the world. ~ Gustave Flaubert
Up Next: Even more Barcelona?
alexandriacardinals2.wordpress.com 
First day walking almost killed me. Submercing my feet in the rooftop pool helped. And I forgot to pack my shades so lots of photos squinting into the sun. All worth the experience!
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