And again Spain
In March, on the Vremya Tour website, we saw a good discount on a review ("Classic Spain Light", 65 thousand for two) and thought with my wife: "We haven't been to Spain for a long time" and decided to go. We have seen some cities more than once, but we have not been to Andalusia yet.
The first day.
The flight went well, without delays, we flew with Ural Airlines, the plane was small, 6 seats in a row. Arrived in Barcelona at 13:00. We were the only ones on our tour. We were met by our tour guide Kirill, took us to another tourist, then we waited for another flight from Moscow and went to check in. Our hotel was in the suburbs of Barcelona, the town of Castelldefance, near the Olympic Rowing Canal. After checking in, we decided to go to see Barcelona. Both buses and trains run from the town, so we decided to take the bus. Although not far from Barcelona, but the bus circles the town for a long time and reached Plaza Catalunya in an hour,
ticket price from the driver 2-20. It began to drizzle in Barcelona, since we had been to Barcelona more than once, we made a circle around familiar places from the Sagrada Familia Cathedral (the metro has risen in price, now 2-20 per trip), along Paceos de Gracia, and back to Plaza Catalunya. It was disappointing that now there are no free tickets for the Sagrada Familia Cathedral (Temple of the Sagrada Familia), but only by advance orders. Since our tour was without dinner, and tomorrow is Sunday, where all the shops and markets in Spain are closed, we stocked up on wine, jamon, sausage and tomatoes in Carrifour and drove back. At 20-00 it was already dark outside the windows and we didn’t really know where to get off in Castelldefans near our hotel. It’s good that the locals helped us decide when to get off the bus. So it was better to get to Barcelona by train. I didn’t take pictures in the rain, because I have a lot of photos of Barcelona from previous trips, I’ll tell you and post them someday.
Second day
After breakfast (very plentiful, with hot food), our group gathered on the bus. The bus was for 39 people, and the group was 23. Since everyone tried to take seats in front, we got seats in the back, which in this case was a big plus, because there were several rows free at once: we sat on one, lay on long journeys on others .
The tour was on the eve of Samana Santa (Holy Week), so the Spaniards are preparing for this seriously and many streets may be closed. I don’t advise anyone to come to Holy Week itself, because you won’t get anywhere, many cathedrals will be closed.
The weather was sunny, although quite windy. First of all, we were taken to Mount Montjuic to the National Museum of Art of Catalonia and where the 1992 Olympic Stadium is located.
The best views of Barcelona
National Art Museum of Catalonia
Then we were taken by bus along the embankment to the Sagrada Familia Cathedral. I wonder if it will be completed on time?
Portal of the Nativity, built during Gaudí 's lifetime
And this is the portal of the Passion of Christ, erected under the direction of the architect Subirax.
Further our path lay to the Gothic Quarter. The cathedral was closed for service, only the cloister (inner courtyard) was allowed.
The 13 white geese in the cathedral symbolize the age of Saint Eulalia, the patroness of Barcelona, who was martyred for the Christian faith.
Then our guide Kirill gave a tour of the Gothic Quarter.
There was no free time in Barcelona, because the group had already been directed to the bus. Our guide Kirill has been living in Barcelona for many years and said that housing prices in the city have risen sharply recently. The residents themselves actively oppose the dominance of numerous tourists, it is already forbidden by law to build new hotels in the city, they introduce a fee for the entry of tourist buses into the city.
We walked a little along the Rambla Boulevard, now, in connection with the recent terrorist attack, there are concrete cubes everywhere that prevent cars from colliding.
And this is the famous Boqueria market
The next city on our program was Zaragoza, the capital of the province of Aragon. I must say that in our past trips we moved twice from Barcelona to Madrid with a stop in Zaragoza. The journey is long and quite tiring, so spending the night in Zaragoza is a very good solution. We arrived in the city at 17-00 and immediately went to the survey. In the beginning, of course, we visited the Basilica of the Virgin Mary of Pilar, on the banks of the Ebro River. The basilica is dedicated to the appearance to the Apostle James of the Virgin Mary standing on a column (Pilar in Spanish).
There was a service inside, photography is strictly prohibited, but I managed to take off a jasper column (in a skirt) and a figurine of the Virgin Mary, which according to legend
handed over to the apostle James.
It is interesting that two cathedrals are located on the same square in Zaragoza. Pope Clement X decided so back in the 17th century in order to end disputes over the status of cathedrals, and the abbot began to live for half a year in one or another cathedral. The second cathedral is the Cathedral of the Epiphany of the Savior (in Spanish Le Seo). Start of construction - 12th century.
Belfry and clock 18th century
On the north side of the Cathedral, the wall of the chapel of St. Michael in the Mudé jar style (great influence of Moorish art) has been preserved
, because Spain was conquered by the Arabs for more than 700 years)
In front of the cathedral there is a monument to Goya, a native of these places.
The cathedrals form a wonderful ensemble of the square with the city hall and art gallery.
Our hotel was located almost opposite the Cathedrals, having settled in, we went for a walk around the city, because before that we were only passing through and practically didn’t see anything except the main square.
Gord turned out to be quite big, it's a pity that all the shops were closed - Sunday.
Then we went to have dinner at a buffet restaurant that Kirill recommended to us. The price of the issue is 15 euros, without drinks. We met many of our group there, the food was delicious and varied, we barely left the table.
On the way to the hotel we heard the roar of drums, it turned out that it was a procession carrying platforms (Custodio) with statues of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Before that, on the streets we met a lot of strangely dressed people with drums, it turned out that they were participants in the Easter processions for Holy Week.
The spectacle of the procession is impressive (it's a pity I didn't take my camera). Hundreds of people dressed in ancient clothes, all with drums or trumpets, march measuredly through the streets and beat the rhythm with drums. Age from 5 to 75 years. Impressive.
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