Was started in 1882 … in the geographical centre of Barcelona. In 1926 gaudi died in an accident. He was 74 yrs old.

This structure is still under construction …finish date hopefully….2026.

Main facet on the south side called Assention .. yet to be built with 4 more towers bigger than in east where we entered.

Front is the birth and is in east.

Sculptures were destroyed during civil war and so replaced after… different colour a whiter colour.

Oxidation colour of different bronze on entrance gate is green and red and yellow.

Turtle on left is sea turtle, on right is land turtle 🐢

172 metres high will be the completed height.

100% of weight is supported by interior pillars not exterior walls. Also under stone is reinforced concrete

St George is the patron saint of Catalonia ….a black sculpture of what what looks like Batman or Darth Vader. Same sculptor on west side, the exit which was called the “passion” was by Josep Maria Subirachs. It’s modern, impressionist style… block with straight lines… wow!

Gaudi made models with strings and weights to come to perfect support.

Completed, the Sagrada will have 12 bell towers…..84 bells …4 meters high.

the three wisemen at the birth of Christ

More picture to come….

o

Pictures taken on way to the port…October 27/19

Before even getting off the ground, I had an unbelievable number of notifications regarding a delay of departure times…..mostly for the British Airways flight from Vancouver to London….in total about 15. (I did get about 3 regarding the changes on the Air Canada to YVR). We, my travel companion Ron and I did finally leave the ground in Vancouver, close to 2 hours late. That delay was caused because the previously planned aircraft, had to be replaced with another. Because of that delay, our connecting flight to Barcelona was changed to another leaving an hour later. When we did finally make it into BCN, the temperature was over 21……….so much different than pouring rain and wind in London and the winds that stopped the ferries in Vancouver.

Let me tell you about the wonderful experience of BA both on the ground in the airport in Vancouver and on the 747 to London. As business class passengers we were invited to use the BA lounge …..a first for me. There were comfortable seats to sit on, soups and sandwiches, fruits and alcoholic drinks as well as non alcoholic drinks and several ladies running to pick up after you or get you anything you’d like whether it was a pillow or a blanket or whatever……..so civilized. As Ron and I discussed….we could get used to this real easy! Then on to this plane…..seated in the upper deck, in again comfortable seats with leg room….stretch out, slide down so your reclining or if further…..flatten out, the foot rest comes down and can be met with the seat, making it a bed….wow! Lots of storage besides the overhead, tv screen, etc and all the while you are almost facing your partner face to face….not side by each so you can carry on a conversation. So nice! Only thing, if you are seated at the window, getting out when other passengers are sleeping, is just a little difficult cuz you’ve got to step over their extended legs. Oh my….the food and the heavy-handed pour of the wine or “whatever you like”!!! I could get to like this!

We took a taxi in to our hotel “Paral-Lel”. It’s quite sufficient….not luxurious but clean and well equipped. Both of us were too pooped to try checking out the city. Tomorrow is another day.

It’s been 5 plus months since I’ve been away so I need to see if I still know how to use this site.

This will be a short trip for me but that’s about all I can do for quite a while. I am scheduled to have the other knee replacement next month. I am really not looking forward to spending the winter here. The fall colours this year have been more beautiful than ever but the days are getting quite cool…..brrrrr!

I will be posting to Facebook but you will have to click on the link if you want see anything there.

If you wouldn’t mind….please let me know that you were able to get this satisfactorily.

Gail……. 🛫⛱🚡😁😎

Going to Elephanta Caves-day number 1 in Mumbai
Security is very stringent…pain in the butt actually, since an attack by Pakistanis about 10 years ago. 

140 steps up to caves

1 hour on boat to get there.

Oh yes….forgot that they drive on the “wrong” side like in England.

Monkeys ok but don’t show bottles of water or food cuz they will grab it from you…even if you put it into backpack they will steal the pack.

There are to be no pictures of military installations, for example aircraft carriers on way to Caves. We rode on a boat that travels about 7 miles an hour……questionable safety …would never pass inspection in Canada.

In the 1500’s, a 7 by 13 ft rock elephant was found by Portuguese so they named the island Elephanta.

Going to Elephanta Caves-day number 1 in Mumbai
Security is very stringent…pain in the butt actually, since an attack by Pakistanis about 10 years ago. 

140 steps up to caves

1 hour on boat to get there.

Oh yes….forgot that they drive on the “wrong” side like in England.

There are to be no pictures of military installations, for example aircraft carriers on way to Caves. We rode on a boat that travels about 7 miles an hour……questionable safety …would never pass inspection in Canada.

Monkeys apparently are ok but don’t show bottles of water or food cuz they will grab it from you…even if you put it into backpack they will steal the pack.  They are macaque monkeys.  They have long red faces with no facial hair.  They aren’t very big.

 In the 1500’s, a 7 by 13 ft rock elephant was found by Portuguese so they named the island  

Temple is “monolith rock cut cave” as opposed to a natural cave. It was first excavation by Hindus. It is a “Shiva” god temple.  It was started 1500 years ago and two centuries to complete.  The caves are chizzelled out of basalt…..volcanic ash that through time changed to basalt..  These caves were first started by the Hindus, then the Buddhists and finally the Jains…..up until 1180AD.
Day number 2 Mumbai
 Mumbai…name means mother + bay

There are 7 islands 650 sq miles & 20 million people

Honking is one of the languages……lol!

There is a lunch program where 500 delivery people deliver 200,000 lunches daily from home….on bicycles….done with no computers with almost zero mistakes……some ridiculous number like 1 in 2-3 million.

Kolaba causeway…shopping area

Tata built Taj Mahal Hotel in 1903 after British had another that didn’t allow “Indians and dogs”. Banyan tree symbol if India. You see trees, particularly Banyan trees, painted couple of different colours. One reason is it has pesticides in the paint to prevent against insects, to indicate local govt is responsible for it and is that it is protected and the white to reflect vehicle lights at night.

Cricket is also a religion..lol!

There are lots of Bombay gymkhanas. They are private clubs for cricket, soccer, maybe lawn bowling, etc.

Trains transport millions of people every day. They stop only for 80 seconds. Everyone crams in so much that you get a “full body massage” every time apparently. We never tried. The “Victoria” terminus station was built by the British ….the municipal across the street from it. It is quite beautiful. There are 21 official language and 1600 dialects….. Hindi is the first language, English is second.

Educated people are only having one or two children partly because educated in private schools costs quite a lot. Poor and Muslim are still having lots of children though. 

The Parsi people are from Iran. There are only 100,000 in India. They are Rastafarians that don’t believe in fire so don’t cremate their dead. They just put them on rock slabs for vultures to pick the bones.

The beach is clean but no one goes in the water because with 20 million people….it is polluted.

1 million in slum..lots of industry mostly recycle plastic, leather (and artificial) and textiles

60% of Tata income is given to social services. They own the most expensive house at I billion dollar with maybe 6-7 people living in it but with 20,000 servants.   

400$/sq ft and up in this “nicer” area for apt or US$800,000 for 2000 sq ft. I saw a sign that said that housing in Mumbai is 42% higher than Delhi.

Hanging Gardens are not hanging but are above a water reservoir. While we’re there the workers saw a snake…..made one insane attempt to kill it with a garden tool much like an axe/hoe. I think they succeeded but totally blew the tool apart.

Metro (underground) has just been started… first line will be up and running in 2022. Up to now there has just been trains.

Monsoon lasted June, July and this year until October ……causes problems for the building of anything underground esp. when there are high-tides.
Dhobi Ghat biggest open air laundry……rocks to beat the clothes on…. water looks filthy but apparently they all come back spotless….about a week later.
Hinduism is 5000 years old. We went to Krishna Temple.

Krishna is a form of Hinduism…..is the blue god.
We also stopped by a museum but not any time to really check it out so was a waste of time.

Day number 2 Mumbai
 Mumbai…name means mother + bay

There are 7 islands 650 sq miles & 20 million people

Honking is one of the languages……lol!

There is a lunch program where 500 delivery people deliver 200,000 lunches daily from home….on bicycles….done with no computers with almost zero mistakes……some ridiculous number like 1 in 2-3 million.

Kolaba causeway…shopping area

Tata built Taj Mahal Hotel in 1903 after British had another that didn’t allow “Indians and dogs”. Banyan tree symbol if India. You see trees, particularly Banyan trees, painted couple of different colours. One reason is it has pesticides in the paint to prevent against insects, to indicate local govt is responsible for it and is that it is protected and the white to reflect vehicle lights at night.

Cricket is also a religion..lol!

There are lots of Bombay gymkhanas. They are private clubs for cricket, soccer, maybe lawn bowling, etc.

Trains transport millions of people every day. They stop only for 80 seconds. Everyone crams in so much that you get a “full body massage” every time apparently. We never tried. The “Victoria” terminus station was built by the British ….the municipal across the street from it. It is quite beautiful. There are 21 official language and 1600 dialects….. Hindi is the first language, English is second.

Educated people are only having one or two children partly because educated in private schools costs quite a lot. Poor and Muslim are still having lots of children though. 

The Parsi people are from Iran. There are only 100,000 in India. They are Rastafarians that don’t believe in fire so don’t cremate their dead. They just put them on rock slabs for vultures to pick the bones.

The beach is clean but no one goes in the water because with 20 million people….it is polluted.

1 million in slum..lots of industry mostly recycle plastic, leather (and artificial) and textiles

60% of Tata income is given to social services. They own the most expensive house at I billion dollar with maybe 6-7 people living in it but with 20,000 servants.   

400$/sq ft and up in this “nicer” area for apt or US$800,000 for 2000 sq ft. I saw a sign that said that housing in Mumbai is 42% higher than Delhi.

Hanging Gardens are not hanging but are above a water reservoir. While we’re there the workers saw a snake…..made one insane attempt to kill it with a garden tool much like an axe/hoe. I think they succeeded but totally blew the tool apart.

Metro (underground) has just been started… first line will be up and running in 2022. Up to now there has just been trains.

Monsoon lasted June, July and this year until October ……causes problems for the building of anything underground esp. when there are high-tides.
Dhobi Ghat biggest open air laundry……rocks to beat the clothes on…. water looks filthy but apparently they all come back spotless….about a week later.
Hinduism is 5000 years old. We went to Krishna Temple.

Krishna is a form of Hinduism…..is the blue god.
We also stopped by a museum but not any time to really check it out so was a waste of time.

Amsterdam was very cool with all the canals and the very narrow and lop-sided buildings. There were an amazing incredible number of bicycles. The city was dirty. I have to remember that it was a holiday so maybe it isn’t regularly so. I wished that we had gone to the “Gardens”. I find that if I don’t pre-book an excursion it doesn’t happen.

I was amazed that the river was so peaceful and “calm”….and clean. It was almost like being on a lake with all kinds of bird life…especially swans! Yes there was “some” industry but it was mostly rural and/or pastoral with little quaint villages along the river and castles up on the hillsides. They were cool! And…..in Germany…..no garbage (including no cigarette butts)….anywhere! I was impressed! And if buildings or bridges were damaged because of the war(s) or just because of the fact they were all old, they were all reconstructed and well cared for.

Being on a river cruise, every day it was a new port and sometimes two (nice that they are included in your purchase price ……unless you want to see something out of the usual you could pay an extra charge) and so it becomes tiresome and the places all run together in your mind. I think I prefer ocean cruising for that reason. Atleast on them, every couple of days you have a “day at sea” when you can unwind, catch up on correspondence (write your blog) and digest what you have seen over the last couple of days.

Austria was much like Germany in that it was clean but the villages became cities. They got larger……not so “quaint”. Bratislava, in Slovakia, is a very large city too.

And then there was Budapest. Huge! Magnificent in its heyday but now crumbing…..and dirty! As in other cities, crossing a street no matter if they are narrow and small, is taking your life in your hands because from out of nowhere some jackass will attempt to run you over….horn screaming! And that included being run over by bicycles in Amsterdam.

Our ship was absolutely lovely…..very modern and shiny…..all glass and chrome. The rooms were spacious and the “balconies” weren’t really balconies but you could raise the top half of the floor-to-ceiling window so it was like being outside without freezing or getting wet. Very nice! For a good portion of our ride up the Rhine and down the other side (Danube), the sundeck on top level was closed…..railings and chairs collapsed down…..not that it was warm enough anyway, because the bridges are too low (especially on the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal).

I think I’ll stay home for a while now. That is one trip ticked off my bucket list.

One other comment I have to make concerns what I saw while flying back into Amsterdam. Since returning home, there was a news report stating that the Netherlands is the world’s second largest exporter of produce. Amazing for such a small country. From the air, you can see firsthand that not a square inch in that country, is not cultivated.

We arrived here in the afternoon of the 10th and in the evening had a night cruise to see the spectacular sights from the water. Oh my! It really is something with the parliament buildings, the castle, the numerous lovely bridges, etc., all lit up. Wow!!!

There has been a settlement here for about 2000 years.

The Buda Castle was built in 1243.

Prosperity really began in the late 15th century. As with most of Europe, it too was run over by one conquering force after another. The cities of Buda, Pest and Obuda became one in 1873.

It was between 1867 and WW1 that it really began to prosper. You can see it in the huge number of buildings and the size of them. One can imagine how absolutely spectacular the city must have looked in its heyday. Unfortunately, for the most part, with WW1, WW2 and the period of communism when it was behind the Iron Curtain, the beautiful old city is in a state of disrepair. Buildings seem to be of sound structure, not that I am an expert but…… Anyone in the reconstruction trades, will be guaranteed on-going work for ever.

Below will be examples of the architecture both good shape and deteriorating

condition.

.

Examples of that very prosperous time…The largest parliament building (neo-gothic)in Europe was built in Pest 1884-1904.

The 2nd largest synagogue in the world in 1859….below!

In 1896, the first underground in the world was built under Androxyy Street. There is a promenade that runs along between the street and homes of the rich. Wooden planks were put down along it so the horses wouldn’t disturb the owners. Heroes Square was also built in 1896.

Gellert Hill was named after the priest who converted Hungarians to Christianity. For his trouble he was put in a barrel and thrown off the hill. There is statue to commemorate him. Also, at Hotel Gellert (art nouveau) ….is where one of the mineral spring baths are located.

Monument to Gellert, the priest that brought Christianity to Hungary

One of the highlights of our stay in Budapest was going to the thermal baths at Szechenyi. It is a huge facility. There are 3 pools outside of varying temperatures and depths. Inside there are 15 smaller baths.

Sort of middle

Bratislava-May 9/19

It’s raining….it’s miserable….! We are taking a little train. 5.4 country—- .5 million city cuz not many feel like get soaked.

5-6000€/sq. m. for luxury condo in Bratislava.

Wedding cake building … home of philharmonic orchestra….below!

Head of country is a woman PM who will be inaugurated in June.

Presidential palace in Rocco style formerly belonged to the Count Grassily family….above.

Part of European Union community and use Euros.

Autos…..(a million / year…. 3 manufacturers BMW, Citroen-Peugeot, VW) and technology industry are the 2 main employers.

Most streets have cars parking on the sidewalks ….kind of odd.

2500 years ago the Celts settled. They there until until the 1st BC then the Romans and the Slavs in 6th Century.

The towers of the castle (palace) are from the 13 and 15 th centuries but the building itself has been in existence since the 9th century.

Mary Theresa of the Hapsburgs, was the most important and most loved ruler. She abandoned witch hunts and instituted and built hospitals and schools

“UFO” bridge…. built in 1972 looks futuristic.

The “Old Bridge” that is only 3 yrs old but was rebuilt to look the same as the one before…..old!

Fertile very flat farmland.

Vineyards produce grapes for White Riesling 80% & Red “Blue Franc” 20%

We have been hearing of how it was when the soviets were here… couldn’t go 8 kilometres down the road…… to Austria or wherever without possibly being shot. Electrified barbed wire fences etc.

In the afternoon we went to visit a family in a village called Cifer.

Very accommodating, mom spoke really pretty good English…. 3 kids and a husband who was away working inAustria because they make more money working away. They had a lovely garden and outside living space. Wine cellar with stainless vats…impressive. The family showed us a painting of the great grandmother. The mom and two daughters had the same huge blue, blue eyes as the gg.

Lunches are free to children and seniors ride free on the trains … now that there is election coming up. After election they expect it will be taken away….hahaha!

Boring Industrial looking buildings are from Soviet era.

Lots of electric trolleys…. no metro.