We made this brief visit to Barcelona, a city justly famous for its outstanding architecture. In our two days there we spent much of the time just getting an overview of the city. We find the "hop on, hop off" bus tours that are available in many cities are a good way to gain a perspective on a city and choose places we want to spend additional time with. Our list for Barcelona is very long and we contemplate spending several weeks there sometime. (That will have to wait until next year, since our travel schedule is already full for 2009.) Barcelona is Spain's Paris, a fashionable, modern/ancient city with a vibrant atmosphere and surprises at every turn.
We found a church devoted to Santiago (Saint James the Greater) of Camino de Santiago fame. It was a total surprise for us, not the least of which were the Community of the Lamb, a group of young people who are devoting themselves to prayer and contemplation. Their singing and deep devotion were quite moving.
The next day we discovered that we were staying in the ancient Jewish quarter of Barcelona and we spent some happy time walking in the "Call" (Catalan for Jewish quarter) and reading the many plaques describing the area.
Of course, there was a festival going on (when is there not a fiesta here in Spain), so there was intense noise of crowds and fireworks going on all night. The Fiesta de San Joan (Saint John the Baptist) is one of the primary celebrations in Catalunya. We are gradually learning to sleep through almost anything.
We took an overnight train from León, which arrived at 9 AM. We had a sleeping compartment for two that was comfortable, but the constant motion made for a fitful night's sleep. The return trip was during the day on one of Spain's fast trains, the Alvia. These trains are very comfortable and spacious and we arrived back in Sahagún rested and happy.
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