Days 13 and 14

[Dan’s comments are italicized]

• Train to Barcelona
• Train to Madrid

Tarragona is our favorite stop so far so we were sad to leave. But it’s onward and (hopefully not too many steps) upward.

To get to our next stop, we had to backtrack to Barcelona, so we took some time to visit the Sagrada Familia. It’s an unfinished church that was begun 150 years ago. It’s most famous for its stained glass…and no wonder.

Visiting here gives you an understanding of the expression ‘saturated with color’. It’s the only time I’ve been in a church where people float around like little bumper cars because all eyes are fixed upward.

I don’t actually think they have any intention of finishing it because, really, how many turrets does one church need? Moving from La Sagrada Familia, I’ll leave you with one question…

I was overwhelmed by the vast detail in every corner of this place. In the back of the cathedral, I discovered the answer to a question about where a picture I often see on our Google TV screensaver was taken. I was dumbfounded and spent a lot of time trying to recreate the same photo.

Then it was on to Madrid.

We were late arriving in Madrid………………about 25 years late 😂

Madrid is a young, energetic, and vibrant city; and we’re old, tired, and dull! As the town starts hopping at night, the only place we’re hopping to is bed…and then only because our feet ache from carrying our packs!

But never fear, dear friends, for we found a place to visit that was more our pace…El Parque del Buen Retiro. It actually means Good Retreat, not Good Retirement and is absolutely stunning!

The park is 350 acres (or 1.4 km²) so it was easy to get my steps in! Speaking of steps, in the 2 weeks since leaving Tucson we’ve walked about 80 miles!

The park was vast, and here are a few of my favorite shots

The other thing that has struck me about Madrid is the architecture…so beautiful!

I took some time to play the Universidad Complutense Disc Golf Course, one of the two disc golf courses in Madrid. I did not have to worry about calling “FORE” because no one else was on the course.

It was a lovely and relaxing course, and a great way to end a great day in Madrid.