We Haven’t Left Yet – That’s Tomorrow (August 4)
Where We Will Accomplish Two Goals:
(1) Visit The Basilica de la Sagrada Familia On Or About Anton Gaudi’s The Yartzeit
(2) Add Another Total Eclipse To Our Collection
This adventure is a 100% land trip. It will be the first time we have used a tour company to create a private tour just for us. It starts in Madrid (where it is currently G0d awful hot and possibly smoky/hazy), then Barcelona (where it is somewhat less G0d awful hot), and end in Valencia (still somewhat less G0d awful hot).
In Madrid we will visit the Prado, the Royal Palace, tour the city in search of tapas, and have some time on our own. The last time I was in Madrid, the now retired King Juan Carlos was a very young man.
The highlight of Barcelona will be the Sagrada Familia, finally sorta/almost completely finished after 140 years of construction. The architect, Anton Gaudi, died in 1926, when he was literally run over by a tram. He left behind plans and models, but they were all lost during the Spanish Civil War. Construction resumed after Franco died in 1975, but the design is based on what people thought Gaudi had in mind. When we visited this church for the first time in 2010, we decided that we would make sure to come back in 2026 when it’s complete. There are some odd-n-ends to be done (that we would never notice). Pope Leo visited a few weeks ago to declare it the tallest church in the world.
Our visit to Valencia will include a day trip to Castillon de la Plana on August 12, where we will hopefully be able to see a total eclipse. It doesn’t rain much in Spain this time of year, so theoretically that won’t be a problem. The challenge is that the eclipse will take place very close to sunset.
Totality happens just a couple of minutes before sunset, and the official end of the eclipse will actually happen after sunset, which is kinda weird.
The eclipse glasses are packed and ready to go! Happy thoughts!
¡Hasta la vista!
