Day one - Little Sleep and Large Mountains

     

        My family and I are now in Spain exploring different cities (and other countries). The beginning of our trip was a bit bumpy (car got broken into and some luggage was stolen), but we have settled all the issues and we are enjoying the trip very much. The first visit on our list was to Barcelona, where we flew into town. Spain is made up of seventeen regions and Barcelona is the capital of the region known as Catalonia.  While in Barcelona, we visited some of the most famous landmarks and explored the interesting city. 

        On the day of arrival, we went directly to the beach and then to Mount Tibidabo. The journey to Tibidabo was a bit complicated. Barcelona has an amazing subway system that is very surprising to find underneath this historic city. There was some confusion and we went in a few circles but we finally found the way. We owe our success in finding Tibidabo to a woman named Ida that we met along the way. It was so amazing to meet someone and get to know them on the first day of our trip. Ida has lived in many places throughout the world, including New York. She was so wonderful to talk with and helped us so much. She talked about her life and we shared stories of ours while sitting on the subway and walking.

A picture of my mother with Ida

        When we arrived at Tibidabo after over an hour on the subway, we took the "Tramvia Blau" (The Blue Tram), to the top of the mountain. The same tram and railway were actually constructed in 1900 before the church at the top was built.

View from the tram going up the mountain with the other tram coming towards us

        Tibidabo is the highest mountain in the region, and The Temple Expiatori del Sagrat Cor sits on top. The church as also known as The Temple of Tibidabo. The views from the mountain peak allow you to see over the entirety of Barcelona. The church is Roman Catholic and construction began in 1902 by Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia. It was then completed in 1961 by his son.  This church is fairly old but is still relatively new when compared to the many other buildings throughout Barcelona that were built multiple centuries ago. 

 Spectacular view of Barcelona from the mountain top (There is actually a very large amusement park that has grown for the past century )

A statue of Jesus Christ stands at the top of the church

        The trip to Tibidabo was somewhat brief and we didn't get an in-depth look at the church as we did with other structures and areas that we visited later on. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed visiting the church and seeing the amazing views.

(Tibidabo.cat used for some date and name references)

More posts are on the way but we are going to be changing hotels and are sorting through pictures right now.