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Gandesa and The Pilgrimage to Fontcalda
In May last year, I was on an amazing rowing tour down Spain’s incredible Ebro river. My tour group had just spent our first night at the lovely Port Massaluca Campground. High winds prevented us from heading back out on the water that sunny morning so we made alternate plans for the day. We decided to do some local exploring by car instead. And that’s how we ended up on a visit to the town of Gandesa and the Pilgrimage to Fontcalda. Cathedrals of Wine We decided to begin with a visit to the Centre d’Estudis de la Batalla de l’Ebre – Battle of the Ebro Study Centre. This museum…
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Adventure Rowing Down the Ebro: Mequinenza – Massaluca
Our second day on the water of this amazing rowing tour through Spain dawned overcast and drizzly. This was quite a contrast from the heat and sun of the previous day. Despite this, we bundled up and headed out. We were determined to keep to our schedule. We were also looking forward to a visit to the sunken village of Fayón the following day. The weather continued to worsen as we traversed the Caspe-Mequinenza Reservoir. However, the sight of an abandoned monastery majestically mounted on the cliffs of the Ebro brought us a ray of sunshine that chilly morning. Battling the Mighty Ebro Shortly after though, our greatest challenge of…
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Sant Pau: The Other Modernista Wonder of Barcelona – Part 3
As I continued my exploration of the incredible Modernista complex of Barcelona’s Hospital Sant Pau, the Operations House was the next gorgeous building to catch my eye. Set amongst the fantastic patient pavilions and fragrant lavender gardens, it floated in the Spanish sky like a heavenly mirage when glimpsed from within the incredible Administration Pavilion.Upon closer look, I saw that the cerulean blue of that beautiful sky was reflected in the colour of the mosaics printed on its façade. And the names spelled out in these tiled artworks were those of distinguished doctors. Like the pavilions surrounding it, the Operations House is covered in a variety of symbolic stone carvings.…
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Sant Pau: The Other Modernista Wonder of Barcelona – Part 2
When I first caught a glimpse of the Modernista wonder, Sant Pau, from atop my ‘hop-on-hop-off’ bus tour of Barcelona, I was so taken with its beauty that I immediately hopped off to take a closer look. As I peaked over the wall at the colourfully tiled roofs of the turrets and domes of the red brick pavilions, I made a mental note to come back the following day when I would have time to roam the grounds of this truly unique site. And I’m so glad I did. For the glorious view of its sun-washed pavilions from inside the Administration building alone was worth the price of admission.And once…
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Sant Pau: The Other Modernista Wonder of Barcelona – Part 1
Barcelona is a city well-known for its incredible Catalan Art Nouveau architecture, locally known as Modernista. The Basílica de la Sagrada Família, Park Güell and Casa Batlló are three of the Modernista wonders that come to mind when I think of this amazing Spanish city. So I was more than pleasantly surprised to discover the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau during my first visit there this spring. Since I was new to Barcelona, I had decided to start my trip with a ‘hop-on-hop-off’ bus tour to get the lay of the land. And it was during this enlightening ride that I happily came upon, what turned out to be, one…
