Day 5 marked our second day in Barcelona and kicked off with a quick breakfast and off to the other amazing Gaudi house – Casa Batllo. This is Gaudi’s more famous residence in Barcelona and unlike Casa Mila – is representative of Gaudi’s modernistic style both inside and out. ‘Amazing’ falls terribly short in describing this work.
After Casa Batllo and with perfect weather abound – we decided to jump on the ultra popular, ultra-convenient Bus Turistic which operates a double decker open-air tour bus around all of Barcelona. Our first stop – La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is a still-in-construction Gaudi masterpiece and his lifework obsession engulfing the last 40 or so years of his career. Even at less than 50% built – I can say it is without question one of the most fantastic structures I have ever visited. Pictures are poor representatives of the imagination and detail in this project and I only hope to see it completed sometime in my lifetime. I struggle to compare it with any other man-made structure I’ve ever seen – maybe the Vatican? I would think the Taj Mahal evokes the same awe and wonder but that is still on the travel “To Do” list for me so for now – add La Sagrada Familia to the Wonders of the World list for Luis.
Next Stop: Park Guell – another fantastic Gaudi project built on top the large hill to the west of the city. At this point – my visit to Barcelona has clearly become a personal study of the work of Antoni Gaudi and I am thrilled it has. Park Guell was just another example of taking the simple, mundane and making it extraordinary and fantastic. Pictures below.
With the late afternoon upon us – a quick trip back to the hotel was followed with some fantastic tapas before jumping on a previously planned “Nit” Tour of Barcelona. With so many amazing buildings and monuments – I could not resist the chance to see these lit up at night. (Pictures below).
The biggest (and best) surprise of the tour was the “Magic Fountain” in the less visited Plaza Espana. Think –Bellagio in Vegas meets Trevi Fountain in Rome meets Disney on their best day… and you’ll get the idea. The plaza is filled with locals and tourists alike enjoying the cool summer air and the water + color + music spectacle at the foot of the great Palau Nacional. If you visit Barcelona – make this a stop. It is often overlooked and really should not be.
The tour finished near midnight with Day 5 drawing to a close with a few last minute pictures of the Murmuri Hotel. Enjoy!
Day 6 involved saying “Adios” to Barcelona as we picked up the rest of the family at the airport and headed north to France. Our destination – a small town nestled in the middle of nowhere called Moltig-les-Bains. On our drive up the west coast of Spain – we stopped in a small town called Figueres – famed to be the birth place of a guy called – Salvador Dali. After a quick stop in the Dali Museum – we were back on the road crossing the border into France.
Moltig-les-Bains is a “nowhere” town nestled in the Pyrenees mountains about an hour drive inland from Perpignon just north of the Spain/France border. The destination – Hotel #2 on our Hotel Tour – Chateau de Riell (http://www.chateauderiell.com/). I’ll let the pictures do the talking for this property. A walk around the property was followed by a wonderful dinner – my choices escargot (first) with a mandarin glazed duck (second). Magnific! FYI – as wonderful as a night in a castle may sound – it was hard not to think – this hotel is top of list of places I’ve ever visited on the “Most Likely to be Haunted” scale. Luckily – the excellent meal and wine helped me sleep like a baby. Goodnight!
After a nice
breakfast in the Russian-style “tea room” on the side of the property – we were off to Day 7 and our second destination in France: Les Baux-de-Provence. The hotel chosen for this little town was a little gamble by the name of Riboto de Taven (http://www.riboto-de-taven.fr/). Unlike Murmuri in Barcelona (Preferred Boutiques) and Chateau de Riell (Relaix & Chateau), this small property is not affiliated with any hotel company or organization. It is literally a family-owned property with a husband/wife/brother team running the entire hotel and restaurant. Driving the small streets of “Baux” I must say I was a little nervous driving up to the property – only to be pleasantly surprised by the property. Truly unique and again – I’ll let the pictures enchant.
With a few hours before dinner – we decided to walk up to the actual village of Baux at the top of the mountain steps from the hotel. Another pleasant surprise awaited us at the top with a beautiful town lost in time which by total chance turns out to be one of the top “medieval” tourist spots in southern Europe. Who knew? I was just looking for a cool hotel. (see below).
Dinner was as expected (the property was a restaurant before a hotel) amazing with the star being an artichoke and cod salad that was sans doubt – best salad of my life (and I HATE salad). It is amazing how a chef can make a simple fish like cod taste like anything he/she wants – in this case: garlic infused lobster.
After Casa Batllo and with perfect weather abound – we decided to jump on the ultra popular, ultra-convenient Bus Turistic which operates a double decker open-air tour bus around all of Barcelona. Our first stop – La Sagrada Familia. La Sagrada Familia is a still-in-construction Gaudi masterpiece and his lifework obsession engulfing the last 40 or so years of his career. Even at less than 50% built – I can say it is without question one of the most fantastic structures I have ever visited. Pictures are poor representatives of the imagination and detail in this project and I only hope to see it completed sometime in my lifetime. I struggle to compare it with any other man-made structure I’ve ever seen – maybe the Vatican? I would think the Taj Mahal evokes the same awe and wonder but that is still on the travel “To Do” list for me so for now – add La Sagrada Familia to the Wonders of the World list for Luis.
Next Stop: Park Guell – another fantastic Gaudi project built on top the large hill to the west of the city. At this point – my visit to Barcelona has clearly become a personal study of the work of Antoni Gaudi and I am thrilled it has. Park Guell was just another example of taking the simple, mundane and making it extraordinary and fantastic. Pictures below.
With the late afternoon upon us – a quick trip back to the hotel was followed with some fantastic tapas before jumping on a previously planned “Nit” Tour of Barcelona. With so many amazing buildings and monuments – I could not resist the chance to see these lit up at night. (Pictures below).
The biggest (and best) surprise of the tour was the “Magic Fountain” in the less visited Plaza Espana. Think –Bellagio in Vegas meets Trevi Fountain in Rome meets Disney on their best day… and you’ll get the idea. The plaza is filled with locals and tourists alike enjoying the cool summer air and the water + color + music spectacle at the foot of the great Palau Nacional. If you visit Barcelona – make this a stop. It is often overlooked and really should not be.
The tour finished near midnight with Day 5 drawing to a close with a few last minute pictures of the Murmuri Hotel. Enjoy!
Day 6 involved saying “Adios” to Barcelona as we picked up the rest of the family at the airport and headed north to France. Our destination – a small town nestled in the middle of nowhere called Moltig-les-Bains. On our drive up the west coast of Spain – we stopped in a small town called Figueres – famed to be the birth place of a guy called – Salvador Dali. After a quick stop in the Dali Museum – we were back on the road crossing the border into France.
Moltig-les-Bains is a “nowhere” town nestled in the Pyrenees mountains about an hour drive inland from Perpignon just north of the Spain/France border. The destination – Hotel #2 on our Hotel Tour – Chateau de Riell (http://www.chateauderiell.com/). I’ll let the pictures do the talking for this property. A walk around the property was followed by a wonderful dinner – my choices escargot (first) with a mandarin glazed duck (second). Magnific! FYI – as wonderful as a night in a castle may sound – it was hard not to think – this hotel is top of list of places I’ve ever visited on the “Most Likely to be Haunted” scale. Luckily – the excellent meal and wine helped me sleep like a baby. Goodnight!
After a nice
breakfast in the Russian-style “tea room” on the side of the property – we were off to Day 7 and our second destination in France: Les Baux-de-Provence. The hotel chosen for this little town was a little gamble by the name of Riboto de Taven (http://www.riboto-de-taven.fr/). Unlike Murmuri in Barcelona (Preferred Boutiques) and Chateau de Riell (Relaix & Chateau), this small property is not affiliated with any hotel company or organization. It is literally a family-owned property with a husband/wife/brother team running the entire hotel and restaurant. Driving the small streets of “Baux” I must say I was a little nervous driving up to the property – only to be pleasantly surprised by the property. Truly unique and again – I’ll let the pictures enchant.With a few hours before dinner – we decided to walk up to the actual village of Baux at the top of the mountain steps from the hotel. Another pleasant surprise awaited us at the top with a beautiful town lost in time which by total chance turns out to be one of the top “medieval” tourist spots in southern Europe. Who knew? I was just looking for a cool hotel. (see below).
Dinner was as expected (the property was a restaurant before a hotel) amazing with the star being an artichoke and cod salad that was sans doubt – best salad of my life (and I HATE salad). It is amazing how a chef can make a simple fish like cod taste like anything he/she wants – in this case: garlic infused lobster.
An exhausting few days but truly spectacular all the same – tomorrow is a few more sights in Baux before leaving the countryside for a little more urban feel. Any guesses?
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