The Catalonia countryside.The bus journey through Catalonia, from Andorra to Barcelona.A mountain in Spain.More of the Spanish/Catalonia countryside.Another mountain in Spain.One last photograph of the mountainous and beautiful part of northern Catalonia – before we traveled on to flatter and more arid grounds.Various meats being grilled at a food stall in Pamplona.Monument to the Fueros of Navarre.The City Hall (or “Town Hall”) of Pamplona.Narrow street in Pamplona.The Church of San Lorenzo.The bota (leather carafe) and wine I bought for the San Fermin Festival.A giant ball being bounced around by partiers before the chupinazo (the opening of the San Fermin Festival) at noon.Everyone holding out their red kerchiefs and singing just before putting them around their necks (to symbolize the martyrdom of Saint Fermin – he was beheaded) for the opening ceremony.The Town Hall during the chupinazo.Flags hanging from the Town Hall.Partiers in the square (the “Plaza Consistorial”) in front of the Town Hall.More partiers mucking about in Pamplona.Parade of the Giants and Big-Heads.The “fire-bull” running around the streets of Pamplona.The bulls and steers in the corral the night before tomorrow’s encierro.Trash strewn all over the street from last night’s partying.Toro in the ring with the third bull during the tercio de varas.A banderillero planting two banderillas in to the bull’s shoulders.Alberto Lopez Simon during the tercio de muerte.The dead bull being dragged out of the ring.A toro in the ring during the tercio de varas with the fourth bull.A banderillero sticking it to the fourth bull.Juan Jose Padilla going in for the kill (the “estocada”).The fifth bull bleeding to death after Pepe Moral performed his estocada.A toro and picador in the ring with the sixth bull.Alberto Lopez Simon celebrating after an excellent performance and estocada.The sixth bull being dragged out of the ring.Outside the Plaza de Toros after the bullfights.Plaza del Castillo at night.Plate of salmon cutlets, peppers stuffed with cod, shrimp, leek and shrimp pie, and two prawns.The Plaza Consistorial before the encierro on July 10th.Street leading to the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd in San Sebastian.The Cathedral of the Good Shepherd, which was built in 1897 AD in the Neo-Gothic style.Inside the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.The facade of the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.The beach at the Bay of La Concha in San Sebastian.The Town Hall of San Sebastian (formerly a casino that was built in 1887 AD).Another view of the Town Hall.Street in San Sebastian.Looking at the beach to the northeast, seen from Urgull Hill.The city center of San Sebastian from Urgull Hill.Steps leading up to the Castillo de la Mota on Urgull Hill.A cannon placed in the Castillo de la Mota.San Sebastian and the Bay of La Concha, seen from near the top of Urgull Hill.A historic depiction of San Sebastian when it was heavily fortified.Statue of Jesus Christ at the highest point of Urgull Hill.Constitution Square.Closeup of the buildings surrounding Constitution Square.Another view of the buildings in Constitution Square.The six tapas and beer I had for lunch.Sculpture of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.A restaurant/cafe built on the beach.A man drawing in the wet sand.Drunks out and about in Pamplona on Friday night.Men playing cricket with a tennis ball in the Plaza del Castillo on Saturday night (this was the wildest night during the whole San Fermin Festival).Roman candles being shot out from a balcony on Estafeta Street.An outdoor discothèque.Another outdoor discothèque.Inside the very crowded Cafe Iruna.Blurry drunk vision at a street in Pamplona.Partiers on Monday night in Pamplona.Nearly empty street in Pamplona on the last day of the San Fermin Festival.Partiers holding up their red kerchiefs during the closing ceremony for the San Fermin Festival (at midnight).Another picture of the closing ceremony.One more snap of the closing ceremony.A crowd of people in a square celebrating the end of the festival.A shitty photograph of the Rincon del Caballo Blanco at night.A nearly empty Plaza del Castillo after midnight – this festival started with a bang and ended in a whimper (very disappointing).The gazebo in the center of the Plaza del Castillo, lit up with depictions of Saint Fermin.The Santa Maria del Mar Church in Barcelona.A monument to those who died defending the rights and constitutions of Catalonia during the Siege of Barcelona (1713-1714 AD).An alleyway in Barcelona.The old Roman Wall in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.Street in the Gothic Quarter.The Palace of the Generalitat at Plaça de Sant Jaume (“St. James’ Square”).City Hall at Plaça de Sant Jaume.Looking up from a courtyard inside an apartment complex.The remains of the Temple of Augustus (a Roman temple).Exterior of the apse of the Barcelona Cathedral.A bridge connecting two buildings over Bisbe Street.The facade of the Barcelona Cathedral (known as the “Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia”).The interior of the Barcelona Cathedral.The interior cathedral seen from the main entrance, looking toward the apse.Another view of the interior.The spires above the choir stall.The final resting place of Saint Eulalia, inside the Cathedral’s crypt.A palm tree on a building’s terrace, held in place with metal wires.The Baroque church at the Plaça Sant Felip Neri (still showing scars from the Spanish Civil War – a bomb dropped here in January 30, 1938, killing 42 people).The Plaça del Rei (a 14th-century AD medieval public square that is surrounded by the Palau Reial Major, which was a residence of the counts of Barcelona and, later, of the Kings of Aragon).The Royal Chapel of St Agatha, seen from the Plaça del Rei.‘The Head of Barcelona’, a surrealist sculpture created by American Pop artist Roy Lichtenstein for the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.A red drawbridges over a highway in Barcelona.A bottle of Cacaolat (chocolate milk) that tasted great.The never-ending construction on the Basílica i Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (“Basilica and Expiatory Church of the Holy Family”).The northeastern facade of the Sagrada Família, which was designed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.The Sagrada Família seen from the Plaça de la Sagrada Família.The southwestern facade of the Sagrada Família; construction had commenced in 1882 AD and Gaudí became involved the following year (obviously it still has not been finished).The Sagrada Família seen from the Plaça de Gaudí.The Hospital de Sant Pau, designed by the Catalan modernist architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner and built in 1930 AD.The house that Gaudí lived in from 1906 to 1925 AD (located in Park Güell).View of Barcelona from Park Güell.A building designed by Gaudí that flanks the left side of the entrance to Park Güell.The building designed by Gaudí that flanks the right side of the entrance to Park Güell.Casa Milà (built by Gaudí in 1910 AD and is popularly known as “La Pedrera”).Casa Batlló and Casa Amatller.Front-view of Casa Batlló (a remodel of a previously built house, it was redesigned in 1904 AD by Gaudí and has been refurbished several times after that).Front-view of Casa Amatller (a building in the Modernisme style that was constructed in 1900 AD and was designed by Josep Puig i Cadafalch).Casa Lleó Morera (a building designed by noted modernisme architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner).Cases Antoni Rocamora (built by the Bassegoda brothers in 1914 AD).Fountain at the Plaça de Catalunya.The Institut D’Estadística de Catalunya, Biblioteca.The facade of the Palau de la Música Catalana (“Palace of Catalan Music,” which was built by the architect Lluís Domènech i Montaner in 1908 AD).Bicycles parked and locked next to the Palau de la Música Catalana.A building in Barcelona with giant pins decorating its facade.The Barcelona Cathedral seen through a narrow street (Carrer del Doctor Joaquim Pou).Outside the Museo del Prado in Madrid.Statue of Francisco Goya.‘Composition No. 1, with red and Black’ by Piet Mondrian (1929 AD) – on display in the Museo Reina Sofía.‘Pitcher and Violin’ by Georges Braque (1909/1910 AD).‘The Pedestal Table’ by Pablo Picasso (1913/1914 AD).‘Senecio (Soon to be Aged)’ by Paul Klee (1922 AD).‘The Enigma of Hitler’ by Salvador Dali (1939 AD).Replica of Man Ray’s ‘Object to be Destroyed’.‘Portrait of Luis Buñuel’ by Salvador Dali (1924 AD).‘Portrait of Sonia de Klamery, Countess of Pradere’ by Hermenegildo Anglada Camarasa (1913 AD).‘Woman in Blue’ by Pablo Picasso (1901 AD).‘Cubist Self-Portrait’ by Salvador Dali (1923 AD).‘Self-Portrait’ by Alfonso Ponce de Leon (1936 AD).‘Nude’ by Roberto Fernandez Balbuena (1932 AD).The atrium in the Museo Reina Sofía.‘Portrait of Madame Dorival’ by Amedeo Modigliani (1916 AD).‘Daubigny’s Garden’ by Vincent van Gogh (1890 AD).‘Harlequin with Mask’ by Pablo Picasso (1918 AD).‘The Dead Woman’ by Ferdinand Holder (1915 AD).‘Looking Out at the Sun Through a Window in the Museo Reina Sofía’ by me (2015 AD).‘Lying Figure’ by Francis Bacon (1966 AD).‘The Four Dictators’ by Eduardo Arroyo (1963 AD).The plaza outside of the Museo Reina Sofía.Gran Via (“the Spanish Broadway”) in the evening.The Edificio España skyscraper, seen from the Plaza de España.Monument to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra with its bronze sculptures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.Temple of Debod, an ancient Egyptian temple which was dismantled and rebuilt in Madrid.Another view of Temple of Debod.Hieroglyphics inside the Temple of Debod.The Royal Palace of Madrid and the Catedral de la Almudena, seen from the park around the Temple of Debod.Part of the Senate of Spain, located near the Royal Palace.The steps that connect Calle de Bailén with the garden north of the Royal Palace.Looking at the Royal Palace from its north garden.The Plaza Mayor – the central plaza in Madrid, which was built during Philip III’s reign (1598-1621 AD).Another view of the Plaza Mayor, which is infamous for being the site of the “autos de fe” against supposed heretics and where the executions of those condemned to death occurred.The painted facade of the Casa de la Panadería in the Plaza Mayor.One last view of the Plaza Mayor.Shade sails over a street in Madrid.The Real Casa de Correos, seen from the Puerta del Sol.The Plaza de la Armeria at the Royal Palace of Madrid.Another view of the Royal Palace of Madrid, built in the 18th-century AD and heavily renovated during the following century.The Grand Staircase inside the Royal Palace.A view of the Grand Staircase, taken further up.The Catedral de la Almudena, located across from the Royal Palace.Another photograph of the Royal Palace of Madrid, taken from the Plaza de la Armeria.Another view of the Catedral de la Almudena.The Plaza de Oriente (located just east of the Royal Palace).The Walls of Avila – completed between the 11th- and 14th-centuries AD.The Convent of Saint Teresa.The Plaza del Mercado Chico.Street in Avila.The Basilica of San Vicente at night.The Walls of Avila in the afternoon.The north side of the walls.Another view of the north side of the walls.Looking up at the wall next to the Plaza de Concepción Arenal Gate.Thew Plaza de Concepción Arenal Gate.Lion statues perched on pedestals around the Avila Cathedral.The Retro-choir inside the Avila Cathedral.The interior of the cathedral.The north transept inside the cathedral with the reddish “bloodstone” clearly visible.Sculptures adorning the walls of the apse.Paintings of six different female saints.The altar inside the cathedral.The Juan de Arfe Monstrance in the cathedral’s treasury.The Plaza de Santa Teresa, seen from Avila’s wall.The Avila Cathedral seen from the wall.Looking south from Avila’s wall.The Basilica of San Vicente, seen from the wall.The north side of the wall.Looking in to the walled city of Avila from the west side of the wall.Desolate street inside Avila.The Four Columns – a pilgrimage site where it is said that Saint Teresa and her brother, Rodrigo, were found when they fled from home to go to the land of the Moors.View of Avila from the Four Columns.Another view of the walled city of Avila.The Walls of Avila at sunset.Looking toward the sunset from the north side of the walls.The Plaza de los Reyes in the morning.La Giralda – the bell tower of the Seville Cathedral (originally it was built as a minaret during the Moorish period, with a Renaissance style top subsequently added by Spaniards).The south side of the Seville Cathedral.Interior of the Seville Cathedral.The Royal Chapel inside the cathedral.The Tomb of Christopher Columbus inside the cathedral.The Seville City Hall (on the right).The entrance gate to the Alcázar of Seville (the Royal Palace).A courtyard in the Royal Palace.A staircase in the Royal Palace.The Jardín de la Danza (“Garden of the Dance”).A pond in the palace gardens.The Mercury Pond (originally a swimming pool, but converted to a pond in the 16th-century AD).The gardens seen from the Puerta del Privilegio.Walkway next to the Jardin del Chorron.One of the Halls of Charles V (or “Vaults Hall”).Another one of the Halls of Charles V.Tapestries Hall (Showcasing the conquest of Tunisia).Corridor in the Royal Palace.Portion of the Royal Palace, seen from the Patio de la Monteria.The Patio de las Doncellas (“Courtyard of the Maidens”).The domed ceiling of the Salón de Embajadores (“Hall of Ambassadors”).Moorish arches inside the palace.More Moorish arches, looking out in to the Patio de las Doncellas.White buildings adjacent to the palace.The Plaza del Patio de Banderas with La Giralda in view.Corridor in the General Archive of the Indies.Torre del Oro (or “Tower of Gold”), built on the bank of the Guadalquivir River in 1220-1221 AD to control access to the river.View of Seville Cathedral from the Torre del Oro.A lithograph depicting the Torre del Oro (from 1840 AD).View of the Torre del Oro and the Guadalquivir River.Looking north, down the Avenida de la Constitución.Hotel Alfonso XIII.Courtyard in the University of Seville.The Plaza de España (built in 1928 AD for the Ibero-American Exposition of 1929 AD).Bridges and the central building Plaza de España.Looking at the north tower in the Plaza de España.The upper level of the Plaza de España.View of the Plaza de España from its upper level – the plaza is a landmark example of the Renaissance Revival style in Spanish architecture.The colonnade in the Plaza de España.Garden in Maria Luisa Park.Sculpture and fountain inside Maria Luisa Park.The flamenco dress that Cristina Hoyos wore while participating in the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992 AD (on display in the Museo del Baile Flamenco).A flamenco dancer performing at the Museo del Baile Flamenco.The flamenco dancers and musicians performing during the show at the Museo del Baile Flamenco.Street corner in Seville.Street in Seville.Remains of an old Roman aqueduct (over 2000 years old).The center of the altarpiece of the convent of San Agustin in Sevilla, painted by Martin de Vos (1570 AD) – on display in the Museo de Bellas Artes.Domed ceiling in the Museo de Bellas Artes.Courtyard in the Museo de Bellas Artes.‘Landscape with Animals’ by Jan Brueghel the Elder (1620 AD).‘View of Seville’ attributed to Louis de Caullery (17th-century AD).‘Santo Domingo of Guzman the Penitent’ by Juan Martinez Montañes (1607 AD).‘Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife’ by Antonio Maria Esquivel (1854 AD).‘Seville Couple Dancing’ by Jose Garcia Ramos (1885 AD).‘Sevillian Woman in Her Court’ by Diego Lopez (1918 AD).‘Seville Holidays’ by Gustavo Bacarisas (1915 AD).‘The Cigarette Makers’ by Gonzalo Bilbao (1915 AD).A balcony in Seville with festive figures.Casa de Pilatos (“Pilate’s House”).The main courtyard inside the Casa de Pilatos.Another view of the main courtyard.Room inside the Casa de Pilatos.Another room inside the Casa de Pilatos.Garden at the Casa de Pilatos.Staircase inside the Casa de Pilatos.A building in Seville.Street in Seville with shade covers overhead.The backside of Torres de Serranos (or “Serranos Gate”), one of the twelve gates that formed part of the ancient city wall of Valencia.Backside of the Valencia Cathedral (or the “Metropolitan Cathedral–Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady of Valencia”).The fountain in the Plaça de la Verge (the square behind the Valencia Cathedral).Street in Valencia.The Valencia Football Stadium (“Estadi del Mestalla”).Crowd of people drinking sangria and waiting for La Tomatina to begin in Buňol.Buckets of sangria set up for partiers to dip their plastic cups into.People try to reach the large ham hanging at the top of the tall, greased wooden pole located in the center of the La Tomatina action in Buňol.Watching people trying to climb up the ham pole and a man imitating them by trying to climb up a palm tree while waiting for the 70th La Tomatina to begin.A man crowd-surfing before the 11:00 start of La Tomatina.Partiers drenched in tomatoes at the end of La Tomatina (it only lasted an hour, from 11:00 to 12:00).The street flooded with tomato juices and pulp.Another view of the La Tomatina aftermath.People still trying for the large ham in the distance (I don’t think anyone reached it this year).People still playing in the bloody red street after the festival finished.Another view of the street after La Tomatina.People walking back to the buses and toward shower stations (i.e. mostly locals with garden hoses) after the festival.A wall splattered with tomato carnage.A wall and sidewalk covered with the remains of tomatoes.Passing over the park north of Valencia’s old city.Iglesia del Temple.The sculpted reliefs surrounding an entryway to the Valencia Cathedral.The main entrance to the Valencia Cathedral.Inside the Valencia Cathedral, which was consecrated in 1238 AD.Looking up at the dome inside Valencia Cathedral.The aisle around the cathedral’s apse.“Virgin of the Cadira” by Jaume de Castell Nou (15th-century AD).Relic of St.Vincent the Martyr (his right arm) in the Chapel of the Resurrection.The high altarpiece and frescoes inside Valencia Cathedral.Sculptures of saints standing in a row.The Valencia Chalice, considered by many to be the Holy Grail, the chalice used by Christ during the Last Supper.The facade of the Torres de Serranos (or “Serranos Gate”).A bottle of Spanish red wine crafted from Moristel, Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.Bottle of Spanish Rioja.
